Analysis of ophthalmological and vision-related publications in Latin America.

PURPOSE: To assess scientific production related to ophthalmology and vision in Latin America during the period from 2006 to 2015.

METHODS: The PubMed, Lilacs (Bireme), Google Scholar, SciELO, and Medigraphic databases were evaluated for this retrospective, descriptive, and comparative study.

RESULTS: A total of 1,510 articles was identified. Brazil was the leader in quantitative production in ophthalmology, averaging 85.4 articles per year. Mexico was in second place with 27.4, and Argentina was in third place with 11.1 articles per year. Forty-one percent of articles were published in English, 28.1% dealt with the subspecialty of the retina, and 63% were published by researchers affiliated with universities. The frequency of male first authors was 58.9%, and the journal Arquivos Brasileiros de Oftalmologia accounted for 36.42% of the identified articles.

CONCLUSIONS: Brazil stands in first place in Latin America in ophthalmologic scientific production. Nearly half of the researchers in ophthalmology in Latin America included in our study were listed in databases other than PubMed.