[Evaluation of "Kyobu Geka (the Japanese Journal of Thoracic Surgery)" using science database]

The premiere issue of the Japanese Journal of Thoracic Surgery, known as "Kyobu Geka" in Japanese with English abstract, was launched in 1948. Articles of the journal become obtainable by PubMed in 1961 (volume 14). In the present study, the journal was evaluated using science database, Scopus and PubMed. Jpn J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg and Gen Thorac Cardiovasc Surg were used for comparison. A total of 7,490 articles published in "Kyobu Geka" by December 2008 were searched. Of these, 1,573 articles (21.0%) were cited for a total of 2,548 times. Articles cited by non-Japanese papers were mostly of rare case reports and experience of use of newly introduced devices. The authors' names and source titles of cited articles can be searched easily, and the information obtained is valuable for research, writing research grant applications and academic articles. In conclusion, although "Kyobu Geka" is published in Japanese, it has been cited by many international journals in many languages and, therefore, is making a fine performance.