Abstract
BackgroundSurgical publication activity in the English literature over a 10‐year interval may have changed. This study sought to identify which countries make the most contributions and whether significant shifts have occurred in this time.MethodsScreening of 17 international journals in PubMed was performed for the time periods 2006–2007 and 2016–2017, for papers published by a first author belonging to a general surgical department. Data were collected by country regarding the total number of publications, cumulative impact factors (IFs), publications per inhabitant, IFs per inhabitant, and number of RCTs, meta‐analyses and systematic reviews per country in both periods.ResultsA total of 2247 and 3029 papers were found for 2006–2007 and 2016–2017 respectively. In 2006–2007, most papers (605, 26·9 per cent; 2697·3 IFs) came from the USA, followed by Japan (284, 12·6 per cent; 1042·1 IFs) and the UK (197, 8·8 per cent; 923·1 IFs). In 2016–2017, the USA led again with 898 papers (29·6 per cent; 4575·3 IFs), followed by Japan with 414 papers (13·7 per cent; 1556·6 IFs) and the Netherlands with 167 (5·5 per cent; 885·2 IFs). From the top 15 countries, Sweden, the Netherlands and Switzerland contributed the most articles per inhabitant during both time periods. During both periods, the UK published the most RCTs, meta‐analyses and systematic reviews.ConclusionSurgeons from the USA were the most productive in total number of publications during both time periods. However, smaller European countries were more active than the USA in relation to their population size.
Highlights
The present study looked at publication activity in clinical general surgery by screening a sample of English-language journals over an interval of 10 years
The selection of journals was based on the following characteristics: journals should cover a broad range of general surgical topics, a 5-year impact factors (IFs) for 2007 and 2017 should be available, and editorial boards should originate from different countries
The total number of papers included in this analysis increased from 2006–2007 to 2016–2017 by 34⋅8 per cent, the number of publications in these three journals decreased by 46 per cent. This bibliometric analysis describes the international publication activity in general surgery over an interval of 10 years. The authors oriented their definition of general surgery according to the surgical section of the European Union of Medical Specialists, represented by the national professional and scientific associations in 26 European countries[9,10]
Summary
The present study looked at publication activity in clinical general surgery by screening a sample of English-language journals over an interval of 10 years The aims of this analysis were to check which countries published the most articles in these journals and to compare their activity in both time periods. The cumulative total of impact factors (IFs) was analysed per country, reflecting the number of articles published, on the basis that IFs may be some indication of publication quality and scientific contribution. These analyses identified which countries contributed the greatest scientific volume and where the most important articles were generated. Smaller European countries were more active than the USA in relation to their population size
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
