key: cord-0687575-4bte436f authors: Veisman, Ido; Lederer, Noam Brakin; Ukashi, Offir; Kopylov, Uri; Klang, Eyal title: Top 25 cited articles on Covid-19 and IBD: A bibliometric analysis date: 2022-05-21 journal: Clin Res Hepatol Gastroenterol DOI: 10.1016/j.clinre.2022.101959 sha: d3f83eac674d30632f084ac0bee953418dfcc9eb doc_id: 687575 cord_uid: 4bte436f OBJECTIVES: The use of citation analysis to identify the most cited covid-19 and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) manuscripts to provide an insight into the advances and knowledge accumulated regarding the pandemic in this subgroup of patients. METHODS: We've used a public application programming interface (API) U.S. National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) to access the PubMed database. Data lock was performed on April 19, 2022. The API was used to retrieve all available IBD AND Covid-19 -related entries. For each retrieved entry, we've also obtained its citation count. RESULTS: The top 25 manuscripts were published between 2020 and 2021. The total citation count is 2051. The citation count of articles ranged from 41 to 313. The top 25 manuscripts were published in eight journals, while 16 were published in Gastroenterology and Gut. 36% of the most cited manuscripts reported clinical characteristics and patient outcomes, and 32% dealt with patient management. The most impactful manuscripts provided evidence that IBD patients are not at increased risk for severe morbidity or mortality from Covid-19 and that it is not advisable to discontinue the anti-inflammatory treatment for IBD during the pandemic. Two basic science studies demonstrated mechanistic insights for these observations. Studies that examined the immunogenic response of IBD patients treated with biologics were also part of the top-cited list. CONCLUSIONS: Impactful scientific publications on Covid-19 in IBD patients provided reassurance and directed treatment at the time of this newly recognized severe disease. From the beginning of the epidemic, research on Covid-19 had surged with an unprecedented number of publications. Since inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) treatment arsenal includes steroids, immunomodulators, and biologic therapies [1] , at first, IBD patients were considered at high risk for SARS-CoV-2 infection and the development of a severe course of the disease [2] . Thus, extensive preliminary Covid-19 research examined various aspects of the disease in IBD patients. Bibliometric citation analysis studies the scientific impact of manuscripts by analyzing the number of times they were cited in subsequent manuscripts. This study aims to present an analysis of the top 25 cited manuscripts that dealt with Covid-19 in patients with IBD. We've used the public application programming interface (API) U.S. National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) to access the PubMed database. The PyMed Python package was used to query the PubMed API. The following data were extracted for each entry: PubMed unique article ID (PMID), title, publishing journal, abstract text, keywords (if any), and authors' affiliations. The NCBI Entrez API was used to collect citation counts for the retrieved articles. Data lock was performed on April 19, 2022. We retrieved all available IBD AND Covid-19 -related entries. The search was conducted in entries' titles, abstracts, and keywords using the terms "ulcerative colitis" OR "Crohn" OR "inflammatory bowel disease" for IBD, and "Covid-19" OR "COVID-19" OR "SARS-CoV-2" for Covid-19. We have limited the entries to studies published after January 1st, 2020. Data retrieval, processing, and visualization were written in Python (Ver. 3.6.5, 64 bits). A gastrointestinal expert (UK) and a gastrointestinal resident (IV) analyzed the retrieved studies in consensus. The [3] . One of the most significant challenges that arose with the pandemic outbreak involves the effect of Covid-19 on patients with an immune-mediated inflammatory condition such as IBD. In this bibliometric analysis, we present the topmost cited 25 papers that dealt with Covid-19 among IBD patients. These manuscripts, which were most influential regarding this subgroup of patients, were published in eight journals with 2051 citations. Gastroenterology and Gut contributed mostly to the top 25 most cited manuscripts with more than 60% of publications, consistent with the Bradford's Law, first described in 1934, which state that the most essential journals in a particular field extract most of the citations [4] . [5]- [9] . In addition, several studies provided crucial information about the safety of the common biologic therapies, including tumor necrosis alpha (TNF) inhibitors [9] - [11] , and two studies suggest a pathophysiological explanation for this observation as demonstrating that IBD therapies are associated with lower levels of viral entry molecule ACE2 [12] , [13] . The anti-Covid-19 vaccination changed dramatically during the pandemic. However, concerns regarding the immunogenic response of IBD patients treated with an anti-inflammatory agent have been a major concern. Kennedy and colleagues address this issue in two studies for the top 25 most cited list demonstrated that Infliximab, but not vedolizumab, is associated with attenuated immunogenicity. However, vaccination after Covid-19 infection, or a second dose of vaccine, led to seroconversion in most patients [14] , [15] . In addition, it should be noted that few manuscripts in the top 25 most cited are guidelines and expert commentaries that addressed a variety of aspects of IBD in the pandemic period [16] , [17] . This study presents a concise bibliometric analysis of the most cited manuscripts on COVID-19 in IBD patients. Our study shows that the scientific community has been active in promoting This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. This study was carried out in accordance with the ethical guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki. The study was approved by the Sheba Medical Center ethics committee. Since this was a bibliometric analysis, no informed consent was obtained. Not applicable. U.K.: speaker and advisory fees-Abbvie, Jannsen Takeda Medtronic; research support-Jannsen Takeda Medtronic. IV: consultation fees -Galmed. The remaining authors declare that there is no conflict of interest. Treatment of IBD: where we are and where we are going COVID-19 and immune-mediated inflammatory diseases: effect of disease and treatment on COVID-19 outcomes and vaccine responses Bibliometric Analysis of Early COVID-19 Research: The Top 50 Cited Papers Sources of information on specific subjects. Engineering; 1934 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases Are Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease at Increased Risk for Covid-19 Infection? Risk of Severe Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease in the United States: A Multicenter Research Network Study Characteristics and Prognosis of Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease During the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic in the Basque Country (Spain). Gastroenterology Baseline Disease Activity and Steroid Therapy Stratify Risk of COVID-19 in Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Gastroenterology But Not TNF Antagonists, Are Associated With Adverse COVID-19 Outcomes in Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Diseases: Results From an International Registry COVID-19 and immunomodulation in IBD Expression of SARS-CoV-2 Entry Molecules ACE2 and TMPRSS2 in the Gut of Patients With IBD Intestinal Inflammation Modulates the Expression of ACE2 and TMPRSS2 and Potentially Overlaps With the Pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2-related Disease Anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody responses are attenuated in patients with IBD treated with infliximab Infliximab is associated with attenuated immunogenicity to BNT162b2 and ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in patients with IBD British Society of Gastroenterology guidance for management of inflammatory bowel disease during the COVID-19 pandemic AGA Clinical Practice Update on Management of Inflammatory Bowel Disease During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Expert Commentary. Gastroenterology Not applicable.