An analysis of the emergency medicine literature: 1982 through 1985

This study analyzed the subject matter and type of articles published by the three peer-reviewed journals of emergency medicine from 1982 through 1985. Subject matter was classified by the author according to the Emergency Medicine Core Content. Articles were classified by type (research, case reports, reviews, editorials, etc). The data were cross-tabulated to determine how each of the subject areas was covered. The analysis included 1,573 contributions to the three journals over the four-year period. Results are reported for each journal. The small proportion of articles published on administration and education were mostly anecdotal information and only 14% to 15% were based on objective studies. A very small proportion of articles in general emergency medicine, 2% to 4%, were based on basic research. More than one-half of the basic research published in two of the three journals related to resuscitation. Two-thirds of the articles pertaining to toxicology were anecdotal. Articles pertaining to emergency medical services and trauma achieved a balanced distribution of type of articles. Major subject areas not covered over the four-year period are also reported and discussed.