key: cord-0684142-axn4vzuk authors: Kim, Jong-Min; Yoo, Jin-Hong; Cho, Hae Kyung; Hong, Sung-Tae title: Analysis of PubMed and KoreaMed Indexed Korean Publications on COVID-19 date: 2021-12-15 journal: J Korean Med Sci DOI: 10.3346/jkms.2021.36.e345 sha: 514c45a3fb45b6fa3664bd87caa56c076a080c36 doc_id: 684142 cord_uid: axn4vzuk During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, publications on the disease have exploded globally. The present study analyzed PubMed and KoreaMed indexed COVID-19 publications by Korean researchers from January 1, 2020 to August 19, 2021. A total of 83,549 COVID-19 articles were recorded in PubMed and 1,875 of these were published by Korean authors in 673 journals (67 Korean and 606 overseas journals). The KoreaMed platform covered 766 articles on COVID-19, including 612 by Korean authors. Among the Journal of Korean Medical Science (JKMS) articles on COVID-19, PubMed covered 176 and KoreaMed 141 documents. Korean researchers contributed to 2.2% of global publications on COVID-19 in PubMed. The JKMS has published most articles on COVID-19 in Korea. Conceptualization: Kim data demonstrated low level of protective immunity to delta variant infection after the second vaccination, shedding light on the breakthrough infections in countries with high vaccination rate. 3 Many Korean experts have explored and publicized clinical and epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19. Although it is difficult to estimate the global publication record on COVID-19, we performed searches of related articles on PubMed (https://pubmed. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/) and KoreaMed (https://www.koreamed.org/). We counted COVID-19 publications by Korean authors searchable on PubMed from January 1, 2020 to August 19, 2021 and KoreaMed from January 1, 2020 to July 29, 2021. The articles were searched by 4 keywords; COVID-19, coronavirus disease (or corona virus disease), SARS-CoV-2, and severe acute respiratory syndrome. Since the report of the first COVID-19 patient in Korea in the Journal of Korean Medical Science (JKMS), 4 a total of 230 articles had been published in the same journal by December 4, 2021: 9 reviews, 7 special articles, 106 original research articles, 40 brief communications, 21 case reports, 8 editorials, 23 opinion pieces, 1 image, 4 cartoons, and 11 letters. 5 The top 20 journals that published COVID-19 articles of Korean authors are listed in Table 2 . The JKMS had published most COVID-19 articles covered by both platforms. The two platforms displayed differing records for same journals probably due to different time lags of each indexing system. The PubMed data indicated that more than 100 articles had been published by Korean authors monthly since March 2020 (Fig. 1) . Some researchers published their articles in the top-ranked medical journals; 5 publications in the New England Journal of Medicine, 5 Lancet and 21 Lancet sister journals, 2 JAMA and 5 JAMA Network journals, 6 BMJ, and 4 BMJ Open. Half of these publications were coauthored by foreign collaborators. These publications reflected top-quality contributions of Korean authors who take part in the global academic competition. The data of COVID-19 publications demonstrate just one aspect of research activities in Korea. Korean researchers had published 2.2% articles of the PubMed records from January 2020 to August 19, 2021. Along with the top-ranked general medical journals, the JKMS is the preferred target for Korean researchers with interest in COVID-19. One of the main advantages of JKMS is its weekly publication schedule. 6 The JKMS issues are now published every Monday, enabling rapid dissemination of cutting-edge knowledge in medicine and public health. All COVID-19 submissions have been separately handled in line 12 with an urgently designed fast-track processing, editing, and publishing strategy. Such strategy coupled with advanced global visibility positions the JKMS among the best target journals amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Notably, the JKMS is listed by the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) and promoted by its official Twitter channel, both contributing to the openness, citability, and societal impact. As an example, one article that reported early epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19 in Korea had been cited 251 times on Web of Science, the highest citation record for related JKMS articles (as of December 8, 2021) . 7 There are also 6 related JKMS articles with more than 100 citations (Supplementary Table 2 The JKMS is distinguished as one of the most reputable general medical journals with membership in the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). Articles covering medical aspects of COVID-19 perfectly fall within the scope of interests of the journal, contributing to the global evidence accumulation. The JKMS invites COVID-19 submissions from diverse medical fields such as internal medicine, public health, chemotherapy, surgery, laboratory medicine, epidemiology, immunology, pediatrics, psychiatry, and basic research. In conclusion, Korean authors actively contribute to the global publication record on COVID-19. They publish more than 100 related articles monthly. The JKMS is the main target for Korean researchers who aim to publish their most impactful COVID-19 articles. Coronavirus disease statistics Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. Coronavirus (COVID-19) Safety and immunogenicity of seven COVID-19 vaccines as a third dose (booster) following two doses of ChAdOx1 nCov-19 or BNT162b2 in the UK (COV-BOOST): a blinded, multicentre, randomised, controlled, phase 2 trial The first case of 2019 novel coronavirus pneumonia imported into Korea from Wuhan, China: implication for infection prevention and control measures JKMS. Number of total publications Fostering strategic changes in publishing Report on the epidemiological features of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in the Republic of Korea from Case of the index patient who caused tertiary transmission of coronavirus disease 2019 in Korea: the application of lopinavir/ritonavir for the treatment of COVID-19 pneumonia monitored by quantitative RT-PCR Use of convalescent plasma therapy in two COVID-19 patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome in Korea Prevalence and duration of acute loss of smell or taste in COVID-19 patients Clinical course and outcomes of patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection: a preliminary report of the first 28 patients from the Korean cohort study on COVID-19 Virus isolation from the first patient with SARS-CoV-2 in Korea Viral load kinetics of SARS-CoV-2 infection in first two patients in Korea Clinical significance of a high SARS-CoV-2 viral load in the saliva The authors have no potential conflicts of interest to disclose. The authors thank Dr. Armen Yuri Gasparyan at Russells Hall Hospital, Dudley, U.K. for his language editing of the manuscript.