Global status of acute pancreatitis research in the last 20 years: A bibliometric study

Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a common digestive disease encountered in Emergency Departments that carries a heavy socioeconomic burden. This study was conducted to determine the global status of AP research. Articles related to AP published in 1999 to 2018 were retrieved from the Web of Science (WOS) database and the 20 highest-output countries or regions were determined based on the total number of publications. Correlation analysis of AP research output and the gross domestic product (GDP) of each country or region was conducted. The quantity and quality of research of these 20 highest-output countries were compared to the total output, outputs per capita, and average impact factor (IF). All annual data were analyzed using time-trend analysis. A keyword co-occurrence analysis was conducted to determine the highlights in AP research. In total, 17,698 publications were retrieved, and 16,461 papers (93.0%) of them were from the 20 highest-output countries. A significantly positive correlation was identified between AP research output and the GDP (R = 0.973, P < .001). The 5 highest-output countries were the USA (24.9%), China (12.3%), Germany (7.5%), Japan (6.7%), and the UK (6.1%). Finland ranked 1st in the number of publication per capita, the USA had the highest accumulated IF (25,432.758) and total citations (104,592), Switzerland had the highest average IF (6.723), and Netherland had the highest average citations (51.90). Genetic research and AP-related hyperglycemia were research highlights. Analysis of the global output of research of AP research showed signs of growth. Research output was positively correlated with GDP. For the most productive countries, research quality was stable. Although developing countries lagged behind in output per capita and quality, great progress has been made in the past 2 decades.

Global trends of ERCP research in the last 25 years: A bibliometrics study

PURPOSE

Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) has been used in clinical practice for over 50 years. This study aims to investigate the current state of research in the field of ERCP.

METHODS

Web of Science database was searched using the term "ERCP" for articles published between 1994 and 2018. The total number of articles from the top 20 countries with the most published articles was determined. The top 5 countries were compared in terms of output per capita, number of articles published in top journals, cumulative impact factor (IF), and average IF. All annual data were subjected to time-trend analysis. The frequently used terms in the titles and abstracts of all articles were retrieved to conduct co-occurrence analysis to determine the research focus of ERCP.

RESULTS

A total of 9960 articles on ERCP were published between 1994 and 2018, of which 8778 articles were from the top 20 producing countries. There was a significant positive correlation between the output and GDP of each country (R = 0.870, P = .001). The United States of America (USA), Japan, Germany, Italy, and China were the top 5 producing countries with 3190 (32.0%), 868 (8.7%), 658 (6.6%), 512 (5.1%) and 488 (4.9%) articles published, respectively. The USA, Japan, Italy, and China were trending upwards in the total outputs and outputs per capita, while Germany were trending downwards. For average IF, Germany had a downwards trend, while the other 4 countries remained stable. Overall, the USA had the highest output per capita (97.5/10 million) and the highest average IF (6.454). China had the lowest output per capita (3.5/10 million) and average IF (3.125). The ERCP procedures for sphincter of Oddi dysfunction, the combination of ERCP, and laparoscopic cholecystectomy have been the research focus of ERCP.

CONCLUSIONS

Except for Germany, research on ERCP will continue to increase in the top-producing countries. The outputs per capita and quality of articles from developed countries are higher than those from developing countries.

Global research status of gastroenterology and hepatology: A bibliometrics study

BACKGROUND

There are no reports on global research status of gastroenterology and hepatology (GI). This study was conducted to reveal the current global research status and trends in GI.

METHODS

Articles published during 2009 to 2018 in international GI journals were retrieved from the PubMed database. The top 20 countries by output were determined. The gross domestic product (GDP) of each country was also retrieved to figure out the correlation between outputs in GI and economy. The 5 highest-ranking countries were compared in the number of total articles, articles per capita, articles published in top journals, the accumulated impact factor (IF), and average IF. Total articles and articles per capita of the 5 countries were conducted time-trend analysis. The frequently-used terms in titles and abstracts of articles published in 2009 and 2018 were retrieved to conduct co-occurrence analysis to figure out the change of research highlights in GI.

RESULTS

A total of 120,267 articles were included, of which 116,485 articles were from 20 highest-output countries. There was a positive correlation between output and GDP (r = 0.921, P < .001). The USA, Japan, China, Italy, and the UK were the 5 highest-ranking countries. The USA was the largest contributor with 26,215 articles, accounting for 17.4% of the total, but with no significant increasing trend (P = .122). Other 4 countries all showed increasing trends (all P < .001). For articles per capita, Italy ranked 1st among the 5 countries with 1591.0 articles per 10 million. The USA showed a decreasing trend (P = .026), other 4 countries all showed increasing trends (all P < .001). The UK had the highest average IF (6.685). For change of research highlights, it is more inclined to research of endoscopy, inflammatory bowel diseases, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

CONCLUSION

It is delightful that the global research output in GI field would be continuingly increased as the major highest-output countries showed increasing trends. However, the developing countries fell behind both in quantity and quality when compared with developed countries.