Abstract
BackgroundUnited States anesthesia research production declined sharply from 1980-2005. Whether this trend has continued despite recent calls to improve output is unknown. We conducted an observational internet analysis to quantify American basic science and clinical anesthesia research output in 14 anesthesia journals with impact factors greater than one at three-year intervals during the past decade.ResultsAmerican investigators published 1,486 (21.7%) of the total of 6,845 research articles identified in anesthesia journals in 2001, 2004, 2007, and 2010. Approximately two-thirds of all US articles were published in Anesthesiology and Anesthesia and Analgesia. There was a significant correlation (r2 = 0.316; P = 0.036) between the number of articles published by American authors in each anesthesia journal and the corresponding journal's impact factor in 2010. Significantly (P < 0.05; Pearson's Chi-square) fewer basic science articles were published in 2007 and 2010 compared with 2001. US clinical research output also declined in 2007 (201; 15.7%) compared with 2001 (266; 19.1%) and 2004, but an increase occurred in 2010 (279; 21.8%, P < 0.05 versus 2007).ConclusionsThe results indicate that US anesthesia research output continued to decrease from 2001 to 2007. An increase in clinical but not basic science research was observed in 2010 compared with 2007, suggesting that a modest recovery in clinical research production may have begun.
Highlights
United States anesthesia research production declined sharply from 1980-2005
The total number of articles published in all 14 journals decreased modestly from 2001 (1,817) to 2010 (1,580); a decline in the number of articles appearing in Anesthesiology and Anesthesia and Analgesia was primarily responsible for this observation (Table 1)
Two-thirds of all United States (US) articles were published in Anesthesiology and Anesthesia and Analgesia, whereas American authors infrequently published their work in Anaesthesia, Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, and the European Journal of Anaesthesiology
Summary
United States anesthesia research production declined sharply from 1980-2005. Whether this trend has continued despite recent calls to improve output is unknown. In 2003, Szokol et al reported that the percentage of total basic science and clinical research papers published by American authors in Anesthesiology, Anesthesia and Analgesia, and Pain had decreased substantially between 1980 and 2000 [1]. These data reflected earlier observations of declining United States (US) production in other medical specialties [2,3,4]. Greater clinical commitments and proportionally less research activity because of personnel shortages, expanding services within and outside the operating room, and decreasing reimbursement most likely played important roles in the declining number of US papers, as did a progressive increase in the quality of research submissions from other countries
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