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Scientific research is crucial for the achievement of new knowledge and improving the management of patients. The differences in different locations worldwide require the development of local research focused on specific conditions of those countries. However, current data indicate that most of the research in Nephrology needs to improve in other countries besides the United States and Western Europe. Latin America represents over 20% of chronic kidney disease patients, but the scientific production is poorly represented as compared to the population available. Therefore, our objective was to evaluate the impact of nephrology research performed in Latin America, represented as the quantity of scientific research and publication rates in scientific journals.
International observational study performed in 3 countries of Latin America (Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay). We evaluated all the scientific research presented at local nephrology congresses between 2013 and 2022. We included clinical, basic, and translational studies performed exclusively or mainly in Latin American countries. We excluded studies where the responsible author was outside Latin America (e.g., multinational RCTs designed outside Latin America) and case reports. We evaluated the characteristics of these studies and the specific disciplines involved. Additionally, we determined the rate of publications of these articles in scientific journals in Web of Science (WOS) and Pubmed as of October 25, 2023, through a systematic review based on title, discipline, and author’s names. We determined the publication rate of the studies presented in congresses, the published journal, and the impact factor and quartile of publications.
Our primary results include the research performed in Chile. During 2013 and 2022, 194 scientific studies were presented at Chilean congresses of nephrology. 154 (79.3%) were clinical research, 36 (18.5%) were basic research, and 4 (2.0%) were translational research. Concerning clinical research, 165 (85%) were retrospective studies, 25 (13%) were prospective studies, and 4 (2%) were interventional studies. 85% of studies included a nephrology fellow. The main clinical research areas were glomerulopathies (21.1%), renal transplantation (18.5%) and hemodialysis (15.4%). Of the total studies evaluated, only 25.3% have currently been published in scientific journals. Most articles have been published in Q3-Q4 journals (14.3%), mainly in regional journals in the Spanish language, where only 5.1% have been published in Q1 journals.
Our preliminary results indicate that most of the research performed in Latin America is not published in journals. Additionally, those studies published are usually located in regional journals with limited scope. These data indicate an essential gap between the knowledge generated in Latin America and the publication rates, limiting access to potentially relevant information for local patients.
Study supported by FONDECYT Regular 1221571.