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Infectious diseases publications in leading medical journals—a comparative analysis

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Abstract

The representation of medical disciplines in leading journals may provide valuable information on their respective importance for both researchers and funding agencies. We were interested in the scientific contribution of infectious diseases to leading medical journals and their ranking compared to other medical disciplines. Original articles and short communications in three leading medical journals from 2003 to 2009 were analyzed by contributing medical discipline and by nation: The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), The Lancet, and the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). The medical disciplines were selected according to a standard textbook (Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine). Each article was categorized into one to three medical disciplines. The most frequently represented disciplines in 3,953 articles were cardiology (19.5 %), infectious diseases (18.6 %), and hematology/oncology (15.9 %). Each of the journals had another leading discipline: cardiology in JAMA, hematology/oncology in NEJM, and infectious diseases in The Lancet. In the American journals, contributions from US researchers dominated the field (52.6 % in NEJM, 73.6 % in JAMA), while the majority of papers in The Lancet originated from non-US residents (76.5 %). This study underlines the importance of infectious diseases as a medical discipline in clinical research.

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Acknowledgment

We would like to thank Ulrich Korwitz (Director of “Deutsche Zentralbibliothek für Medizin”, Köln) for his very valuable bibliometric advice.

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Funding

G. Fätkenheuer (BMBF 01KI0771) and O.A. Cornely (BMBF 01KN1106) have received funding from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Klinik 1 für Innere Medizin, Universitätsklinik Köln, Kerpener Str. 62, 50937, Köln, Germany

    G. Fätkenheuer, F. Roer & O. A. Cornely

  2. Unité VIH/Sida Hôpitaux Universitaire de Genève, 4 rue Gabrielle-Perret Gentil, 1211, Genève 14, Switzerland

    B. Hirschel

  3. Klinik I für Innere Medizin, Universitätsklinikum Regensburg, 93042, Regensburg, Germany

    B. Salzberger

  4. Zentrum für Klinische Studien, ZKS Köln, Universitätsklinik Köln, Kerpener Str. 62, 50937, Köln, Germany

    O. A. Cornely

Authors
  1. G. Fätkenheuer
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  2. F. Roer
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  3. B. Hirschel
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  4. O. A. Cornely
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  5. B. Salzberger
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to G. Fätkenheuer.

Additional information

G. Fätkenheuer and F. Roer have equally contributed to this article.

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Fätkenheuer, G., Roer, F., Hirschel, B. et al. Infectious diseases publications in leading medical journals—a comparative analysis. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 31, 2585–2591 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-012-1600-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10096-012-1600-3

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