Turkey’s articles in cardiovascular medicine were stagnant in 2007

The output of publications in cardiovascular medicine during 2007 originating from Turkey’s institutions was evaluated based on data of the Web of Science. After exclusion of meeting abstracts and letters to the editor, articles in fulltext appearing in source publications of Science Citation Index CD Edition alone were included. A weighted credit system was used for items published jointly with a foreign or noncardiological discipline. Turkey’s publications rose to 187 articles and her share of world publication remained at 10.0 per mille. Four-fifths of the output originated from adult cardiology. The median impact factor of periodicals in which these articles were published remained stable as in the previous year, with 1.51 (interquartile range 0.99- 2.23). The number of papers published in journals with an impact factor 3.5 or over rose to 17. In the 4-year period of 2004-07, 501 papers were published in adult cardiology, 111 in cardiovascular surgery, and 32 in pediatric cardiology. While Turkey Yüksek Ihtisas Hospital, Siyami Ersek Cardiovascular Surgery Center, Gülhane Military Medical Academy, and Başkent University formed the four leading centers generating the cardiovascular publications, the established medical faculties persisted to fail to exhibit a performance commensurate with their past. Unless new reforms are put in place, short-to-mid-term future will continue to cause disappointment about these institutions.