Resources for handsearchers

Handsearching

a) Conference Proceedings
Conference proceedings offer a rich source of clinical trials, many of which are unlikely ever to be indexed in any of the major medical databases. The Trials Search Co-ordinator therefore systematically identifies all ENT and head and neck cancer-related conferences taking place around the world, and makes every effort to obtain the relevant conference proceedings. The abstracts from these proceedings are then handsearched for reports of relevant controlled trials, which are added to the Trials Register.
The ENT Group would greatly appreciate assistance with the handsearching of conference proceedings. This could either take the form of forwarding any conference abstract books to the group, or of volunteering to handsearch any abstract books in the reader's possession.

b) Journals
Handsearching journals is an essential part of building the ENT Trials Register as a significant amount of journals are either not indexed in any of the major medical databases, or only partially so. To minimise the number of reports of ENT-related clinical trials lost by these limitations, the ENT Group has a dedicated group of volunteers who have been handsearching the contents of some of the most pertinent ENT journals for references to clinical trials. Although a great deal of the retrospective handsearching of journals relevant to our topic list has now been completed, the ENT Group currently has three active handsearchers who are searching 10 journals both prospectively and retrospectively.
Recruiting of handsearchers is ongoing, and each volunteer receives training and an information pack explaining the criteria on which The Cochrane Collaboration defines clinical trials. The ENT Group's website provides registration details for any persons interested in handsearching. The ENT Group depends upon handsearchers having their own access to the chosen journal, although publishers are encouraged to provide free subscriptions to ENT-related journals. The ENT Group receives two free ENT serials at present, and these are handsearched in-house for reports of controlled trials.
Increasingly, more journals are providing access to their contents via the Internet. There is also a growing amount of e-journals, which by their very nature offer full-text access too. Journals are increasingly offering free access online, although this is usually conditional e.g. a set year range has been predetermined, or contents become free after a period of time (often six months) post-publication. The ENT Group has established a database to record information regarding access of journals online, and can therefore advise its volunteers of those journals accessible for handsearching in this way.
Journals currently being handsearched by the ENT Group:

- British Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (prospective)
- Indian Journal of Pediatrics (2002 - prospective)
- International Journal of Audiology (prospective)
- Journal of Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery + Supplement (prospective)
- Otology and Neurotology (prospective)

Searches have been completed for the following publications:

- American Journal of Otology (1997 - 2000)
- Annals of Otology, Rhinology and Laryngology +Supplement (1994 - 2000)
- Archives of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery (1994 - 1997)
- Annales d'Oto-Laryngologie et de Chirurgie Cervicofaciale (1994 - 2004)
- Archives of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery (1998 - 2000)
- British Journal of Audiology (1994-2001)
- British Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (1994 - 2004)
- Ear, Nose and Throat Journal (1995 - 2000)
- Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Monthly (1995 - 2001)
- Indian Journal of Pediatrics (1997-2001)
- International Journal of Audiology (2002 - 2003)
- Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (1995 -1996)
- Journal of Audiological Medicine (1992 - 2000)
- Journal of Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery (1999 - 2004)
- Journal of Laryngology and Otology (1996 - 1999; 2001)
- Journal of Voice (1998)
- Laryngoscope (1999)
- Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery (1994 - 1998)
- Otolaryngologic Clinics of North America (1996 - 2000)
- Otology and Neurotology (2001 - 2004)
- Sound (1994 - 2003)

Searches of the following publications have unfortunately ceased:

- Anales de Otorrinolaringologia Mexicana
- Aviation, Space and Environmental Medicine
- Indian Journal of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery

Offers of assistance with handsearching the above journals would be greatly appreciated. Other journals current available for handsearching include:

- Advances in Otorhinolaryngology (to 2001)
- American Journal of Otolaryngology
- Australian Journal of Otolaryngology
- European Archives of Otorhinolaryngology
- Hearing Research
- International Journal of Paediatric Otorhinolaryngology
- Journal of Vestibular Research
- Journal of Voice (1999 onwards)
- Rhinology

The ENT Group is grateful for receiving free subscriptions to the following two journals published by Churchill Livingstone, UK:

- British Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
- Journal of Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery

Other strategies

Existing systematic reviews and meta-analyses, along with evidence-based guidelines (which should be based on systematic reviews) are a further source of identifying ENT-related clinical trials. Scanning reference lists therein (and evidence tables if included) is a non-systematic but worthwhile means of finding more references to trials. Systematic searches have been conducted for DARE, MEDLINE, EMBASE and CINAHL using a systematic review filter in order to retrieve references of relevance. Around 300 non-Cochrane systematic reviews have been identified. The Cochrane ENT Group is now in the process of obtaining full copies of the papers, and of scanning reference lists therein for trials.
Although systematic searches of the Internet are impossible, every effort has been made to fully exploit the resources freely available there. A (constantly expanding) portfolio of sites has been established, and these are checked regularly for any information relating to ENT trials. Included in this list are national health information initiatives such as the NeLH, meta-databases such as the TRIP and SUMSearch databases, search engines such as Google, and ENT organisational sites. Many electronic medical journals now offer free email alerts of their tables of contents, allowing identification of new trials on publication.

The Internet is also a valuable resource for providing access to registers of planned and ongoing trials such as the National Research Register, Current Controlled Trials and Centerwatch. These are searched regularly for details relating to ENT-related trials. Planned, ongoing and unpublished trials can be registered with the ENT Group by contacting Gemma Sandberg, Trials Search Co-ordinator at gsandberg@cochrane-ent.org.

Another source of unpublished trials are pharmaceutical companies, and the ENT Group has devised a list of those companies with an interest in ENT related interventions. These were contacted in 1999, along with 49 drug companies (identified in Number 33 of the British National Formulary) for any relevant trial data. Out of the 22 companies that responded, 11 have forwarded published data regarding ENT.

Planned searching activities

1. The Group will continue to search for and obtain copies of non-Cochrane systematic reviews, in order to search the reviews' reference lists for randomised controlled trials.
2. A core set of websites for evidence-based guidelines and registers of such guidelines has already been compiled. These sites will be searched regularly for ENT-related guidelines, and full copies of any guidelines found shall be obtained and searched for references to clinical trials.
3. It is planned to update the ENT Group list of pharmaceutical companies as well as search the latest issue of the British National Formulary for license holders for ENT drugs. These bodies shall be contacted for any new trial data.