Time-Tracking of the Research Profile of a Drug Using Bibliometric Tools

This study explores the usefulness of bibliometric analyses to detect trends in the research profile of a therapeutic drug, for which Aspirin was selected. A total of 22,144 documents dealing with Aspirin and published in journals covered by MEDLINE during the years 1965– 2001 are studied. The research profile of Aspirin over the 37-year period is analyzed through Aspirin subheadings and MeSH indexing terms. Half of the documents had Aspirin as a major indexing term, being the main aspects studied therapeutic uses (28% of the documents), pharmacodynamics (26%), adverse effects (18%), and administration and dosage (10%). A frequency data table crossing indexing terms years is examined by correspondence analysis to obtain time trends, which are shown graphically in a map. Four time periods with a different distribution of indexing terms are identified through cluster analysis. The indexing term profile of every period is obtained by comparison of the distribution of indexing terms of each cluster with that of the whole period by means of the Chi-2 test. The research profile of the drug tends to change faster with time. The most relevant finding is the expanding therapeutic profile of Aspirin over the period. The main advantages and limitations of the methodology are pointed out.