Using advanced search tools on PubMed for citation retrieval

PubMed (www.pubmed.gov) provides health care professionals with free access to one of the largest searchable biomedical databases available. However, attempting to find relevant literature in PubMed without an understanding of basic search strategies and tools may be daunting and frustrating. In a previous issue of the Mayo Clinic Proceedings, we presented an overview of searching in PubMed and introduced its basic features. In this article, we build on this foundation and present advanced search tools designed to assist clinicians in performing efficient and focused literature searches.