RELATION BETWEEN IMPACT FACTOR IN ORTHOPEDIC JOURNALS AND LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

ABSTRACT Objective: This study aims to assess the quality of articles published in the leading orthopedic surgery journals, by measuring the relation between the impact factor and the number studies with a high level of evidence. Methods: A literature review was performed of articles published in four previously selected journals. A score of journal evidence (RER - Relation between Randomized clinical trials and Systematic reviews) was calculated, considering the number of RCTs and SR published and the total number of full-text articles. Results: The selected journals were JBJS-Am, ASMJ, BJJ-Br and Arthroscopy, with Impact factors of 5.280, 4.362, 3.309 and 3.206 respectively in 2015. In the study, the RER Scores, in the same order, were 9.408, 6.153, 7.456 and 7.779. Conclusion: The journal JBJS-Am is the best available source of information on orthopedic surgery from this point of view. It has the highest Impact Factor and clearly the highest RER Score. On the other hand, we could conclude that the number of published RCT and good quality SR is very low, with less than 10% of all the articles. Level of evidence III, Analyses based on limited alternatives and costs, and poor estimates.

摘要
研究目的：本研究旨在评估主流骨科手术期刊发表论文的质量，通过分析影响因子与高水平证据研究数量之间的关联。
研究方法：本研究对预先选定的4种期刊发表的论文开展文献综述分析。结合随机对照试验（Randomized Clinical Trial，RCT）与系统评价（Systematic Review，SR）的发表数量及全文文章总数，计算期刊证据评分（RER——随机对照试验与系统评价的关联度）。
研究结果：本次纳入的期刊依次为JBJS-Am、ASMJ、BJJ-Br及Arthroscopy（《关节镜杂志》），2015年其影响因子分别为5.280、4.362、3.309及3.206。按上述期刊顺序，其RER评分依次为9.408、6.153、7.456及7.779。
研究结论：从该评价维度而言，JBJS-Am是本次研究中可获取的最优骨科手术信息来源，其拥有最高的影响因子与明确最高的RER评分。另一方面，本研究可得出结论：已发表的RCT与高质量SR的占比极低，不足所有发表论文的10%。本研究证据等级为III级，分析基于有限的替代方案与成本考量，且估算精度欠佳。