摘要
aim: to show the qualitative and quantitative features of information flow of medical practice guides processed by medline in 1993 and 2004. methods: the guides for medical practice procesed by medline were identified using search approach design for that purpose. the relevant of retrieved records was handy reviewed. the frecuency indexes were prepared for a variable group chosen according relevance to distinguish the study flow. the foremention indexes were conceived using the procite software. the study of topic distribution was carried out using the refvitz software, a tool for data mining created by institute for scientific information. results: the identification of 6 350 clinical guides processed by medline in the years 1993 and 2004 was possible. these guides, written in 22 languages proceedings from 43 countries, were published in 1 094 different journals. according to country, the united states of america produced more than the half (53,5%) of the clinical guides published in medline. the most productive journal was pediatrics from u.s.a containing 208 contributions. the most productive institutions were the american college of obstetricians and gynecologists, the american heart association, the american academy of pediatrics, the american college of cardiology and the american diabetes association. the majority of the most treated thematic subgroups were concentrated in 4 areas: therapy of general diseases, cancer and malignant tumors as well as the infectious and cardiovascular diseases. conclusion: even though the predominance of the u.s.a in clinical guide production is unquestionable, the recognized trend of medline database to process mainly publications from u.s.a and also from english speaking countries could a disavantage for the results and positions occupied by other countries.