PERRLA/Guides/MLA 9/UpToDate article

How to Cite an UpToDate Article in MLA 9

An MLA 9 Works Cited entry for an UpToDate article gives the topic's authors (not its section or deputy editors), last name first for the first author, then the topic title in quotation marks and title case, UpToDate in italics, the date the topic was last updated (22 Nov. 2024), the www.uptodate.com URL, and Accessed with the date you read it. UpToDate topics have no page numbers, so the in-text citation is the authors' last names alone: (Trautner and Gupta).

The format

Last Name, First Name, and First Name Last Name. "Title of the Topic." UpToDate, Day Mon. Year, www.uptodate.com/contents/topic-name. Accessed Day Mon. Year.

PERRLA MLA Experts ยท Updated October 27, 2026
Checked against the MLA Handbook, 9th edition. Every example is formatted by PERRLA's reference engine.

First, the easy way: PERRLA

Paste the topic's UpToDate link into PERRLA's reference search. PERRLA reads the topic and fills in the authors (and only the authors, never the editors), the title, UpToDate as the database, the year the topic was last updated, today's date as the access date, and a clean www.uptodate.com link. It strips the search code UpToDate adds to the end of a link, and it turns a school link like uptodate.yourschool.edu into the public address. If PERRLA can't read a topic, try PERRLA's Chrome extension while you're signed in to UpToDate.

MLA gives the full date, so check one thing against the topic before you save: the search fills in only the year. Find "This topic last updated" on the topic and type the whole date in Publication Year, month, day, and year (11/22/2024).

Adding one by hand? Choose Journal, then An article in a database and A single article. Add each author, type the topic title, put UpToDate in Database Name, enter the date the topic was last updated, paste the URL, and click Today under Retrieval Date. PERRLA puts the title in title case and quotation marks, puts UpToDate in italics, and adds the Accessed date at the end.

Not using PERRLA yet? Here is how to build the same works cited entry by hand.

The parts of the works cited entry

1. Authors

List the people under Author or Authors at the top of the topic. The first author goes last name first, with the full first name and any middle initial. Leave out MD, PhD, and the other credentials UpToDate prints after each name. End with a period.

Trautner, Barbara W., and Kalpana Gupta.

Two authors: invert only the first, then write and and the second author's name in normal order. Three or more: give the first author, a comma, and et al. A Jr. goes after the first name, set off with a comma: Francis, Joseph, Jr.

Skip the section editor and deputy editor UpToDate names under the authors. They oversee the topic, but the authors wrote it.

2. Topic title

Put the topic title in quotation marks and capitalize it in title case, even though UpToDate uses sentence case. Capitalize the first word after a colon, and both parts of a hyphenated word. The period goes inside the closing quotation mark.

"Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection in Adults."

3. UpToDate as the container

UpToDate is the container, the database that holds the topic, so its name goes in italics, followed by a comma. Keep it in italics when you mention UpToDate in a sentence of your paper too: MLA italicizes the names of websites and databases everywhere.

UpToDate,

Leave out Wolters Kluwer and the word database. UpToDate is made by UpToDate, Inc., a Wolters Kluwer company, and MLA skips a publisher whose name is essentially the site's own.

4. Date last updated

Use the date from "This topic last updated," written day, month, year, followed by a comma. Abbreviate months longer than four letters (Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec.).

22 Nov. 2024,

Every topic shows two dates, and they trip students up. "Literature review current through" is the month UpToDate last searched the research, and it moves forward month by month. "This topic last updated" is when the authors last changed this topic, so it dates the version you read.

5. URL and access date

Give the topic's public address without https://, followed by a period. Then write Accessed and the date you read the topic, day, month, year.

www.uptodate.com/contents/catheter-associated-urinary-tract-infection-in-adults. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

Cut anything after a question mark (like ?search=), and if your link starts with your school's name, swap that part for www.uptodate.com, so the link works for your reader. MLA makes access dates optional, but an UpToDate topic is rewritten in place and the old version disappears, so the access date is worth adding.

Examples

An UpToDate topic with two authors

UpToDate's topic on catheter-associated UTIs, a staple for med-surg and infection control papers. The literature review is current through September 2026, but the topic was last updated November 22, 2024, so that's the date in the entry.

  • In-text citation(Trautner and Gupta)
  • Narrative citationAs Trautner and Gupta explain, …

An UpToDate topic whose author has a Jr.

The topic on preventing and treating delirium is by Joseph Francis, Jr., and was last updated May 28, 2024. The Jr. stays in the Works Cited entry, after the first name. It doesn't appear in the in-text citation.

  • In-text citation(Francis)
  • Narrative citationFrancis notes that …

An UpToDate topic with three authors, from a search link

Opened from an UpToDate search, this heart failure topic's link ended in ?search=heart%20failure&source=search_result. That tail is dropped, leaving the clean topic address. The topic was last updated September 3, 2026. With three authors, MLA names only the first, then et al.

  • In-text citation(Colucci et al.)
  • Narrative citationAccording to Colucci et al., …

In-text citations

An MLA 9 in-text citation for an UpToDate topic gives the authors' last names. UpToDate topics have no page numbers, so there's nothing after the name, and MLA doesn't want you to count paragraphs.

  • One author: (Francis). A suffix like Jr. never appears in the text.
  • Two authors: both last names joined by and: (Trautner and Gupta)
  • Three or more authors: the first author and et al.: (Colucci et al.)
  • Name in your sentence: no parenthetical is needed: Trautner and Gupta describe how hospitals can prevent these infections.

To point to one part of a long topic, name the section in your sentence: In the prevention section of their UpToDate topic, Trautner and Gupta … The database's name stays in italics in your sentences, just as it is in the entry.

Common mistakes

  • Trautner, B. W., & Gupta, K. (2024). Catheter-associated urinary tract infection in adults. UpToDate. Retrieved October 21, 2026, from https://www.uptodate.com/…Trautner, Barbara W., and Kalpana Gupta. "Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection in Adults." UpToDate, 22 Nov. 2024, www.uptodate.com/…. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.That's APA. MLA spells out first names, puts the title in quotation marks and title case, moves the date after UpToDate, and ends with Accessed and the date.
  • UpToDate, Sept. 2026,UpToDate, 22 Nov. 2024,September 2026 is the "Literature review current through" date. The entry uses the date the topic was last updated, which here is 22 Nov. 2024.
  • Trautner, Barbara W., et al. "Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection in Adults."Trautner, Barbara W., and Kalpana Gupta. "Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection in Adults."Khalil Ghanem and Allyson Bloom are the topic's section editor and deputy editor, not authors. With the editors left out, there are two authors, and two authors are both named.
  • Trautner, Barbara W., MD, PhD, and Kalpana Gupta, MD, MPH.Trautner, Barbara W., and Kalpana Gupta.Leave degrees and credentials out of the author's name, even though UpToDate prints them after each name.
  • https://www.uptodate.com/contents/heart-failure-clinical-manifestations-and-diagnosis-in-adults?search=heart%20failure&source=search_resultwww.uptodate.com/contents/heart-failure-clinical-manifestations-and-diagnosis-in-adults.Everything after the question mark is your search session, not the topic. Cut it, drop the https://, and swap a school or library address for www.uptodate.com so the link works for your reader.
  • "Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection in Adults." UpToDate, Wolters Kluwer, 22 Nov. 2024,"Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection in Adults." UpToDate, 22 Nov. 2024,UpToDate is the container, so it goes in italics. It's made by UpToDate, Inc., which is essentially the site's own name, so MLA doesn't add a publisher.

Quick checklist

  • Authors only, full first names, no section or deputy editors, no credentials
  • Topic title in quotation marks and title case
  • UpToDate in italics, in the entry and in your sentences
  • The full date from "This topic last updated," day, month, year
  • A clean www.uptodate.com/contents/ URL without https:// or a search code
  • Accessed and the date you read it, at the end

Questions students ask

Which date do I use for an UpToDate article?

The date in "This topic last updated," written day, month, year (22 Nov. 2024). Ignore "Literature review current through," which only tells you when UpToDate last searched the research. The date you read the topic goes at the end, after Accessed.

Do I need an access date for UpToDate in MLA?

MLA makes access dates optional, but the MLA Style Center calls them especially useful for online works that may change, and UpToDate topics change all the time without keeping old versions. The access date tells your reader which version you read, so include it.

Do I include the section editor and deputy editor?

No. The people listed as Author or Authors wrote the topic, and they're the ones your entry names. The editors oversee the topic, and MLA adds other contributors only when their role matters to your paper.

What URL do I use if I got to UpToDate through my school?

Use the public address, www.uptodate.com/contents/ followed by the topic's name, so the link works for anyone. Replace your school's part of the address, and cut everything from the question mark on.

Is UpToDate a journal?

No, it's a clinical database. Its topics exist only inside UpToDate, which is why UpToDate goes in the entry as the container, in italics, where a journal name would go for an article.

Can I cite UpToDate in a nursing paper?

Many nursing programs accept it for clinical background. Some instructors want primary research or peer-reviewed articles for an evidence-based practice paper, so check your rubric. A good move is to cite UpToDate for the overview and the studies it summarizes for your evidence.

Rules checked against the MLA Handbook (9th ed.), chapter 5 (the core elements: authors, titles, containers, publishers, dates, locations, and the optional access date) and chapter 6 (in-text citations for works without page numbers), and the MLA Style Center. The MLA has published no UpToDate example; the entry applies the core elements, with UpToDate as the container. Example topics are the APA guide's verified sources, checked on each UpToDate topic's own data (author list, editors, and the "This topic last updated" date) on October 21, 2026, which is also the access date given. UpToDate, Inc. as the company that makes UpToDate checked against its Wikipedia entry (a company in Wolters Kluwer's Health division); the publisher rule and the italics for site names in prose checked on the MLA Style Center (citing social media; the italicization of names like Facebook).

PERRLA builds the UpToDate entry from the topic's link, with the authors, the quotation marks, and the access date in place.

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