Table 1. Search strategies used for searching electronic databases.

Database	PubMed*	Old Medline**	Embase†
Period included	1-1-1954 – 17-12-2010	Start – 31-12-1953	Start – 1966
Mesh terms included	Tuberculosis, Prognosis, Mortality	Tuberculosis, Prognosis, Mortality	Tuberculosis, Prognosis, Mortality, Survival, Fatality
Free text included (all fields)	Tuberculosis, Prognosis, Mortality, Survival, Fatality, Untreated	Tuberculosis, Prognosis, Mortality, Survival, Fatality
Free text included (title/abstract only)	Course	Course	Course
Free text included (title only)	Course	Course	Tuberculosis, Prognosis, Mortality, Survival, Fatality
Number of references retrieved	196	591	1093
Number of references minus duplicates‡	196	537	827

*‘tuberculosis’ (either as Mesh heading or as free text) and ‘untreated’ and one of the other terms (as Mesh term or as free text) were searched for.

**‘tuberculosis’ (either as Mesh heading or as free text) and one of the other terms (as Mesh term or as free text) were searched for.

^†‘tuberculosis’ either as subject heading or as free text in title and ‘course’ as free text in title or abstract or one of the other terms as subject heading or as free text in title.

^‡Occuring as duplicate either within search, with searches in other electronic databases, or with snowball sample.