Benchmarking BRVO
What does analysis of the last five years of literature on branch retinal vein occlusion tell us about the priorities of the field and the major contributors to it?
Branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO) is a common retinal vascular disease of the elderly, with a typical age of onset of around 60–70 years. The occlusion is typically a thrombus, and a number of thrombolytic and fibrinolytic approaches have been attempted to reverse BRVO in the acute setting, but these interventions have failed to show robust efficacy. Choroidal neovascularization and macular edema are common secondary complications, for which argon laser, anti-VEGF agents, steroids and intravitreal steroids have all been commonly used treatment approaches.
To provide insight into the past and predictions for the future of the field, a series of metrics were applied to the last five years of the published literature. We asked
- What are the major topics for the field?
- Which publications have the greatest impact?
- How is the knowledge available online?
- Who are the most prolific authors?
PubMed, was searched for branch retinal vein occlusion with results limited to the last five years, in humans (for a clinical focus). The data were analyzed in Microsoft Excel 2013.
Articles in MEDLINE are indexed by Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) topics, that describe the articles’ main topics. Here are the top 20 MeSH terms over the last five years of the human BRVO literature
I spent seven years as a medical writer, writing primary and review manuscripts, congress presentations and marketing materials for numerous – and mostly German – pharmaceutical companies. Prior to my adventures in medical communications, I was a Wellcome Trust PhD student at the University of Edinburgh.
