The advantages of being called NICE: a systematic review of journal article titles using the acronym for the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence.

OBJECTIVE To describe the use of NICE, the acronym for the UK National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, as both an adjective and noun in peer-reviewed journal article titles. DESIGN Systematic review of titles retrieved by electronic database searches. DATA SOURCES Ovid databases (MEDLINE, All EBM Reviews, EMBASE, ERIC, CINAHL and PsycINFO) covering the formation of NICE in 1999 to February 2008. REVIEW METHODS Independent review of eligible titles by both authors and resolution of disagreements based on consideration of full text articles. RESULTS 2274 articles were retrieved that included reference to NICE in their titles. Of these, 167 (7.3%) used NICE as an adjective, most commonly in conjunction with the terms 'work', 'not so' (NICE), 'nasty', 'mess' and 'try'. CONCLUSIONS The work of NICE has been widely referenced in peer-reviewed journal article titles, sometimes with apparent humorous intent when used as an adjective. Well-chosen names may increase the recognizability of public health organizations and help to communicate their roles.