Bibliometric Analysis of Pakistani Medical Journals Evidenced Exponential Growth of Coronavirus Disease–Related Publications

Since 2019, the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has transformed into a global pandemic, and studies on COVID-19 are crucial in finding solutions to deal with the pandemic. The objective of this study is to present a bibliometric analysis of COVID-19–related literature published in Pakistani medical journals. In this study, the PakMediNet database was searched for COVID-19–related literature on February 11, 2022. The required bibliometric data of each publication were documented in Microsoft Excel. About 67% of the 480 articles found were original articles, among which the vast majority (99%) were published in 2021 and 2022. Hamzaullah Khan, Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences, and the National University of Medical Sciences were the most prolific author, journal, and institution, respectively. The most cited publication received 491 citations. Psychology and public health were the most preferred subjects. Pakistani medical journals have published a significant number of publications on COVID-19. However, international contributions and citations of these publications were low. © 2023 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Research on COVID-19 and its influence on Latin American medical journals impact factor.

INTRODUCTION: The arrival of the pandemic caused by coronavirus disease (COVID-19) exponentially increased scientific production. OBJECTIVE: To analyze the influence of COVID-19-related scientific production on the impact factor values of Latin American medical journals. METHODS: Journals related to the Medicine categories included in Journal Citation Reports (JCR) were used. Impact factor data from the 2020 and 2021 editions were used to compare the citations received by documents related to COVID-19. RESULTS: A decrease in the impact factor values of the evaluated journals was observed when the citations received by works related to COVID-19 were eliminated. CONCLUSIONS: The volume of information published on COVID-19 and the citations received influenced the impact increase in 2021 JCR.

INTRODUCCIÓN: La llegada de la pandemia de la enfermedad por coronavirus (COVID-19) incrementó exponencialmente la producción científica. OBJETIVO: Analizar la influencia de la producción científica acerca de COVID-19 en los valores del factor de impacto de revistas médicas latinoamericanas. MÉTODOS: Se emplearon las revistas de categorías relacionadas con la medicina del Journal Citation Reports (JCR). Se utilizaron los datos del factor del impacto de las ediciones de 2020 y 2021 para establecer una comparación respecto a las citas recibidas por los documentos relativos a COVID-19. RESULTADOS: Se observó un descenso en los valores del factor de impacto de las revistas evaluadas cuando se eliminan las citas recibidas por los documentos relativos a COVID-19. CONCLUSIONES: El volumen de la información publicada sobre COVID-19 y las citas recibidas influyeron en el aumento del impacto en el JCR de 2021.

Research on COVID-19 and its influence on Latin American medical journals impact factor / Investigaciones sobre COVID-19 y su influencia en el factor de impacto de las revistas médicas latinoamericanas

Resumen Introducción: La llegada de la pandemia de la enfermedad por coronavirus (COVID-19) incrementó exponencialmente la producción científica. Objetivo: Analizar la influencia de la producción científica acerca de COVID-19 en los valores del factor de impacto de revistas médicas latinoamericanas. Métodos: Se emplearon las revistas de categorías relacionadas con la medicina del Journal Citation Reports (JCR). Se utilizaron los datos del factor del impacto de las ediciones de 2020 y 2021 para establecer una comparación respecto a las citas recibidas por los documentos relativos a COVID-19. Resultados: Se observó un descenso en los valores del factor de impacto de las revistas evaluadas cuando se eliminan las citas recibidas por los documentos relativos a COVID-19. Conclusiones: El volumen de la información publicada sobre COVID-19 y las citas recibidas influyeron en el aumento del impacto en el JCR de 2021.

Abstract Introduction: The arrival of the pandemic caused by coronavirus disease (COVID-19) exponentially increased scientific production. Objective: To analyze the influence of COVID-19-related scientific production on the impact factor values of Latin American medical journals. Methods: Journals related to the Medicine categories included in Journal Citation Reports (JCR) were used. Impact factor data from the 2020 and 2021 editions were used to compare the citations received by documents related to COVID-19. Results: A decrease in the impact factor values of the evaluated journals was observed when the citations received by works related to COVID-19 were eliminated. Conclusions: The volume of information published on COVID-19 and the citations received influenced the impact increase in 2021 JCR.

Reading habits of medical practitioners: Young doctors in Pakistan, a case study.

Objective: This study attempted to investigate the reading preferences and habits among young Pakistani medical doctors. The reading time, preferred source of information, preferred medical journals, and ways of reading medical journals were explored. Methods: A survey approach was used for data collection. The study participants were young medical professionals in Pakistan. An online survey was sent to more than 300 individuals through various physicians and their professional groups/bodies. A total of 155 responded to the questionnaire, and 128 of the questionnaires were considered worthy of data analysis. Results: Among respondents, 40% read printed journals, 49% read online journals, 60% read case reports, and 55% read newspapers for 1-5 h per week. Continuing medical education was the preferred source of information, and the Pakistan Journal of Cardiology & Thoracic Surgery was the preferred medical journal. Reading the abstract and the conclusion was the preferred way of reading journal articles. Conclusion: Young physicians are enthusiastic in participating in research activities and spending time gaining updated information. Physicians read articles methodically. Online sources of information are preferred over printed sources.

Covid-19 refereeing duration and impact in major medical journals

Two partly conflicting academic pressures from the seriousness of the Covid-19 pandemic are the need for faster peer review of Covid-19 health-related research and greater scrutiny of its findings. This paper investigates whether decreases in peer review durations for Covid-19 articles were universal across 97 major medical journals, as well as Nature, Science, and Cell. The results suggest that on average, Covid-19 articles submitted during 2020 were reviewed 1.7-2.1 times faster than non-Covid-19 articles submitted during 2017-2020. Nevertheless, while the review speed of Covid-19 research was particularly fast during the first 5 months (1.9-3.4 times faster) of the pandemic (January-May 2020), this speed advantage was no longer evident for articles submitted in November-December 2020. Faster peer review was also associated with higher citation impact for Covid-19 articles in the same journals, suggesting it did not usually compromise the scholarly impact of important Covid-19 research. Overall, then, it seems that core medical and general journals responded quickly but carefully to the pandemic, although the situation returned closer to normal within a year.

Seven decades of Ramadan intermittent fasting research: Bibliometrics analysis, global trends, and future directions.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: There is a large body of research focused on various aspects related to Ramadan intermittent fasting (RIF) and human health and disease. This study aimed to quantify the bibliometric data of RIF medical research over the past seven decades and explore these variables qualitatively via text mining analysis. METHODS: We used the Scopus search engine to identify published articles related to RIF from inception to December 31, 2021. All types of research articles were included. Scientometric and bibliometric measures were determined using Excel, Biblioshiny, and VOSviewer. This study proposed a bibliometric and text mining method to qualitatively and quantitatively recognize the RIF research trend. RESULTS: The Scopus search returned 1915 relevant articles. Most citations pertained to publications from the last two decades, and most publications were original research articles. These publications had received around 27,000 citations, and the 20 most prolific publishing journals had an average h-index of 112.25. More than one-third of all medical publications were in open-access journals. There was a 13-fold increase in medical research on RIF over the past few decades. We identified the 10 most prolific publishing countries, institutes, journals, and authors. We also identified five scientific hotspots of RIF scientific literature, which were: diabetes, metabolic health, public health, physiology, and maternity. CONCLUSION: This is the first comprehensive bibliometric analysis of medical research related to RIF. The research gaps identified will shape future research directions and foster collaborative research activities toward enhanced medical nutrition research revolving around RIF.

Metrics of Scientific production about COVID-19 in Cuban medical journals to 90 days of the pandemic

The National Medical Sciences Information Center and its Publishing House should follow up the behavior of the national scientific production as a basis for decision making. The present bibliometric study was designed to fulfill this task. The purpose of the study was to characterize the behavior of the scientific production about COVID-19 published in Cuban medical journals from 11 March to 11 June 2020. The sample was 106 documents about COVID-19 published during the period, which were analyzed with the methods used in metric studies of information. Bibliometric indicators of output, collaboration and impact were applied. In bibliometric terms, scientific communication about COVID-19 in Cuban medical journals was characterized by a gradual increase in the number of studies. Cuban institutions and their researchers showed a high degree of leadership in research and scientific communication processes. The strategies designed to manage scientific publications in the time of the pandemic exhibited positive results. A tendency was observed toward scientific collaboration, wherein universities stood out for their productivity. Outstanding actions include the establishment of multisectoral institutional alliances, as well as studies conducted by specialists from various fields which obtained results of a high scientific value, validating the leadership of Cuba in research about COVID-19, despite the economic and political situation in the region. © 2021, Centro Nacional de Informacion de Ciencias Medicas. All rights reserved.

The Decline of the Experimental Paradigm During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Template for the Future.

The current Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has exerted an unprecedented impact across the globe. As a consequence of this overwhelming catastrophe, long-established prevailing medical and scientific paradigms have been disrupted. The response of the scientific community, medical journals, media, and some politicians has been far from ideal. The present manuscript discusses the failure of the scientific enterprise in its initiatives to address the COVID-19 outbreak as a consequence of the disarray attributable to haste and urgency. To enhance conveying our message, this manuscript is organized into 3 interrelated sections: 1) the accelerated pace of publications coupled with a dysfunctional review process; 2) failure of the clinical trial enterprise; 3) propagation of misleading information by the media. In response we propose a template comprising a focus on randomized controlled clinical trials, and an insistence on responsible journal publication, and enumeration of policies to deal with social media-propagated news. We conclude with a reconsideration of the appropriate role of academic medicine and journals.