Annual evidence updates - February 2009

The National Library for Health (NLH) Specialist Libraries have been developed to identify and meet the information needs of particular communities of practice. They are web-based collections containing clinical and non-clinical information on the major health priority areas. Each NLH Specialist Library identifies and provides access to quality assessed information of relevance to the community that it serves.

An aspect of this involves the production of Annual Evidence Updates, which aim to highlight the best current evidence for selected healthcare topics. Annual Evidence Updates consist of the good quality evidence from a search of research evidence on a particular topic over a 12 month period, plus user-friendly summaries written by relevant experts, and links to guidelines, secondary research and primary research, if applicable. All information included in Annual Evidence Updates has been subject to rigorous selection criteria.

The calendar of currently confirmed Annual Evidence Updates for 2009 is now available. The following Annual Evidence Updates are scheduled for February 2009:

Tinnitus (ENT and Audiology Specialist Library) 9th February
Tinnitus research continues to proliferate and in conjunction with National Tinnitus Week, this evidence update will present a concise summary of the latest emerging evidence on various sub-topics, combined with a list of current therapeutic uncertainties to highlight research gaps. Sub-topics will include: aetiology, risk factors, diagnosis, treatment, clinical tools, patient experiences, outcome assessment and service delivery.

Gastrointestinal Symptoms in Supportive and Palliative Care (Supportive and Palliative Care Specialist Library) 9th February
The best current evidence on three key topics is collected together:

• nausea and vomiting
• constipation
• bowel obstruction

Chest Pain (Cardiovascular Diseases Specialist Library) 23rd February
This annual evidence update updates the previous AEU published in February 2007.

Chest pain is a common reason for patients seeking healthcare, often as an emergency. But not all chest pain is cardiac in origin, and (for example) the proportion of patients calling for an ambulance with chest pain who have proven heart attack is low – less than 10% in some studies. We have identified key systematic reviews and related documents to support clinicians and commissioners in identifying the best available, current evidence on this topic. NICE are due to publish guidance on chest pain in December 2009.

The update includes commentaries from an Expert Group, chaired by Clinical Lead, Professor Tom Quinn, from the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Surrey.