A scientometric analysis of dermoscopy literature over the past 25 years

Background Dermoscopy is a useful method allowing the non‐invasive visualization of dermal and epidermal structures. Objective To determine the scientific output in dermoscopy between 1985 and 2009 using ISI Web of Knowledge. Methods The ISI Web of Knowledge was searched for articles on dermoscopy published between 1985 and 2009 using appropriate terms. Articles were characterized each year by publication type and journal type. Results The search yielded 1490 dermoscopy publications, of which 1198 (80%) appeared in dermatology journals. A cubic increase in the number of publications over time was observed (R² = 95.3%, P < 0.0001). Most of these publications were published in high‐impact dermatologic journals, including Archives of Dermatology (209, 14%), Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology (161, 10.8%) and British Journal of Dermatology (113, 7.6%). Italy produced 29% of all articles followed by the United States with 22% and Austria with 15%. The number of dermoscopy publications associated with a given country correlated with melanoma incidence and Growth Domestic Product (GDP) per capita of that country (r = 0517 P = 0.02, and r = 0486 P = 0.03 respectively). Conclusion The number of scientific publications in the field of dermoscopy has increased significantly over the past 25 years. Italy, the United States and Austria have dominated the field of dermoscopy.     

Decline of dermatological publications in the UK: truth or myth?

Background. For some time, there has been a suspicion that the number of articles published by UK-based authors in dermatology has declined. This probably reflects a reduction in the publication output of dermatology departments generally. Methods. We identified articles with British authorship in the British Journal of Dermatology between 1970 and the present date, and compared the journal with the three most commonly cited dermatological journals: Archives of Dermatology, Journal of Investigative Dermatology and Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. Later, we expanded this search to include a further 33 dermatological journals. Results. Despite an increase in the total number of published papers by the British Journal of Dermatology, there was a decline in the number of British-authored papers, from 97 (57%) in 1970 to 80 (22%) in 2005. The trend was also seen in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, with 16 papers (5%) in 1989 and 7 (2%) in 2005. In Journal of Investigative Dermatology, British papers increased from 10 papers in 1975 to 17 in 2005, with a percentage decrease from 7% to 4%. Overall, despite an increase in the total number of publications in dermatological journals from 2745 in 1985–5034 in 2005, British publications increased from 271 in 1989 to only 289 in 2005, which represents a percentage decrease from 10% to 6%. Conclusions. Despite a three-fold increase in dermatology consultants and registrars in UK, a three-fold increase in dermatological journals and a four-fold increase in dermatological papers published, the overall number of British papers has remained static over the years.     

Onset of Lichen Planus During Treatment with Etanercept

Background: There is a continually increasing amount of medical literature, which makes the challenge of keeping up to date in the field of dermatology increasingly difficult. Objective: To test the hypothesis that the total number and the number in various categories of publications in pediatric and adult dermatology have increased over time in a linear fashion. Methods: We evaluated all MEDLINE articles from 1 January 1993 to 31 December 2007. We limited the search to ‘skin’ AND ‘diseases’ OR ‘dermatology’ for adults and children. We used regression analysis to determine the effect of the year of publication on the number of publications of each type. Results: MEDLINE reported 17 925 publications in adult dermatology and 9011 publications in pediatric dermatology during the evaluation period. There was a significant linear increase in the number of publications over the study period in both categories. There was a steady and similar increase over time in both pediatric and adult dermatology in total publications, randomized controlled trials, clinical trials, case reports, and letters to the editor, while there were too few meta-analyses, editorials, and clinical guidelines to make meaningful analyses of trends. Conclusions: The fields of pediatric and adult dermatology have had a significant yearly increase in studies providing a high level of scientific evidence with a much slower rise in the number of articles providing a lower level of evidence.     

Investigación clínica en dermatología y venereología de centros e instituciones españolas, 2005-2014. Resultados del estudio MaINDH

Background and objective

Bibliometric indicators provide a useful measure of the number of clinical research articles published in scientific journals and their quality. This study aimed to assess the amount and quality of research carried out in Spanish dermatology centers and to describe the research topics.

2003-2012年中国大陆作者在SCI收录皮肤科期刊上发表的论文分析

目的:系统分析2003-2012年中国大陆作者在皮肤科SCI期刊上发表论文的情况.方法:以美国科学信息研究所发行的期刊引证报告为依据,在"Web of ScienceTM Core Collection"数据库中检索2003-2012年我国大陆学者以第一作者身份在皮肤科SCI期刊上发表论文,统计论文文献类型、第一作者单位分布、期刊分布、被引情况等.结果:2003-2012年,中国大陆学者在皮肤科SCI期刊上发表文献量自32篇增至658篇,呈持续上升趋势,年均增长39.92%,剔除会议摘要和更正后,年均增长26.10%;通信类文章增长最快(约18倍),论著仅增长约5倍.文献类型以论著(43.0%,963/2237)、会议摘要(38.0%,851/2237)和通信(15.5%,347/2237)为主.其中,综述、论著篇均被引频次和被引率均较高,会议摘要最低;高被引论文中基础研究比例略高于临床研究.大部分论文发表于Q2区(39.2%,877/2237)和Q1区(38.8%,868/2237)皮肤科SCI杂志.其间发表皮肤科SCI文章数最多的5个省(直辖市)依次是北京、江苏、上海、安徽、陕西.结论:2003-2012年,中国大陆作者在皮肤科SCI期刊发表论文数呈迅速增长趋势,文献类型以论著和通信为主,主要分布于Q2区和Q1区杂志.     

Valoración del impacto científico de las comunicaciones presentadas en el Congreso Nacional de Dermatología y Venereología (años 2000-2003)

IntroductionThe percentage of presentations at congresses that are later published is a measure of the scientific impact of these meetings. Our objective was to investigate how many studies presented in four Spanish national conferences (2000-2003) had been published in Spanish and international biomedical and dermatology journals, with or without an impact factor.Material and methodsA search for publications in international indexed journals (using PubMed) or publications in unindexed Spanish journals (using Dermabase/Índice Médico Español) was undertaken by the name of first author, the first and last author, and the key words of the article.ResultsOf a total of 1,471 scientific presentations, only 200 (13.5 %) were published (118 in Spanish journals and 82 in international ones); that is, 1,271 studies (86.5 %) were not published either in a Spanish or an international journal.ConclusionsWe found a low impact in terms of the publication rate for abstracts presented in 4 consecutive Spanish National Dermatology and Venereology Congresses compared to the rate of publication for other dermatology meetings such as the British Association of Dermatologists Annual Meeting.     

Prospective protocol registration should be required for systematic reviews in dermatology literature

Recently, the authors of this study undertook a systematic review, and during the data collection phase, a systematic review was published on the same topic, despite not being registered on Prospective Registration of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO). As a result we sought to perform an evidence-based review of the dermatology literature evaluating PROSPERO registration for published systematic reviews. Prospective systematic review protocol registration can help optimize resources, time, and the efforts of research teams rather than committing unplanned duplication. Our data on journals’ author guidelines showed that although 38.8% of journals mentioned systematic reviews in their author guidelines, only 2.5% (n = 2) required PROSPERO registration. Further analysis revealed that only 13.7% (n = 204 of 1,492) of published systematic reviews in dermatology literature were registered in PROSPERO. Our study highlights the paucity of PROSPERO-registered systematic reviews in dermatology journals, as well as the need to require prospective protocol registration and require submission of a Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses checklist. We believe these measures will ultimately improve the quality of systematic reviews in dermatology literature.     

From basic research to biological treatments: psoriasis publications over the past 15 years

In the past few decades, great progress has been made in psoriasis research, culminating with the development of new, biological treatments. We designed this study to test the hypothesis that there is a linear increase in psoriasis publications over time. We evaluated all PubMed articles from 1 January 1993 to 31 December 2007. We categorized the search into basic science, traditional therapy and new biological treatments. We used regression analysis to determine the effect of year of publication upon number of publications of each type. There was a significant quadratic increase in the number of all types of psoriasis publications, with basic science-related publications being greatest, followed by relevant clinical publications. We conclude that better understanding of psoriasis immunopathology has led to a significant yearly increase in clinical studies, contributing approximately 60% of studies in the entire field of dermatology reports.     

Growth of international contributors to dermatologic literature.

BACKGROUND: In the past, authors from a few countries dominated the publication of articles in dermatologic journals that were cited. The growth of dermatology in many additional countries has set the stage for a broader national representation of the authorship of the most frequently cited dermatologic articles. OBJECTIVE: To quantify changes in the number and proportion of citations and articles credited to authors from various countries from 1981 to 1996. DESIGN: We obtained a citation database from the Institute for Scientific Information, Philadelphia, Pa. From this database, we quantified the average number of articles and citations according to the year of publication, journal, and the countries from which authors came. SETTING: Dermatology journals. SUBJECTS: All articles published in 24 dermatology journals between 1981 and 1996. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Country of origin of articles and number of citations of these articles. RESULTS: Authors from 121 countries were credited in whole or in part with authorship of original articles. Ten countries accounted for 82% of all articles published as original articles and 87% of citations to these articles. From 1981 to 1996, the proportion of citations attributed to most western European except Scandinavian countries grew significantly (P<.05, t test), but the proportion credited to authors from the United States fell significantly (P<.05, t test). CONCLUSIONS: International representation of author-cited articles appearing in the dermatology literature is increasing. The growth of scholarly contributions has been especially great for authors from western Europe except Scandinavia.     

Study of platelet-rich plasma application for skin and plastic surgery in recent 20 years: A bibliometric analysis

Background

In recent years, platelet-rich plasma (PRP) has been used in plastic surgery, dermatology, and other treatment procedures worldwide. Since the number of scientific writings has been significantly increasing, it is challenging to generate a manual compilation and systematic review of PRP's therapeutic applications in dermatology and plastic surgeries. This study aimed to make a bibliometric analysis of the literature in the field and evaluate research hotspots and frontiers in this field in the past 20 years.

Methods

Using the Academic Search Premier and ScienceDirect defined search terms, we searched the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) and Scopus databases. All data were analyzed using CiteSpace 5.8.R3 and VOSviewer, including countries, institutions, authors, keywords, cited authors, cited journals, cited references, discovered research hotspots, and frontiers.

Results

A total of 1931 studies were retrieved. The number of publications on PRP application in dermatology and plastic surgeries showed a yearly increase. The United States was the most significant contributor to this field, while Italy's contribution was noteworthy. The journal with the highest number of relevant articles in dermatology and plastic surgery included the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology. However, the Wound Repair and Regeneration and International Journal of Molecular Sciences were the leading journals that should be paid attention to in the future. Author Anitua E from the Tor Vergata University of Rome published the most publications in this field. In the keyword co-occurrence analysis, all keywords were divided into six clusters, and the most common one in recent years was “PRP for facial beauty.” Facial rejuvenation, scar, and alopecia were the main hotspots and research trends in this field.

Conclusions

Based on the current global trends, the use of PRP in cosmetics and skin care is receiving increasing attention from researchers and clinicians. Recently, an increasing number of articles on PRP's application in skin tissue repair have been published in the United States and Italy. The number of studies on hair loss, facial rejuvenation, and scar management is increasing, suggesting that these subjects may become research hotspots for PRP in dermatology and cosmetic surgeries in recent years.     

Depression in patients with pemphigus: Is it a major concern?

It is suggested that some dermatological diseases due to their chronicity, impact on the body image, unlikelihood of complete recovery and frequent recurrences are one of the major predisposing factors towards depression. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the rate and level of depression among pemphigus vulgaris and pemphigus foliaceus patients, two of the most common causes of hospitalization in dermatology units. This research was conducted on 55 patients with active pemphigus vulgaris and pemphigus foliaceus referring to pemphigus clinics or admitted as inpatients to the dermatology ward of Qaem and Imam Reza hospitals, Mashhad, Iran, from April 2008 to September 2009. The research tool was the Beck Depression Inventory. Collected data was analyzed by χ²‐test Student's t‐test. Twenty‐six (47.3%) patients were female and 29 (52.7%) were male. The mean age was 42.34 ± 18.98 years. The prevalence rate of clinical depression was 28% in pemphigus vulgaris and 20% in pemphigus foliaceus cases. Depression prevalence showed no significant difference between these two groups (P = 0.873). In conclusion, pemphigus patients are at risk for mild depression.     

Top cited authors in dermatology: a citation study from 24 journals: 1982-1996

BACKGROUND: One measure of the impact of a medical article is how often it is cited in other articles. Many authors of articles published in dermatologic journals are seldom, if ever, cited while other authors are often cited. OBJECTIVE: To identify the 25 authors whose publications in the dermatology literature were most often cited. DESIGN: We obtained a citation database from the Institute for Scientific Information. From this database we separately quantified the total number of citations for each author and the total number of citations to first authors of original articles. SETTING: Dermatology journals. SUBJECTS: All authors of papers published in 24 dermatology journals between 1981 and 1996. INTERVENTION: None. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Number of citations. RESULTS: If all articles irrespective of the author's listing (eg, first or second) are counted, the top 25 cited authors in the dermatology literature from 1981 to 1996 were cited between 1480 and 4706 times. If only citations and articles of which an author was the first listed author are counted, the top 25 authors were cited between 400 and 813 times. Only 4 authors were among the top 25 cited authors by both criteria. CONCLUSIONS: A relatively small proportion of all authors account for a high proportion of all citations of the dermatologic literature. The most frequently cited first authors of original articles were different in 84% of cases from the most often cited authors of all papers irrespective of the individuals placement in the authorship listing.     

Information excess in medicine. Overview, relevance to dermatology, and strategies for coping.

BACKGROUND--The amount of biomedical information contained in scientific journals has grown to the point that complete coverage of this material is impossible. The number of articles and journals being published has been growing at an exponential rate since 1750. Thirty-four thousand references from 4000 journals are added each month to the National Library of Medicine MEDLINE database from among the more than 100,000 scientific journals now published. This increase in scientific literature reflects not greater productivity but simply a larger number of scientists at work. Most articles written are eventually published in the medical literature, but a large number of scientific articles are of less than optimal quality, and most scientific articles that are published are never cited. Articles of higher quality and usefulness cluster in a few journals that enjoy great use in medical libraries and high scores on bibliometric scores such as the Science Citation Index. OBSERVATIONS--To assess the reading habits of dermatologic trainees and evaluate how they cope with this information excess, a survey was distributed to 36 residents in three training programs. The average number of medical journal reading hours per month was 17; the number of hours devoted to reading issues of the Archives of Dermatology, the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, and the Journal of Investigative Dermatology were 3.2, 5.0, and 1.4, respectively; and the average resident read seven peer-reviewed journals, two to four dermatologic tabloids, and four peer-reviewed medical journals. CONCLUSIONS--Critically and consistently reading a limited number of high-quality peer-reviewed journals as well as taking advantage of information available through computer networks and bibliographic and full-text databases is the best approach to coping with the volume of medical literature. Translating this information into a change in attitude and modification of physician behavior is best accomplished when local role models incorporate new ideas into their practice and teaching. Modifications that would, in fact, bring about truly useful changes, such as decreasing the number of new publications, melding journals already present into smaller numbers of publications rather than instituting new journals, altering the "publish-or-perish" rules, and writing more comprehensive articles rather than multiple small contributions, all await fundamental alterations in long-accepted policies in medicine.     

Nonattendance in a dermatology clinic – a large sample analysis

Background Previous studies have described factors determining non‐attendance at dermatology appointments in small sample sizes. Objective To perform an analysis of factors associated with non‐attendance in a dermatology clinic in a larger sample. Methods Factors determining non‐attendance were examined in 52 604 consecutive first‐time visits to a dermatology clinic over a period of 44 months. Results Non‐attendance proportion was 27.6%. Among children, non‐attendance was associated with waiting for an appointment < 7 days [odds ratio (OR), 1.44], Bedouin sector (OR, 1.30), rural Jewish sector (OR, 0.45) and the treating physician. Among adults, non‐attendance was associated with female gender (OR, 1.08), age < 55 years (OR, 1.65), waiting time for an appointment < 7 days (OR, 1.44), timing of the appointment between 1 and 4 pm (OR, 1.13), Bedouin sector (OR, 1.63), rural Jewish sector (OR, 0.46) and the treating physician. Conclusion Non‐attendance is common among Bedouins, adult female patients and young adults and is more likely as waiting times become longer. Strategies to reduce non‐attendance are needed.     

Uniform resource locator decay in dermatology journals: author attitudes and preservation practices

OBJECTIVES: To describe dermatology journal uniform resource locator (URL) use and persistence and to better understand the level of control and awareness of authors regarding the availability of the URLs they cite. DESIGN: Software was written to automatically access URLs in articles published between January 1, 1999, and September 30, 2004, in the 3 dermatology journals with the highest scientific impact. Authors of publications with unavailable URLs were surveyed regarding URL content, availability, and preservation. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Uniform resource locator use and persistence and author opinions and practices. RESULTS: The percentage of articles containing at least 1 URL increased from 2.3% in 1999 to 13.5% in 2004. Of the 1113 URLs, 81.7% were available (decreasing with time since publication from 89.1% of 2004 URLs to 65.4% of 1999 URLs) (P<.001). Uniform resource locator unavailability was highest in The Journal of Investigative Dermatology (22.1%) and lowest in the Archives of Dermatology (14.8%) (P=.03). Some content was partially recoverable via the Internet Archive for 120 of the 204 unavailable URLs. Most authors (55.2%) agreed that the unavailable URL content was important to the publication, but few controlled URL availability personally (5%) or with the help of others (employees, colleagues, and friends) (6.7%). CONCLUSIONS: Uniform resource locators are increasingly used and lost in dermatology journals. Loss will continue until better preservation policies are adopted.     

Scientific productivity of OECD countries in dermatology journals within the last 10-year period

Background Scientific productivity is closely related to gross income, population, and cultures of the countries. Every country, more or less, has a responsibility of contributing to science. Materials and methods The publications, citations received, and the h‐index under the category of “dermatology” in 43 journals between the years of 1999–2003 and 2004–2008 according to the ISI JCR data of 2008 were examined individually for each OECD country. Results In the journals under the category of “dermatology” between the years of 1999 and 2008, there were 89,319 publications, 76,899 of which were published by OECD countries. USA ranks first with 27,109 publications and 196,002 citations; Germany, Japan, England, and France are the other countries among the top five, respectively. Regarding the number of publications, Turkey and Korea are among the top 10 by surpassing many Northern European countries. With regard to h‐index and citations, Northern European countries and Canada rank among the top 10, while Japan, Spain, Turkey, and Korea rank behind. The number of publications showed a significant correlation with the number of citations, population, gross domestic product, and h‐index. Conclusions Nearly half of all publications were performed by the European origin OECD countries, and one‐third of all publications were performed by USA. Journals from Germany and France, which are published in their own language, receive fewer citations, but they contribute a lot to these countries with respect to the number of publications.     

Influencia de los distintos tipos de artículo en el factor de impacto de las revistas dermatológicas

Background and objective

For scientific journals, achieving a high impact factor (IF) has become a goal in its own right. Our aim was to describe the influence of article type on the IF of dermatology journals.

Top-cited dermatology authors publishing in 5 "high-impact" general medical journals

BACKGROUND: In addition to publishing in the dermatologic literature, some dermatologists also publish articles in the general medical journals, which enjoy wide circulation and whose articles are often cited. OBJECTIVE: To identify articles and citations to these articles that the most frequently cited authors in the dermatologic literature published in highly cited general medical journals. DESIGN: We obtained a citation database from the Institute of Scientific Information, Philadelphia, Pa, that identified all articles published by the top-cited authors in the dermatologic literature in 5 "high-impact" general medical journals. SETTING: The 5 high-impact general medical journals with the historically highest impact factors. SUBJECTS: Two hundred top-cited authors in dermatology journals and their coauthors. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Number of citations to articles published in 5 high-impact general medical journals. RESULTS: From 1981 to 1998, 120 of the 200 top-cited dermatology authors published a total of 674 papers in the 5 most highly cited general medical journals. Original articles published in these high-impact general medical journals were cited an average 7.5 times more often than articles published in dermatology journals. CONCLUSIONS: Top-cited authors in dermatology journals also frequently publish in the leading 5 high-impact general medical journals. Publications in these journals by dermatologists are often highly cited.     

¿Quién financia la investigación de los dermatólogos españoles? Análisis del año 2008 y comparación con otros grupos

BackgroundReferences have been made in the literature to the funding of clinical trials by the pharmaceutical industry. Other types of funding, however, have been less well studied.ObjectiveTo describe the sources of funding for research by Spanish dermatology departments published in 2008.Material and methodsA bibliometric study was performed of the research articles published by Spanish, French, and British dermatology departments and by Spanish rheumatology departments in 2008 according to MEDLINE records.ResultsArticles published by Spanish dermatology departments received funding in 36.4% of cases. This percentage is lower than that found for the other groups studied and remained low for all different types of funding. Statistically significant relationships were found between a higher percentage of funding and a higher level of evidence, as well as between a higher level of funding by the pharmaceutical industry and the publication of research into quality of life and pharmacological treatment. Inadequate declaration of funding was observed in 57.1% of articles from Spanish dermatology departments and the role of the sponsor was not declared in any article. Similar findings were obtained for the other groups studied.ConclusionsThe proportion of research articles published by Spanish dermatology departments that receive external funding is low, and this is associated with a lower level of scientific evidence. In order to obtain more external funding, we must improve our competitiveness.     

Lack of confidence interval reporting in dermatology: a call to action

This study from the U.S.A. aimed to find out how often confidence intervals are used when reporting dermatology research. Confidence intervals relate to two values (‘intervals’) that the researchers, using data analysis, believe that the actual, true value will fall within. A 95% confidence interval indicates that if an experiment were repeated 100 times, and a 95% confidence interval was calculated each time, 95 of the intervals would contain the true value while five of the intervals would not contain the true value. A confidence interval might be used when you want to estimate something about a very large number of people, and can therefore only use a sample of those people. For example, if you want to know how many people in the UK have dry skin, you cannot ask every person, so you use a sample and then calculate a range for the mean number of people in your sample who have dry skin. As the sample is never going to be an exact representation of the whole population, you might say that you are 95% confident that the mean number of people in the UK with dry skin is, for example, between 20% and 30%. Confidence intervals help readers understand both the statistical significance and the clinical significance more easily. Most modern statistical software packages conveniently calculate confidence intervals and provide an intuitive way to understand study results. The authors collected dermatology articles from a variety of major dermatology journals as well as dermatology articles from the New England Journal of Medicine over the past decade. The authors found that reporting of this important metric is disappointingly low in dermatology journals, with only 1 in 5 articles containing confidence intervals, which was significantly lower than reporting in the New England Journal of Medicine. Articles published more recently were more likely to report confidence intervals. After controlling for factors like type of study and year of publication, the New England Journal of Medicine still reported confidence intervals more frequently. This is likely due to their extremely rigorous statistical peer review process. While such strict requirements cannot be adopted by all journals, increased awareness of this simple metric could significantly improve the statistical reporting of the dermatology literature. We urge dermatology researchers to include this important metric in their findings. Likewise, we recommend improved statistical training as part of dermatology residency training.