To cite an UpToDate article, you need the topic author, the article title, the editor name “Connor RF,” the publisher Wolters Kluwer, and the date you accessed it. The exact format depends on which citation style you’re using. UpToDate’s own recommended format treats each topic like a book chapter, but APA 7th edition uses a different structure entirely.
Where to Find Citation Details in UpToDate
Before you can build your citation, you need to pull the right information from the topic page. At the top of every UpToDate article, you’ll find a contributor section listing the authors, deputy editors, and section editors. Click any linked name to see their full academic credentials.
In that same contributor section, you’ll also see two dates: the date of the last literature review and the date the topic was last updated. These matter because UpToDate content changes on a rolling basis, and most citation styles require either a “last updated” year or an access date (or both) so readers know which version of the content you referenced. There are no page numbers to cite.
UpToDate’s Own Recommended Format
UpToDate recommends citing topics as chapters in a book titled “UpToDate,” with Rebecca Connor, MD (Senior Director of Clinical Content) listed as the editor. The publisher is Wolters Kluwer. Because content updates continuously, you include the date you accessed the topic rather than a traditional publication date.
The structure looks like this:
[Author last name, initials]. [Topic title]. In: UpToDate, Connor RF (Ed), Wolters Kluwer. (Accessed on [Date].)
A completed example:
Friedman LS. Approach to the patient with abnormal liver biochemical and function tests. In: UpToDate, Connor RF (Ed), Wolters Kluwer. (Accessed on March 8, 2023.)
This is the format UpToDate suggests for AMA style and general use. If your instructor or journal hasn’t specified a citation style, this is a safe default.
APA 7th Edition Format
APA treats UpToDate articles differently. Rather than formatting them as book chapters, APA 7th edition treats them like periodical articles within a database. That changes the structure in a few important ways.
The format is:
Author(s). (Year). Title of article. UpToDate. Retrieved Month Day, Year, from URL
A completed example:
Bordeaux, B., & Lieberman, H. R. (2020). Benefits and risks of caffeine and caffeinated beverages. UpToDate. Retrieved February 26, 2020, from https://www.uptodate.com/contents/benefits-and-risks-of-caffeine-and-caffeinated-beverages
Key differences from the default format:
- Year of last update goes in parentheses after the authors, not at the end of the citation. Use the “last updated” date from the topic page.
- Italicize “UpToDate” in the reference list (like a journal title), but do not italicize it when mentioning it in the body of your paper.
- Include a retrieval date because the content changes over time and older versions are not archived.
- Include the full URL to the topic page.
- No editor name or publisher is needed.
For in-text citations, use standard APA parenthetical or narrative form. A parenthetical citation would be (Bordeaux & Lieberman, 2020), while a narrative citation would read Bordeaux and Lieberman (2020).
AMA (American Medical Association) Format
AMA style follows the book-chapter approach that UpToDate itself recommends. List the topic author, the article title, the editor Connor RF, and the publisher Wolters Kluwer. End with the access date in parentheses. AMA uses numbered references in the text, so the in-text citation is simply a superscript number corresponding to the reference list entry.
The structure is the same as the default format above:
Friedman LS. Approach to the patient with abnormal liver biochemical and function tests. In: UpToDate, Connor RF (Ed), Wolters Kluwer. (Accessed on March 8, 2023.)
MLA and Vancouver Formats
UpToDate does not publish separate templates for MLA or Vancouver style. For these styles, the publisher recommends using the same book-chapter structure: author, topic title, “In: UpToDate,” Connor RF as editor, Wolters Kluwer as publisher, and your access date.
If you need a strict MLA 9 citation, you may want to adapt the elements into MLA’s container model. That would mean listing the author, placing the topic title in quotation marks, italicizing “UpToDate” as the container, naming Connor RF as editor, Wolters Kluwer as the publisher, and adding the date you accessed it. For Vancouver style, use the numbered-reference format with the same core elements. In either case, the access date is essential because there is no fixed publication date to point to.
Tips for Getting the Citation Right
Record your access date at the time you read the article. Because UpToDate updates topics on a rolling basis without archiving old versions, the content could change a week after you read it. Your access date is the only way a reader can understand which version of the information you relied on.
Double-check the author name on the specific topic page, not on related topics. UpToDate topics on similar subjects often have different lead authors. Also confirm you’re using the topic author (listed first at the top) rather than the section editor or deputy editor, which appear below the author line.
If the topic lists multiple authors, include all of them in APA style, separated by commas with an ampersand before the last name. In AMA style, list up to six authors followed by “et al.” if there are more than six.