International scientific production in digestive laparoscopic surgery

To obtain data on research in laparoscopic digestive surgery over the period of 1991 to 1996.

We used Medline and the Science Citation Index to obtain general data on production. For more specific data (contents, etc.) we used random samples with a confidence level of 99%.

There were 4825 publications on laparoscopic digestive surgery and 4.085 on other specialties; of these, articles represented 85% and editorials and letters 15%. University hospitals published 40% of this production. The producing countries were USA (45%), France (8.2%), United Kingdom (7.9%) and Germany (7.5%). The publishing countries were USA (41%), Germany (15.3%), United Kingdom (9.7%) and France (6.7%). The publication with the largest influence was the New England Journal of Medicine with a total Impact Factor of 589; the British Journal of Surgery with a factor of 436, Archives of Surgery with 343, American Journal of Surgery with 336 and Annals of Surgery with 302; the mean relative Impact Factor was 1.886. Method was involved in 756 retrospective studies, 275 prospective studies and 43 random clinical trials; the rest were not series. The majority of contents are on techniques and instruments, indications and general reflections. The most researched anatomical region was the gall bladder, followed by the bile ducts and the colon. The differences had a "z" > 1.645, that is to say, p < 0.05, and so considered statistically significant.

The largest production and publication takes place in the USA and the journal with the greatest influence is the New England. Important studies on method are extremely scarce, random clinical trials representing only 1%.