Analysis Of Scientific Papers Included In The Sciences Citation Index Written By Dermatologists Of China Mainland:1987-2011

Background The level of SCI papers is an important indicator measuring the resultsof research institutes and scientific workers. The bibliometric is considered an effectivetool for the evaluation of academic research. Internationally, there are severalbibliometric analysis papers in dermatology, plastic surgery, radiology, cancer and otherresearch areas. Currently, similar statistics have not carried out on dermatology in Chinamainland.Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate the growth of dermatology in Chinathrough analyzing SCI papers authored by dermatologists in China mainland from1987to2011.Methods We used PubMed as the search tool to enroll the published papers. Thecriterions we took including:(1) the journals publishing these papers need to be cited bySciences Citation Index;(2) the paper need to be published during1987to2011;(3) thefirst author and corresponding author of these papers need to work in dermatologydepartment or section in medical institute of China mainland. We further analyzed theseresults according to the number of published papers, journals, impact factor, type ofarticles, institutes, and geographical area.Results We identified1419papers, including1075(75.7%) general articles,305(21.5%) case reports and62(4.4%) reviews. The number of publications increaseddramatically from1987(n=2) to2011(n=305). These papers were published in245journals with Science Citation Index impact factors, which mainly published in thefollowing journals: Chinese Medical Journal (100,7.0%), International Journal ofDermatology (81,5.7%),and the Clinical and Experimental Dermatology (79,5.6%). Five provinces or cities accounted for57%of the publications: Beijing (229,16.1%),Jiangsu (196,13.8%), Anhui (136,9.6%), Shanghai (135,9.5%), and Guangdong (113,8.0%). Ten institutions accounted for more than50%of these papers published. The topthree were the following：the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University (134,9.4%), Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences (112,7.9%), Union Hospital of TongjiMedical College (82,5.8%).Conclusion Publication output of Chinese dermatologists over the last25yearsshowed a significant growth in quantity and quality. Currently, dermatology in China ison a path of rapid development.