Systematic review and bibliometric analysis of African anesthesia and critical care medicine research part II: a scientometric analysis of the 116 most cited articles

• Published in: BMC anesthesiology 2021-01, Vol.21 (1), p.24-24, Article 24
• Main Authors: Kanmounye, Ulrick Sidney, Tochie, Joel Noutakdie, Mbonda, Aimé, Wafo, Cynthia Kévine, Daya, Leonid, Atem, Thompson Hope, Nyalundja, Arsène Daniel, Eyaman, Daniel Cheryl
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Africa; Analgesia; Analysis; Anesthesia; Bibliometrics; Citation indexes; Critical care; Critical care medicine; Global anesthesia; Hirsch index; Open access publishing; Pain perception; Science; Scientometrics; Surgery; Systematic review; Trends
• ISSN: 1471-2253; 1471-2253
• DOI: 10.1186/s12871-021-01246-4

Scientometrics is used to assess the impact of research in several health fields, including Anesthesia and Critical Care Medicine. The purpose of this study was to identify contributors to highly-cited African Anesthesia and Critical Care Medicine research. The authors searched Web of Science from inception to May 4, 2020, for articles on and about Anesthesia and Critical Care Medicine in Africa with ≥2 citations. Quantitative (H-index) and qualitative (descriptive analysis of yearly publications and interpretation of document, co-authorship, author country, and keyword) bibliometric analyses were done. The search strategy returned 116 articles with a median of 5 (IQR: 3-12) citations on Web of Science. Articles were published in Anesthesia and Analgesia (18, 15.5%), World Journal of Surgery (13, 11.2%), and South African Medical Journal (8, 6.9%). Most (74, 63.8%) articles were published on or after 2013. Seven authors had more than 1 article in the top 116 articles: Epiu I (3, 2.6%), Elobu AE (2, 1.7%), Fenton PM (2, 1.7%), Kibwana S (2, 1.7%), Rukewe A (2, 1.7%), Sama HD (2, 1.7%), and Zoumenou E (2, 1.7%). The bibliometric coupling analysis of documents highlighted 10 clusters, with the most significant nodes being Biccard BM, 2018; Baker T, 2013; Llewellyn RL, 2009; Nigussie S, 2014; and Aziato L, 2015. Dubowitz G (5) and Ozgediz D (4) had the highest H-indices among the authors referenced by the most-cited African Anesthesia and Critical Care Medicine articles. The U.S.A., England, and Uganda had the strongest collaboration links among the articles, and most articles focused on perioperative care. This study highlighted trends in top-cited African articles and African and non-African academic institutions' contributions to these articles.