[Scientific activities in departments of clinical physiology/nuclear medicine in Denmark during the period 1989-1994. A bibliometric analysis of the "impact" and citation frequency].

This study reports a bibliometric analysis of 860 scientific publications of which 763 are papers in scientific journals emanating from departments of clinical physiology and nuclear medicine in Denmark in the years 1989-1994. The number of publications decreased significantly over time. The 763 papers were published in 239 different scientific journals, 80% in journals with an official "impact factor". The average impact per paper remained almost constant over time and was significantly above the national average. A close relationship was found between the number of papers from a department and its cumulated impact. In an analysis of 217 papers a direct relation was found between the journal impact factor and the citation factor. A linear relation was found between cumulated citations and time, and the number of citations per year reached a maximum 3-7 years after publication, whereas the general maximum for all medical specialties is 2-3 years. It is concluded that the total number of scientific papers from Danish departments of clinical physiology & nuclear medicine fell in the years 1989-1991, but the impact per paper was almost constant and above the national average. There seems to be a good agreement between journal impact factor and overall citation frequency in papers from clinical physiology & nuclear medicine.