[Spanish scientific research output on tuberculosis indexed in MEDLINE, 1997-2006]

To analyze Spanish scientific research output related to tuberculosis during the 10-year period from 1997 through 2006 and to consider it within the context of European Union (EU) productivity.

The bibliometric study was based on a search of the MEDLINE database, using the PubMed search interface. Search terms were tuberculosis or tuberculous appearing in any database field.

Of 35 735 titles retrieved, 1191 were by Spanish authors. This represented 4.1% of world output. Spain, accounting for 13.5% of EU scientific output in this area, was the third most productive EU country; 610 (51.2%) of the papers were published in English and 581 (48.8%) in Spanish. The number of papers published remained steady over the 10-year period. The first author's specialty was usually microbiology (225 documents, or 20.6%), followed by internal medicine (154, or 14.1%), and respiratory medicine (117, 10.7%). Journals publishing the largest numbers of papers on tuberculosis were Medicina Clínica and Enfermedades Infecciosas y Microbiología Clínica with 78 (6.5%) each, Anales de Medicina Interna with 72, Revista Clínica Española with 64, and Archivos de Bronconeumología with 63. The most productive provinces were Madrid and Barcelona, with 272 (22.8%) and 256 (21.5%) papers, respectively. The most productive institutions were hospitals, with 900 titles (75.6%), followed by universities, with 132 (11.1%).

Tuberculosis research in Spain has taken place at a steady rate over the last 10 years and has accounted for a substantial proportion of EU research in this field. Half the papers by Spanish authors were found in international journals published outside Spain. The majority of papers were from authors working in hospitals.