Introduction: This study was undertaken to determine the characteristics of scientific articles published by Mexican pediatric surgeons (MPS) available in the major electronic databases for international and national medical information.
Material and methods: An observational, descriptive and transversal study was performed. Articles written by pediatric surgeons were localized in the most frequently accessed electronic searches: Medline, EMBASE, LILACS, and ARTEMISA, in the period from January 1991 to December 2002. Articles were grouped into three categories.
Results: A total of 247 publications were analyzed, 199 devoted to clinical research, 11 to basic research, and 37 reviews. Of the clinical research studies, 189 were observational-descriptive studies, and 151 of these were retrospective. Only 7.6% of the pediatric surgeons certified by the Mexican Council for Pediatric Surgery published an article (61 authors). Most studies (80%) was performed at Mexico City institutions.
Conclusions: Most studies published by pediatric surgeons describe common problems of the Mexican pediatric population. A smaller percentage focus on comparing therapeutic actions or diagnostic strategies; however, result reliability is questionable due to experimental design. The contribution by MPS to the generation of medical publications during the last decade has been sparse, and more so from places other than Mexico City.