Critiquing a 
        Research Article 
       Temple DOM Research Curriculum 
                  March 2015 
               Adam C. Ehrlich, MD, MPH 
              Assistant Professor of Medicine 
               Section of Gastroenterology 
        Background 
  • The amount of medical knowledge is 
   rapidly expanding. 
  • Even with the improvements in access that 
   come with electronic indexing and the 
   Internet, it is impossible to keep up with 
   the medical literature. 
    
            Background 
  • Some examples: 
    –Pubmed search for “peptic ulcer disease” over 
     only the last 5 years: 4,112 articles 
    –Pubmed search for “constipation” over only 
     the last 5 years: 5,629 articles 
    –Pubmed search for “hepatitis C treatment” 
     over only the last 5 years:12,873 articles 
      
      
     
    GI Journals (February 2015) 
  • Gastroenterology 
   –10 original articles, 5 editorials, 170 pages 
  • American Journal of Gastroenterology 
   –9 original articles, 12 editorials, 153 pages 
  • Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology 
   –20 original articles, 10 editorials, 191 pages 
  • Inflammatory Bowel Disease 
   –26 original articles, 242 pages 
  • Total for me: 
   –55 original articles, 27 editorials, 756 pages