Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitides: a scientometric approach visualizing worldwide research activity

Aim: To provide a critical evaluation of quality and quantity regarding scientific efforts on antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitides (AAV) during the past 20 years. Method: Scientometric benchmark procedures, density-equalizing mapping and large-scale data analysis were used to visualize bi- and multilateral research cooperation and institutional collaborations, and to identify the most successful countries, institutions, authors and journals concerned with AAV. Results: The USA are the most productive supplier and have established their position as center of international cooperation with 22.5% of all publications, followed by Germany, the United Kingdom, France and Japan, respectively. The most successful international cooperation proved to be the one between the USA, Germany and the UK. A distinct global pattern of research productivity and citation activity was revealed, with the USA and Germany holding both the highest h-index and the highest number of total citations, but Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands leading with regards to the citation rate. Some large and productive countries such as Japan, China and Turkey show only a few international cooperations. Conclusion: The present study represents the first detailed scientometric analysis and visualization of research quality and quantity on 'ANCA-associated vasculitides'. It was shown that scientometric indicators such as h-index, citation rate and impact factor, commonly used for assessment of scientific quality, have to be seen critically due to distortion by self-citation, co-authorship and language bias. Countries with considerable numbers of patients should enhance international collaboration behavior for the benefit of international scientific and clinical progress.