--- name: pubmed-literature-retrieval description: Use when searching PubMed for literature references, retrieving article metadata or full text, building citation lists for papers or grant proposals, or conducting systematic literature reviews using NCBI E-utilities API --- # PubMed Literature Retrieval ## Overview Search and retrieve biomedical literature from PubMed using NCBI E-utilities REST API. Zero local dependencies — all calls are HTTP GET/POST to `eutils.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov`. Designed for cloud deployment and LLM tool integration. ## When to Use - Writing papers, grant proposals, or literature reviews that need citation support - Searching PubMed by keywords, authors, date ranges, MeSH terms, or publication types - Retrieving structured metadata (title, authors, abstract, DOI, etc.) for a set of articles - Attempting to fetch full-text articles from PubMed Central (PMC) - Building reference lists from search results ## Base URL All E-utility requests use: ``` https://eutils.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils/ ``` ## API Key & Rate Limits | Config | Rate Limit | Notes | |--------|-----------|-------| | No API key | 3 requests/sec | Default, sufficient for small searches | | With API key | 10 requests/sec | Get key from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/account/settings/ | Include API key in every request: `&api_key=YOUR_KEY` Always include `&tool=your_tool_name&email=your@email.com` in requests for NCBI compliance. ## Core Workflow ```dot digraph pubmed_flow { rankdir=TB; "Build Query" [shape=box]; "ESearch" [shape=box, label="ESearch\n(get PMIDs)"]; "Check Count" [shape=diamond]; "EFetch Metadata" [shape=box, label="EFetch\n(get XML metadata)"]; "Parse & Format" [shape=box]; "Need Full Text?" [shape=diamond]; "ELink to PMC" [shape=box]; "EFetch PMC" [shape=box, label="EFetch PMC\n(full text XML)"]; "Return Results" [shape=doublecircle]; "Build Query" -> "ESearch"; "ESearch" -> "Check Count"; "Check Count" -> "EFetch Metadata" [label="≤200 results"]; "Check Count" -> "ESearch" [label=">200: paginate\nwith retstart"]; "EFetch Metadata" -> "Parse & Format"; "Parse & Format" -> "Need Full Text?"; "Need Full Text?" -> "ELink to PMC" [label="yes"]; "Need Full Text?" -> "Return Results" [label="no"]; "ELink to PMC" -> "EFetch PMC"; "EFetch PMC" -> "Return Results"; } ``` ## Step 1: ESearch — Search PubMed ### URL Pattern ``` https://eutils.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils/esearch.fcgi?db=pubmed&term=&retmax=&retstart=&usehistory=y&sort=relevance ``` ### Query Syntax — Field Tags | Field Tag | Meaning | Example | |-----------|---------|---------| | `[tiab]` | Title/Abstract | `cancer[tiab]` | | `[ti]` | Title only | `CRISPR[ti]` | | `[au]` | Author | `Zhang Y[au]` | | `[1au]` | First author | `Smith J[1au]` | | `[lastau]` | Last author | `Wang L[lastau]` | | `[ta]` | Journal abbreviation | `Nature[ta]` | | `[dp]` | Date of publication | `2023[dp]` or `2020:2024[dp]` | | `[pt]` | Publication type | `Review[pt]` | | `[mh]` | MeSH heading | `Neoplasms[mh]` | | `[majr]` | MeSH major topic | `Breast Neoplasms[majr]` | | `[sh]` | MeSH subheading | `therapy[sh]` | | `[la]` | Language | `English[la]` | | `[sb]` | Subset | `free full text[sb]` | | `[filter]` | Filter | `humans[filter]` | ### Boolean Operators Use uppercase: `AND`, `OR`, `NOT` ``` (breast cancer[tiab] OR breast neoplasms[mh]) AND immunotherapy[tiab] AND 2020:2024[dp] AND Review[pt] ``` ### Publication Type Filters | Type | Tag | |------|-----| | Review | `Review[pt]` | | Systematic Review | `Systematic Review[pt]` | | Meta-Analysis | `Meta-Analysis[pt]` | | Clinical Trial | `Clinical Trial[pt]` | | Randomized Controlled Trial | `Randomized Controlled Trial[pt]` | | Case Reports | `Case Reports[pt]` | | Editorial | `Editorial[pt]` | | Letter | `Letter[pt]` | ### Sort Options | Value | Meaning | |-------|---------| | `relevance` | Best match (default) | | `pub_date` | Most recent first | | `Author` | By first author | | `JournalName` | By journal | ### ESearch Parameters | Parameter | Required | Description | |-----------|----------|-------------| | `db` | Yes | Always `pubmed` | | `term` | Yes | Search query with field tags | | `retmax` | No | Max UIDs returned (default 20, max 10000) | | `retstart` | No | Index offset for pagination (default 0) | | `usehistory` | No | Set `y` to store results on History Server | | `sort` | No | Sort order (see above) | | `datetype` | No | `pdat` (pub date), `edat` (Entrez date) | | `mindate` | No | Start date (YYYY/MM/DD or YYYY) | | `maxdate` | No | End date (YYYY/MM/DD or YYYY) | | `api_key` | No | NCBI API key | ### Example ESearch Call ``` https://eutils.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils/esearch.fcgi?db=pubmed&term=CRISPR+AND+cancer[tiab]+AND+2023:2024[dp]+AND+Review[pt]&retmax=50&sort=pub_date&usehistory=y ``` ### ESearch Response (XML) Key fields to extract: - `` — total matching records - `` — list of PMIDs - `` and `` — for History Server (when `usehistory=y`) ## Step 2: EFetch — Retrieve Article Metadata ### URL Pattern (by PMID list) ``` https://eutils.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils/efetch.fcgi?db=pubmed&id=PMID1,PMID2,PMID3&rettype=xml&retmode=xml ``` ### URL Pattern (by History Server) ``` https://eutils.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils/efetch.fcgi?db=pubmed&query_key=KEY&WebEnv=WEBENV&rettype=xml&retmode=xml&retstart=0&retmax=100 ``` ### EFetch Parameters | Parameter | Required | Description | |-----------|----------|-------------| | `db` | Yes | Always `pubmed` | | `id` | Yes* | Comma-separated PMIDs (*or use query_key+WebEnv) | | `query_key` | Yes* | From ESearch with usehistory=y | | `WebEnv` | Yes* | From ESearch with usehistory=y | | `rettype` | Yes | `xml` for structured data, `abstract` for text | | `retmode` | Yes | `xml` or `text` | | `retmax` | No | Max records per request (default 20, recommend ≤200) | | `retstart` | No | Offset for pagination | ### Parsing EFetch XML — Key XPaths Extract these fields from each ``: | Field | XPath | |-------|-------| | PMID | `MedlineCitation/PMID` | | Title | `MedlineCitation/Article/ArticleTitle` | | Abstract | `MedlineCitation/Article/Abstract/AbstractText` | | Authors | `MedlineCitation/Article/AuthorList/Author` (LastName + Initials) | | Journal | `MedlineCitation/Article/Journal/Title` | | Journal Abbrev | `MedlineCitation/Article/Journal/ISOAbbreviation` | | Year | `MedlineCitation/Article/Journal/JournalIssue/PubDate/Year` | | Month | `MedlineCitation/Article/Journal/JournalIssue/PubDate/Month` | | Volume | `MedlineCitation/Article/Journal/JournalIssue/Volume` | | Issue | `MedlineCitation/Article/Journal/JournalIssue/Issue` | | Pages | `MedlineCitation/Article/Pagination/MedlinePgn` | | DOI | `PubmedData/ArticleIdList/ArticleId[@IdType='doi']` | | PMC ID | `PubmedData/ArticleIdList/ArticleId[@IdType='pmc']` | | MeSH Terms | `MedlineCitation/MeshHeadingList/MeshHeading/DescriptorName` | | Pub Types | `MedlineCitation/Article/PublicationTypeList/PublicationType` | | Keywords | `MedlineCitation/KeywordList/Keyword` | ## Step 3 (Optional): Full-Text Retrieval via PMC ### Tier 1: Check PMC availability from EFetch If the EFetch XML contains `PMCxxxxxxx`, the full text is available in PMC. ### Tier 2: EFetch from PMC ``` https://eutils.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils/efetch.fcgi?db=pmc&id=PMC_ID&rettype=xml ``` This returns JATS XML with the complete article body, including sections, figures, tables, and references. ### Tier 3: PMC Open Access PDF ``` https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMCxxxxxxx/pdf/ ``` ### Tier 4: Fallback via DOI If not in PMC, construct: `https://doi.org/` — may lead to publisher paywall. ### ELink Alternative (batch PMC lookup) To find PMC IDs for multiple PMIDs at once: ``` https://eutils.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils/elink.fcgi?dbfrom=pubmed&db=pmc&id=PMID1&id=PMID2&id=PMID3 ``` ## LLM-Friendly Output Format After parsing XML, format results as structured text: ``` --- Article 1 of N --- PMID: 12345678 Title: Example Article Title Here Authors: Smith J, Zhang Y, Wang L, et al. Journal: Nature Medicine (Nat Med) Date: 2024 Jan Volume: 30, Issue: 1, Pages: 45-52 DOI: 10.1038/s41591-024-xxxxx Abstract: [Full abstract text here...] MeSH: Neoplasms; Immunotherapy; CRISPR-Cas Systems Type: Review PMC: PMC9876543 (full text available) URL: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12345678/ --- ``` ## Pagination for Large Result Sets When `` exceeds `retmax`: 1. Use `usehistory=y` in ESearch to get `WebEnv` and `query_key` 2. Loop EFetch with incrementing `retstart`: - Batch 1: `retstart=0&retmax=200` - Batch 2: `retstart=200&retmax=200` - Continue until `retstart >= Count` 3. Respect rate limits between requests ## Common Search Patterns ### Find recent reviews on a topic ``` [tiab] AND Review[pt] AND 2020:2024[dp] AND English[la] ``` ### Find clinical trials by intervention ``` [tiab] AND Randomized Controlled Trial[pt] AND humans[filter] ``` ### Find articles by specific author in a journal ``` [au] AND [ta] AND 2020:2024[dp] ``` ### Find free full-text articles ``` [tiab] AND free full text[sb] ``` ### Find systematic reviews and meta-analyses ``` [tiab] AND (Systematic Review[pt] OR Meta-Analysis[pt]) ``` ### MeSH-based precise search ``` [majr] AND [sh] AND 2020:2024[dp] ``` ## Common Mistakes | Mistake | Fix | |---------|-----| | Sending >10000 IDs in URL | Use History Server (WebEnv + query_key) | | Not URL-encoding special chars | Encode spaces as `+`, `"` as `%22`, `#` as `%23` | | Exceeding rate limit | Add delay: 0.34s without key, 0.1s with key | | Using lowercase boolean | Must be uppercase: `AND`, `OR`, `NOT` | | Missing `db=pubmed` parameter | Always include `db=pubmed` | | Fetching too many at once | Keep `retmax` ≤ 200 for EFetch | | Not checking `` before fetch | Always check total results first | ## Quick Reference | Task | E-utility | Key Parameters | |------|-----------|---------------| | Search by query | ESearch | `db=pubmed&term=` | | Get metadata by PMID | EFetch | `db=pubmed&id=&rettype=xml` | | Get metadata from search | EFetch | `db=pubmed&query_key=K&WebEnv=W&rettype=xml` | | Find PMC full text | ELink | `dbfrom=pubmed&db=pmc&id=` | | Get PMC full text | EFetch | `db=pmc&id=&rettype=xml` | | Batch upload PMIDs | EPost | `db=pubmed&id=` | | Check spelling | ESpell | `db=pubmed&term=` | | Citation match | ECitMatch | `db=pubmed&bdata=` |

pubmed-literature-retrieval

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