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How to search PubMed

What is proximity searching?

Proximity searching is a way to search for two or more words that occur within a certain number of words from each other. This can be ideal for those searches which have a number of phrases for a concept with combinations of the same words. 

Searching PubMed using proximity

Proximity searching in PubMed finds two or more words in any order within a specified number of words using the following template:

"search words"[field:~N]

  • search words = replace these with two or more words you are interested in
  • Field
    • use [Title] or [ti] to look for the phrases in the Title of the article only.
    • use [Title/Abstract] or [tiab] to look for the phrases in either the title or the abstract of the record.
  • ~ = tilde
  • N = The maximum number of words that may appear between your search words.

For example, to search PubMed for citations where the terms "distracted" and "driving" appear with no more than two words between them in the Title/Abstract search field, try the search:

"distracted driving"[tiab:~2]

Search results may include distracted driving, distracted while driving, distracted when driving, and more.

National Library of Medicine. PubMed Tutorial - Proximity Searching. 2024, https://www.nlm.nih.gov/oet/ed/pubmed/quicktours/proximity/index.html.

National Library of Medicine. “Proximity Searching.” PubMed User Guide, National Library of Medicine, 2024, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/help/#proximity-searching.

National Library of Medicine. PubMed Update: Proximity Search Now Available in PubMed. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 29 Nov. 2022, https://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbull/tb.html.