Methods

Cases studies Explored databases Electronic search strategies Screening criteria Evaluation criteria Structure of summaries Idiomatic translation

Our operative method includes five different processes:

1. Detection: We retrieve the references of scientific papers related to spinal pathologies published in databases, using electronic search strategies,
2. Screening: Articles are then filtered to select only those that are actually scientific trials on spinal pathologies.
3. Evaluation: The methodologic quality of the screened studies is evaluated.
4. Summaries: Research trials selected because of their high methodologic quality are summarized.
5. Translation: Structured summaries are translated into English and Spanish for publication at this Web site.

At the end of each of the individual processes, we have described the quality control procedures used.

Explored databases

The databases used for searching scientific information on spinal pathologies are: MEDLINE, EMBASE, Pascal, Health Star, Psychoinfo, Bioethics, Lilacs, The Cochrane Library and Spanish Index Medical. All searches will include works published from 1990.

Quality Control Procedures:

Systematic comparison of the gathered information from each of the databases is performed to determine the degree of overlapping.