Updates:
August 19, 2024: RCT Filters sourced from CADTH.
August 20, 2022: Line 5 Cochrane CENTRAL Filter August 20, 2022
Below find filters to restrict retrieval to: neonatal population; randomized controlled and quasi-randomized controlled trials; and systematic reviews.
While we recommend the use of the population filter, feel free to choose different filters for RCTs and SRs; we ask only that you provide a verifiable source for the filter. If you have run a strategy using an older version of the Population filter, please do not redo your work; but check this page before developing a new or update search strategy.
Neonatal Population
Ovid MEDLINE
1 exp infant, newborn/ or Intensive Care, Neonatal/ or Intensive Care Units, Neonatal/ or Gestational Age/
2 (babe or babes or baby* or babies or gestational age? or infant? or infantile or infancy or low birth weight or low birthweight or neonat* or neo-nat* or newborn* or new born? or newly born or premature or pre-mature or pre-matures or prematures or prematurity or pre-maturity or preterm or preterms or pre term? or preemie or preemies or premies or premie or VLBW or VLBWI or VLBW-I or VLBWs or LBW or LBWI or LBWs or ELBW or ELBWI or ELBWs or NICU or NICUs).ti,ab,kw,kf.
3 or/1-2 [Filter: Neonatal Population 04-2022-OVID MEDLINE]
OVID Embase
1 newborn/ or prematurity/ or newborn intensive care/ or newborn care/ or gestational age/
2 (babe or babes or baby* or babies or gestational age? or infant? or infantile or infancy or low birth weight or low birthweight or neonat* or neo-nat* or newborn* or new born? or newly born or premature or pre-mature or pre-matures or prematures or prematurity or pre-maturity or preterm or preterms or pre term? or preemie or preemies or premies or premie or VLBW or VLBWI or VLBW-I or VLBWs or LBW or LBWI or LBWs or ELBW or ELBWI or ELBWs or NICU or NICUs).ti,ab,kw,kf.
3 or/1-2 [Filter: Neonatal Population 04-2022-OVID EMBASE]
Embase.com
Converted by Matthias Bank, Lund University, Faculty of Medicine, Library & ICT
2022-05-18
#1. 'newborn'/de OR 'prematurity'/de OR 'newborn intensive care'/de OR 'newborn care'/de OR gestational age/de
#2. (babe or babes or baby* or babies or ‘gestational age$’ or infant$ or infantile or infancy or ‘low birth weight’ or ‘low birthweight’ or neonat* or ‘neo-nat*’ or newborn* or ‘new born$’ or ‘newly born’ or premature or pre-mature or pre-matures or prematures or prematurity or pre-maturity or preterm or preterms or ‘pre term$’ or preemie or preemies or premies or premie or VLBW or VLBWI or VLBW-I or VLBWs or LBW or LBWI or LBWs or ELBW or ELBWI or ELBWs or NICU or NICUs):ti,ab,kw
#3 #1 OR #2
Cochrane Library (CENTRAL or CDSR) Wiley
Updated August 21, 2023 (to correct syntax error, e.g. truncation within quoted phrases)
ID Search
#1 MeSH descriptor: [Infant, Newborn] explode all trees
#2 MeSH descriptor: [Intensive Care, Neonatal] this term only
#3 MeSH descriptor: [Intensive Care Units, Neonatal] this term only
#4 MeSH descriptor: [Gestational Age] this term only
#5 ("babe" or "babes" or baby* or "babies" or "gestational age" or "gestational ages" or infant? or "infantile" or infancy or "low birth weight" OR "low birth weights" or "low birthweight" or "low birthweights" or neonat* or "neo-nate" or “neo-nates” or newborn* or "new born" or “new borns” or “newly born” or "premature" or "pre-mature" or "pre-matures" or prematures or prematurity or "pre-maturity" or "preterm" or "preterms" or "pre term" or “pre terms” or "preemie" or "preemies" or "premies" or "premie" or "VLBW" or "VLBWI" or "VLBW-I" or "VLBWs" or "LBW" or "LBWI" or "LBWs" or "ELBW" or "ELBWI" or "ELBWs" or "NICU" or "NICUs"):ti,ab,kw
#6 #1 OR #2 OR #3 OR #4 OR #5
RCT Filters
OVID MEDLINE
1. (clinical trial phase iii or controlled clinical trial or equivalence trial or pragmatic clinical trial or randomized controlled trial).pt.
2. controlled clinical trials as topic/ or randomized controlled trials as topic/ or equivalence trials as topic/ or intention to treat analysis/ or pragmatic clinical trials as topic/
3. Random Allocation/
4. Double-Blind Method/
5. Single-Blind Method/
6. Placebos/
7. Control Groups/
8. (random* or sham or placebo*).ti,ab,hw,kf,kw.
9. ((singl* or doubl*) adj (blind* or dumm* or mask*)).ti,ab,hw,kf,kw.
10. ((tripl* or trebl*) adj (blind* or dumm* or mask*)).ti,ab,hw,kf,kw.
11. (control* adj3 (study or studies or trial* or group*)).ti,ab,kf,kw.
12. (quasi-random* or quasirandom*).ti,ab,hw,kf,kw.
13. allocated.ti,ab,hw.
14. ((open label or open-label) adj5 (study or studies or trial*)).ti,ab,hw,kf,kw.
15. ((equivalence or superiority or non-inferiority or noninferiority) adj3 (study or studies or trial*)).ti,ab,hw,kf,kw.
16. (pragmatic study or pragmatic studies).ti,ab,hw,kf,kw.
17. ((pragmatic or practical) adj3 trial*).ti,ab,hw,kf,kw.
18. ((quasiexperimental or quasi-experimental) adj3 (study or studies or trial*)).ti,ab,hw,kf,kw.
19. (phase adj3 (III or "3") adj3 (study or studies or trial*)).ti,hw,kf,kw.
20. or/1-19
21. exp Animals/ or exp Animal Experimentation/ or exp Models, Animal/ or exp Vertebrates/
22. (mice or mouse or porcine or rat or rats or rodent?).ti.
23. exp Humans/ or exp Human Experimentation/
24. (or/21-22) not 23 [Animals]
25. 20 not 24 [MEDLINE RCT Filter--based on https://searchfilters.cadth.ca/link/122]
OVID Embase
1 randomized controlled trial/ or controlled clinical trial/ or equivalence trial/ or pragmatic trial/
2 phase 3 clinical trial/
3 "randomized controlled trial (topic)"/ or "controlled clinical trial (topic)"/
4 randomization/
5 double blind procedure/
6 single blind procedure/
7 placebo/
8 control group/
9 (random* or sham or placebo*).ti,ab,hw,kf,kw.
10 ((singl* or doubl*) adj (blind* or dumm* or mask*)).ti,ab,hw,kf,kw.
11 ((tripl* or trebl*) adj (blind* or dumm* or mask*)).ti,ab,hw,kf,kw.
12 (control* adj3 (study or studies or trial* or group*)).ti,ab,kf,kw.
13 (quasi-random* or quasirandom*).ti,ab,hw,kf,kw.
14 allocated.ti,ab,hw.
15 ((open label or open-label) adj5 (study or studies or trial*)).ti,ab,hw,kf,kw.
16 ((equivalence or superiority or non-inferiority or noninferiority) adj3 (study or studies or trial*)).ti,ab,hw,kf,kw.
17 (pragmatic study or pragmatic studies).ti,ab,hw,kf,kw.
18 ((pragmatic or practical) adj3 trial*).ti,ab,hw,kf,kw.
19 ((quasiexperimental or quasi-experimental) adj3 (study or studies or trial*)).ti,ab,hw,kf,kw.
20 (phase adj3 (III or "3") adj3 (study or studies or trial*)).ti,hw,kf,kw.
21 or/1-20 [CADTH--NRCT terms removed https://searchfilters.cadth.ca/link/122 ]
22 exp animal/ or exp animal experiment/ or exp animal model/ or nonhuman/ or exp vertebrate/
23 (mice or mouse or porcine or rat or rats or rodent?).ti.
24 exp human/ or exp human experiment/
25 (or/22-23) not 24 [Animals]
26 21 not 25 [Embase: RCT filter based on https://searchfilters.cadth.ca/link/122]
Systematic Reviews
OVID Medline
1 meta-analysis/ or "systematic review"/ or network meta-analysis/ [/ finds same as .pt. syntax]
2 ((systematic* adj3 (review* or overview*)) or (methodologic* adj3 (review* or overview*))).ti,ab,kf,kw.
3 ((integrative adj3 (review* or overview*)) or (collaborative adj3 (review* or overview*)) or (pool* adj3 analy*)).ti,ab,kf,kw.
4 (data synthes* or data extraction* or data abstraction*).ti,ab,kf,kw.
5 (hand search* or handsearch*).ti,ab,kf,kw.
6 (mantel haenszel or peto or der simonian or dersimonian or fixed effect* or latin square*).ti,ab,kf,kw.
7 meta-analysis as topic/ or network meta-analysis/
8 (meta analy* or metanaly* or meta regression* or metaregression*).ti,ab,kf,kw.
9 (medline or cochrane or pubmed or medlars or embase or cinahl).ab.
10 (cochrane or systematic review?).jw.
11 or/1-10 [SR filter-Medline; based on CADTH https://www.cadth.ca/strings-attached-cadths-database-search-filters ]
OVID Embase
1 meta-analysis/ or "systematic review"/ or "meta analysis (topic)"/ [EMTREE]
2 ((systematic* adj3 (review* or overview*)) or (methodologic* adj3 (review* or overview*))).ti,ab,kw.
3 ((integrative adj3 (review* or overview*)) or (collaborative adj3 (review* or overview*)) or (pool* adj3 analy*)).ti,ab,kw.
4 (data synthes* or data extraction* or data abstraction*).ti,ab,kw.
5 (hand search* or handsearch*).ti,ab,kw.
6 (mantel haenszel or peto or der simonian or dersimonian or fixed effect* or latin square*).ti,ab,kw.
7 (meta analy* or metanaly* or meta regression* or metaregression*).ti,ab,kw.
8 (medline or cochrane or pubmed or medlars or embase or cinahl).ab.
9 (cochrane or systematic review?).jn,jx.
10 (overview adj2 reviews).ti.
11 or/1-10 [SR Filter: EMBASE based on CADTH filter: https://www.cadth.ca/strings-attached-cadths-database-search-filters ]