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Conduct mapped searches on synonyms and preferred terms (v 5.3)

By selecting the new option 'Search for Synonyms, Explosion on Preferred Terminology' in Advanced Search, you will be able to conduct synonym and preferred term searches simultaneously. The functionality works in the following way:

Two queries are run.

1. Your search term will be mapped to the preferred term and an explosion search on this preferred term is performed.
2. A free text search in the entire record (e.g. title, abstract, index terms) is performed on the preferred term of your search term and on all the synonyms of this term. The rationale is explained below:

Preferred term/synonym relations in EMTREE may change over time. Although EMBASE data are updated on a regular basis, this does not take place every year. In EMTREE, old preferred terms are kept as synonyms. So by searching for all synonyms, you will retrieve all records irrespective of the preferred term in use at the time of indexing.

Drug indexing for EMBASE is done according to strict guidelines. This means that in some instances a drug mentioned in a title and/or abstracts may not be indexed. There are several reasons that this may happen. The main one is that sometime s a drug is used in the title only as an example and the article in fact does not cover the drug at all. By performing a free text search on preferred term and all synonyms, you will retrieve the most comprehensive search results however your result set may be cluttered by irrelevant results or "noise".

For example: Up until 2002 the preferred term for the drug 'lamivudine plus zidovudine' was 'combivir'. From 2002 onwards 'lamivudine plus zidovudine' has been used. Thus, performing a synonym search on combivir will retrieve all records mentioning either combivir or 'lamivudine plus zidovudine' as index term or any of the synonyms at any other place in the record.