Introduction: The cultivation of high-quality evidence and academic advancement are vital in overcoming barriers to global healthcare objectives in transplantation. Academic training and scientific output play a central role in generating, disseminating, and educating on essential knowledge, fostering progress and improving patient outcomes. This study aims to quantitatively assess the scientific productivity of organ-solid transplants within the medical research field in Colombia.
Methods: The study analyzed transplant publications over the past decade, selecting articles from 2013 to 2023 across various academic journals, excluding event abstracts and editor letters. The search utilized engines like Pubmed, LILACS, Embase, Scielo and Colombian journals to verify researchers' publications. The articles needed to feature at least one author affiliated with a Colombian academic institution. Variables like authors' H-index, citations, and publications, as well as journal metrics, were analyzed using sources such as Scimago, Publindex, and Latindex. Descriptive statistics summarized demographic characteristics and the distribution of numeric variables.
Results: At first, we had 1,898 articles extracted through search engines, which reduced to 1,673 after removing duplicates. When assessed through title, abstract, and full-text examination, only 303 met the inclusion criteria. Roughly half of the studies involved at least one researcher based in Bogota (50.1%), while about one-third of the publications included at least one researcher from Medellin (29.0%). The most cited article included in the review had 245 citations in 3 years. The distribution among journal quartiles includes Q4 (18.8%), Q3 (34.6%), Q2 (17.2%), and Q1 (22.1%), with the remaining publications not indexed (7.2%). Of the total publications, 27.4% belong to national journals. Among top Colombian-affiliated researchers, Transplantation Proceedings had 27 articles, Biomédica had 19, and Revista Colombiana de Cirugía had 16. The top three countries demonstrating the highest international collaboration were Brazil, the United States, and Argentina, each with 23 publications.
Conclusion: This is the first study to assess the scientific productivity of organ-solid transplants within the medical research field in Colombia. The findings offer valuable insights for researchers in transplant surgery, particularly newcomers, by providing a systematic overview of research trends. This information can facilitate the identification of potential scientific collaborators, enhance research topic selection, and keep researchers informed about emerging scientific or technological developments.