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Changes in Publication-Based Academic Interest in Local Anesthetics Over the Past 50 Years.

Authors :
Vlassakov KV
Kissin I
Source :
Journal of anesthesia history [J Anesth Hist] 2016 Jul; Vol. 2 (3), pp. 73-8. Date of Electronic Publication: 2016 Apr 23.
Publication Year :
2016

Abstract

Purpose: To present the history of changes in academic interest in local anesthetics quantitatively.<br />Methods: The changes in publication-based academic interest in local anesthetics were assessed using information from the database of PubMed. The assessment was mostly based on the following indices: general popularity index (GPI), representing the proportion of articles on a drug relative to all articles in the field of regional anesthesia, and specific popularity index (SPI), representing the proportion of articles on a drug relative to all articles in one of the four forms of regional anesthesia: local anesthesia, spinal anesthesia, epidural anesthesia, and peripheral nerve blocks.<br />Results: The most important general feature of the changes in publication-based academic interest in local anesthetics for the past 50 years was the concentration of this interest on a very limited number of drugs. By 2010-2014, only three anesthetics demonstrated the GPI value above 4.0: bupivacaine (10.1), lidocaine (10.0), and ropivacaine (4.6). All other local anesthetics had GPI declining mostly to less than 1.0 (2010-2014). The rate of change in publication-based academic interest was very slow in both its increase and decline. The most profound change in publication-based academic interests was caused by the introduction of bupivacaine. During a 20-year period (from 1965-1969 to 1985-1989), bupivacaine's GPI increased from 1.3 to 12.9.<br />Conclusion: A slowly developing concentration of publication-based academic interest on a very limited number of local anesthetics was the dominant feature related to this class of anesthetic agents.<br /> (Copyright © 2016 Anesthesia History Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
2352-4529
Volume :
2
Issue :
3
Database :
MEDLINE
Journal :
Journal of anesthesia history
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
27480472
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janh.2016.04.009