Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28046105›Full record

ArticlePloS one2017

Citations for Randomized Controlled Trials in Sepsis Literature: The Halo Effect Caused by Journal Impact Factor.

Zhongheng Zhang, Sven Van Poucke

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Characteristics and Impact of Randomized Trials on Drugs or Devices in Cardiovascular Medicine.American journal of cardiovascular drugs : drugs, devices, and other interventions · 2024
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Zhongheng ZhangDepartment of emergency medicine, Sir Run-Run Shaw Hospital, Zhejiang University, School of Medicine, Hangzhou, P.R. China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2336-5323
Sven Van PouckeDepartment of Anesthesia, Critical Care, Emergency Medicine and Pain Therapy, Ziekenhuis Oost-Limburg, Genk, Belgium.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Citations for randomized controlled trials (RCT) are important for the dissemination of study results. However, predictors of citations for RCTs have not been investigated. The study aimed to investigate the predictors of citations for RCTs in sepsis literature. RCTs that investigated the efficacy of treatment strategies on clinical outcomes in sepsis patients were included, and publication dates were restricted to the period from 2000 to 2016. Risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane handbook for systematic reviews and interventions. A multivariable linear regression model was built to investigate the independent variables associated with total citations. In total, 160 RCTs met our inclusion criteria and were included for analysis. The median of total citations was 28.5 (IQR: 6-76). The journal impact factor (IF) for articles was 6.312 (IQR: 3.143-7.214). The dependent variable was transformed by the square root to improve normality and meet the assumption of homoscedasticity. The journal IF (coefficient: 0.2; 95% CI: 0.16, 0.25) was independently associated with total citations. Large samples were associated with more total citations (coefficient: 0.0026; 95% CI: 0.0013, 0.0039). The study demonstrated that the journal IF was a major determinant of the RCT's total citation number.

Indexed as

BibliometricsJournal Impact FactorPeriodicals as TopicRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicAlgorithmsData CollectionEffect Modifier, EpidemiologicHumansMultivariate AnalysisReview Literature as TopicSensitivity and SpecificitySepsis

Identifiers

PMID28046105
PMCPMC5207738

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.