Thesis Studies of Universities in Anaesthesiology and Reanimation between 1970 and 2016: Retrospective Evaluation of Work Areas, Publishing Rates and Evidence Levels

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AIM: The aim of this study was to investigate the publication status, research design, subjects and levels of evidence of theses written in the field of anaesthesiology and reanimation between 1970 and 2016 in Turkey. METHODS: After the theses included in our study were accessed through the Higher Education Institution National Thesis Center, theses were searched using Google, Google Scholar, PubMed, and TR Directory TU¨ B_ITAK ULAKB_IM search engines. The publication status, research design, evidence levels, date of the published theses, journals and citation numbers for the theses were determined. RESULTS: A total of 2,803 theses were included in our study. When the evidence levels of the theses are evaluated, it was determined that B evidence level was present in 1,603 (57.2%), C in 597 (21.3%), F in 256 (12.3%) and D in 257 (9.2%). It was also determined that 719 (25.7%) of the theses were published later. The time difference between the thesis and the publication year was 3.14 6 2.26 years. Of these publications, 367 (51.0%) were appeared in national journals, with 293 in SCI-E (40.8%), 25 in SCI (3.5%) and 34 in other foreign journals (4.7%). While the rate of thesis studies with a prospective design decreased over the years, it was determined that experimental and retrospective thesis studies increased (P < .05). In the correlation analysis, there were weak correlations among the publication year, the number of citations and the impact of the journal. There was a positive correlation between the publication year and the number of cases. CONCLUSION: Although the number of prospectively designed theses and clinical theses in the field of anaesthesiology and reanimation has decreased over the years, there is an increase in the number of theses converted to publications. Although the rate of publication of theses abroad and in SCI-E journals has increased, decreases in the thesis rate published in SCI journals over the years and in the impact factors of the journals are notable. In the future, studies in anaesthesiology and reanimation should be performed to increase the number of theses that can be published in journals with higher impact.