Help With Citing And Writing - Pharmaceutical Sciences

The following are examples for citing major drug information and EBM databases using Vancouver Style. Some databases have citation generators, while others will need to be created from scratch. Always proofread citations generated automatically, and check with your instructor to verify citation practices.

Dates should be in this format: [YYYY - Month abbreviated to 3 letters - date in digits]; example: 2022 Mar 3. Note that it may not be possible to find the date that a database or website was last updated, or publication year - if that's the case, leave out that information.

CPS

For a chapter in Therapeutic Choices or Minor Ailments online:

Golian M, Klein A. Supraventricular tachycardia. In: CPS: therapeutic choices. Ottawa: Canadian Pharmacists Association [updated 2021 Mar 12; cited 2023 Jan 18]. Available from: https://cps.pharmacists.ca. Subscription required to view. For a monograph in CPS:

CPS: Drug Information. Paxlovid [drug monograph]. Ottawa: Canadian Pharmacists Association. [updated 2022 Dec 8; cited 2023 Jan 18]. Available from: https://cps.pharmacists.ca. Subscription required to view.

UpToDate Lexidrugs

General template:

Drug Name. In: Specific Database [database on the Internet]. UpToDate Lexidrug. Waltham, MA: UpToDate Inc.: publication year [updated Year Month Day; cited Year Month Day]. Available from: http://online.lexi.com. Subscription required to view.

Example:

Semaglutide. In: Lexi-Drugs [database on the Internet]. UpToDate Lexidrug. Waltham, MA: UpToDate Inc.: 2024 [updated 2024 Oct 14; cited 2024 Oct 23]. Available from: http://online.lexi.com. Subscription required to view.

UpToDate

General template:

[Author]. [Topic title]. Connor RF, ed. UpToDate. Waltham, MA: UpToDate Inc. [updated Year Month Day; cited Year Month Day]. Available from: https://www.uptodate.com. Subscription required to view. Example: Marion DW. Pacing the diaphragm: Patient selection, evaluation, implantation, and complications. Connor RF, ed. UpToDate. Waltham, MA: UpToDate Inc.

ClinicalKey

Cite references from ClinicalKey according to the type of material (ebook, journal article, procedural videos, guidelines etc.). The University of Western Australia Library provides the following example for citing a guideline from ClinicalKey:

Ticagrelor for preventing atherothrombotic events after myocardial infarction [Internet]. London: National Institute for Health and Care Excellence; 2016 [cited 2018 Aug 24]. Available from: https://www.clinicalkey.com/#!/content/nice_guidelines/65-s2.0-TA420. Subscription required to view.

DynaMed

In the upper right corner of a monograph in DynaMed, look for the " symbol to generate a citation. You'll need to add more information to cite in Vancouver format. For conditions monographs, you can find the last updated date under the "Updates" section at the top.

Examples:

DynaMed [Internet]. Ipswich (MA): EBSCO Information Services. 1995 - . Bell Palsy; [updated 2022 Mar 31, cited2022 Aug 5]. Available from https://www.dynamed.com/condition/bell-palsy Subscription required to view.

Varenicline. In: IBM Micromedex® DRUGDEX® [database on the Internet]. Greenwood Village (CO): IBM Watson Health/EBSCO Information; 2022 [cited 2022 Aug 5]. Available from https://www.dynamed.com/drug-monograph/varenicline. Subscription required to view.