H-index is a sensitive indicator of academic activity in highly productive anaesthesiologists: results of a bibliometric analysis.

BACKGROUND: H-index distinguishes differences in scholarly output across faculty ranks in anaesthesiologists, but whether h-index also identifies differences in other aspects of productivity is unknown. We tested the hypothesis that h-index is an indicator of not only publication record, but also grant funding and mentoring in highly productive US academic anaesthesiologists. METHODS: We conducted an internet analysis of the Foundation for Anesthesia Education and Research Academy of Research Mentors in Anesthesiology (n = 43). Publications, citations, citations per publication, and h-index for each investigator were obtained using the Scopus(®) . Total grants, active grants, years of funding, and duration of longest funded grant were recorded using the US National Institutes of Health Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools(®) . Members were surveyed to identify the number of their career trainees and those who obtained independent funding. RESULTS: The median [IRQ (Interquartile range)] h-index of members was 23 [17-32 (8-50)]. Members published 136 [100-225 (39-461)] papers with 3573 [1832-5090 (150-11,601)] citations and 21 [15-32 (4-59)] citations per publication. Members received four [3-7 (0-10)] grants and were funded for 29 [17-45 (0-115)] grant-years. Survey respondents (79%) mentored 40 [26-69 (15-191)] trainees, three [2-6 (0-20)] of which subsequently received funding. Members with h-indices greater than the median had more publications, citations, citations per publication, grants, and years of funding compared with their counterparts. H-index was associated with total citations, active grants, and the number of trainees. CONCLUSIONS: In addition to publication record, h-index sensitively indicates grant funding and mentoring in highly productive US academic anaesthesiologists.

An analysis of scholarly productivity in United States academic anaesthesiologists by citation bibliometrics.

The h-index is used to evaluate scholarly productivity in academic medicine, but has not been extensively used in anaesthesia. We analysed the publications, citations, citations per publication and h-index from 1996 to date using the Scopus(®) database for 1630 (1120 men, 510 women) for faculty members from 24 randomly selected US academic anaesthesiology departments The median (interquartile range [range]) h-index of US academic anaesthesiologists was 1 [0-5 (0-44)] with 3 [0-18 (0-398)] total publications, 24 [0-187 (0-8515)] total citations, and 5 [0-14 (0-252)] citations per publication. Faculty members in departments with National Institutes of Health funding were more productive than colleagues in departments with little or no government funding. The h-index increased significantly between successive academic ranks concomitant with increases in the number of publications and total citations. Men had higher median h-index than women concomitant with more publications and citations, but the number of citations per publication was similar between groups. Our results suggest that h-index is a reasonable indicator of scholarly productivity in anaesthesia. The results may help comparisons of academic productivity across countries and may be used to assess whether new initiatives designed to reverse recent declines in academic anaesthetic are working. You can respond to this article at http://www.anaesthesiacorrespondence.com.

Bibliometric analysis of anaesthesia journal editorial board members: correlation between journal impact factor and the median h-index of its board members.

BACKGROUND: h-index is useful for quantifying scholarly activity in medicine, but this statistic has not been extensively applied as a measure of productivity in anaesthesia. We conducted a bibliometric analysis of h-index in editorial board members and tested the hypothesis that editorial board members of anaesthesia journals with higher impact factors (IFs) have higher h-indices. METHODS: Ten of 19 journals with 2009 IF>1 were randomly chosen from Journal Citation Reports(®). Board members were identified using each journal's website. Publications, citations, citations per publication, and h-index for each member were obtained using Scopus(®). RESULTS: Four hundred and twenty-three individuals filled 481 anaesthesia editorial board positions. The median h-index of all editorial board members was 14. Board members published 75 papers (median) with 1006 citations and 13 citations per publication. Members serving on journals with IF greater than median had significantly (P<0.05; Wilcoxon's rank-sum test) greater median h-index, citations, and citations per publication than those at journals with IF less than median. A significant correlation between the median h-index of a journal's editorial board members and its IF (h-index=3.01×IF+6.85; r( 2)=0.452; P=0.033) was observed for the 10 journals examined. Board members of subspeciality-specific journals had bibliometric indices that were less than those at general journals. The h-index was greater in individuals serving more than one journal. European editorial board members had higher h-index values than their American colleagues. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that editorial board members of anaesthesia journals with higher IFs have higher h-indices.

Ketamine attenuates post-operative cognitive dysfunction after cardiac surgery.

BACKGROUND: Post-operative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) commonly occurs after cardiac surgery. Ketamine exerts neuroprotective effects after cerebral ischemia by anti-excitotoxic and anti-inflammatory mechanisms. We hypothesized that ketamine attenuates POCD in patients undergoing cardiac surgery concomitant with an anti-inflammatory effect. METHODS: Patients randomly received placebo (0.9% saline; n=26) or an i.v. bolus of ketamine (0.5 mg/kg; n=26) during anesthetic induction. Anesthesia was maintained with isoflurane and fentanyl. A nonsurgical group (n=26) was also included as control. Recent verbal and nonverbal memory and executive functions were assessed before and 1 week after surgery or a 1-week waiting period for the nonsurgical controls. Serum C-reactive protein (CRP) concentrations were determined before surgery and on the first post-operative day. RESULTS: Baseline neurocognitive and depression scores were similar in the placebo, ketamine, and nonsurgical control groups. Cognitive performance after surgery decreased by at least 2 SDs (z-score of 1.96) in 21 patients in the placebo group and only in seven patients in the ketamine group compared with the nonsurgical controls (P<0.001, Fisher's exact test). Cognitive performance was also significantly different between the placebo- and the ketamine-treated groups based on all z-scores (P<0.001, Mann-Whitney U-test). Pre-operative CRP concentrations were similar (P<0.33, Mann-Whitney U-test) in the placebo- and ketamine-treated groups. The post-operative CRP concentration was significantly (P<0.01, Mann-Whitney U-test) lower in the ketamine-treated than in the placebo-treated group. CONCLUSIONS: Ketamine attenuates POCD 1 week after cardiac surgery and this effect may be related to the anti-inflammatory action of the drug.

Relationship between relaxation by guided imagery and performance of working memory.

This study tested the hypothesis that relaxation by guided imagery improves working-memory performance of healthy participants. 30 volunteers (both sexes, ages 17-56 years) were randomly assigned to one of three groups and administered the WAIS-III Letter-Number Sequencing Test before and after 10-min. treatment with guided imagery or popular music. The control group received no treatment. Groups' test scores were not different before treatment. The mean increased after relaxation by guided imagery but not after music or no treatment. This result supports the hypothesis that working-memory scores on the test are enhanced by guided imagery and implies that human information processing may be enhanced by prior relaxation.