Research Means “Look Back”

Anumber of concerns have been raised recently by medical editors; one issue receiving attention relates to the “myopic” or condensed view of literature review,1 aided and abetted by the use of “single” or “double” Medline searches (restricting the review of the medical literature variously to three or six years). This restricted search of the extant literature was termed “MEDLINE-Induced Blindness.”1 Not only is this issue no laughing matter, but it is extremely costly because it leads to repetitive research activity of well-established lines of scientific knowledge. Furthermore, journal reviewers, it would seem, are loathe to point out this serious lapse in the appropriate manner to write a scientific paper since, perhaps, by citing …