Veterinary PubMed Search

Overview

Search PubMed for veterinary-relevant literature using optimized query strategies. Veterinary literature is sparser than human medical literature, scattered across species-specific journals, and indexed with different MeSH terms. This skill encodes effective search strategies for finding relevant veterinary evidence.

When to Use

• User asks for research evidence on a veterinary topic
• User wants to find studies about a treatment, disease, or diagnostic in animals
• User asks "what does the evidence say about [topic] in [species]?"
• User wants to compare treatment options based on published evidence
• Keywords: research, study, evidence, PubMed, literature, journal, published, peer-reviewed, trial, meta-analysis

Veterinary Search Strategy

Key MeSH Terms for Veterinary Searches

Use these MeSH qualifiers to filter for veterinary content:

• "Veterinary"[MeSH] OR "Animals"[MeSH]
• Species-specific: "Dogs"[MeSH], "Cats"[MeSH], "Horses"[MeSH], "Cattle"[MeSH]
• "Veterinary Medicine"[MeSH]
• Journal filter: specific veterinary journals (JAVMA, JVIM, Vet Surg, JVECC, Vet Pathol, etc.)

Key Veterinary Journals

Tier 1 (highest impact veterinary journals):

• Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine (JVIM)
• Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (JAVMA)
• Veterinary Surgery
• Journal of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care (JVECC)
• Veterinary Pathology
• Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia
• Veterinary Radiology & Ultrasound

Tier 2 (specialty and species-specific):

• Equine Veterinary Journal
• Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery
• Journal of Small Animal Practice
• Veterinary Dermatology
• Veterinary Ophthalmology
• Veterinary and Comparative Oncology

Workflow

1. Formulate a structured search query combining:
   • Clinical topic terms
   • Species filter (if specific species is relevant)
   • Study type filter (if looking for specific evidence level)
2. Search PubMed using E-utilities API or standard search interface.
3. Evaluate results for relevance, recency, and species applicability.
4. Apply evidence grading (see evidence-grading skill).
5. Summarize findings with citations.

Limitations

• Veterinary literature is orders of magnitude smaller than human medical literature. Many clinical questions have no species-specific RCTs.
• Many veterinary studies have small sample sizes.
• Publication bias exists (positive results published more than negative).
• Some veterinary evidence is published in non-English journals or regional publications not indexed in PubMed.