Analysis of the publication spectrum of 4 German-language medical specialty periodicals "Der Chirurg", "Der Unfallchirurg", "Langenbecks Archiv für Chirurgie" and "Medizinische Klinik"
Korenkov, M.; Nagelschmidt, M.; Lefering, R.; Troidl, H.
Der Chirurg; Zeitschrift für Alle Gebiete der Operativen Medizen 68(4): 439-446
1997
ISSN/ISBN: 0009-4722 PMID: 9206642 Document Number: 480453
All 1994 publications of four leading journals in surgery, orthopedics and internal medicine in Germany (Der Chirurg, Der Unfallchirurg, Langenbecks Archiv für Chirurgie, Medizinische Klinik) were reviewed by means of a structured analysis. The type of article, authorship, number of references, geographical location, quality, and main conclusion (positive; neutral; negative) of each article were documented. The journals focused on clinical studies (32.2-59.6%), case reports (11.0-26.1%) and reviews (6.4-40.9%). Articles about surgical techniques were mainly found in Der Chirurg (16.9%), experimental studies in Der Unfallchirurg (14.7%) and Langenbecks Archiv für Chirurgie (25.7%). Most articles were written by university clinic personnel (62.6-81.4%). In 11.0-22.6% of all articles, the head of a clinic was the first author and the co-author in 36.5-58.7%. Women were found to be first author in 4% in surgery, and in 10.4% in internal medicine. Of a total of 495 publications, 53.9% were written in Northrhine-Westphalia, Bavaria or Baden-Württemberg and only 1.6% in the five new federal states. Of all articles 16.4% were by foreign authors, with 10.5% originating from German-speaking countries. The portion of controlled randomized trials ranged between 4.9% (Der Unfallchirurg) and 11.3% (Der Chirurg) of all published studies. Studies and case reports with negative results were found to be more evident in Der Chirurg and Langenbecks Archiv für Chirurgie (ca. 20%) as compared to Der Unfallchirurg and Medizinische Klinik (ca. 6%). All journals provided good general information about the actual developments in a variety of topics to the reader. However, some improvement concerning international contributions, participation of the new federal states, and the quality of studies is recommended.