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Searching the LILACS database for Portuguese- and Spanish-language randomized trials in physiotherapy was difficult
André E de Freitas1, Robert D Herbert, Jane Latimer
1Centre for Evidence-Based Physiotherapy, School of Physiotherapy, The University of Sydney, P.O. Box 170, Lidcombe NSW 1825, Australia.
Objective:
Evidence-based practice requires access to systematic reviews and randomized controlled trials; however, most literature databases index primarily English-language journals. We sought to determine the extent and quality of Portuguese- and Spanish-language reports of randomized trials relevant to physiotherapy by searching the LILACS database (Literatura Latino Americana e do Caribe em Ciências da Saúde). A secondary aim was to compare the sensitivity of three strategies for searching for Portuguese- and Spanish-language randomized trials in physiotherapy.
Study Design And Setting:
The LILACS database was searched for randomized trials using three search strategies.
Results:
Three search strategies returned 5,262 records, of which only 47 were randomized trials. Most trials reported treatments for pain or cardiopulmonary disease, and most were of moderate to high quality. The sensitivity of the three search strategies varied from 2% to 53%.
Conclusion:
A small number of moderate- to high-quality randomized trials in physiotherapy are published in Spanish and Portuguese languages, but they are difficult to find.