Scientometric Analysis of Global Research on Trichomoniasis in Scopus Database (1922 -2018)

Trichomoniasis is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) prevalent in different parts of the world. The present study was designed to evaluate the scientific output and collaboration of researchers worldwide on trichomoniasis.

In the present scientometric research, all papers conducted on Trichomonas vaginalis (T. vaginalis) published in the time period of 1922 to 2018 were extracted from the Scopus database and evaluated according to the aims of the research, using scientometric software.

The results of this search strategy were the retrieval of 12,596 scientific papers authored by a total of 28,822 people during 97 years (1922-2018). Research in this field has encountered success and failure over the years. The first article on trichomoniasis at the Scopus database was published by Musgrave W.E. (1922) in the "Journal of the American Medical Association". Most papers on this subject (352) were published in 2013; and the years 2017 and 2016 are ranked second and third. Researchers from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have the highest number of papers in this field (210). Alderete J.F. with 111 papers is the most active researcher on trichomoniasis in Scopus. Also, researchers from the US ranked the first with 3,236 papers. In Iran, by the end of 2018, 138 papers on trichomoniasis have been registered in Scopus, which accounts for only one percent of the world's science production in this field.

The results following about one century indicated that the number of publications on T. vaginalis is growing and that there is a high level of collaboration among researchers in this field. Moreover, many countries have collaborated internationally on trichomoniasis research with the US as the leading country.