Daniele Coraci1,2, Claudia Loreti1, Augusto Fusco1, Silvia Giovannini3, Luca Padua1,4. 1. UOC Neuroriabilitazione ad Alta Intensità, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, 00168 Rome, Italy. 2. Department of Neurosciences, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 00168 Rome, Italy. 3. UOC Riabilitazione e Medicina Fisica, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, 00168 Rome, Italy. 4. Department of Orthopaedics and Geriatrics, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 00168 Rome, Italy.
Abstract
(1) Background: Ultrasound is a well-known tool used for the diagnosis and management of many diseases, including peripheral neuropathies. The main aim of this study was the lexical analysis of the literature on this topic considering the most cited words and the relationship between the words and the papers. Furthermore, a geographical analysis was performed to evaluate the worldwide prevalence. (2) Methods: We performed a literature search on PubMed, and we calculated the occurrence of the words indicating nerves and the body parts. Furthermore, we calculated the number of papers for each country, considering the affiliation of the first author. Finally, to describe the relationships between the words and the papers, we used the 30 most cited words, and we built a matrix describing in which papers a word was cited. This matrix was used to create a network based on the graph theory using Gephi 0.9.2 software. (3) Results: The most cited nerves were median and ulnar ones, and the most cited body parts were hand, wrist and elbow. The United States of America was the most productive country, with 80 papers. The graph of the network showed the importance of ultrasound as support for therapy. (4) Conclusions: The study represents a lexical analysis of the literature and shows information about subjects, authors and relationships of the papers. This may be helpful for better understanding and evaluation of the situation of the current literature.
(1) Background: Ultrasound is a well-known tool used for the diagnosis and management of many diseases, including peripheral neuropathies. The main aim of this study was the lexical analysis of the literature on this topic considering the most cited words and the relationship between the words and the papers. Furthermore, a geographical analysis was performed to evaluate the worldwide prevalence. (2) Methods: We performed a literature search on PubMed, and we calculated the occurrence of the words indicating nerves and the body parts. Furthermore, we calculated the number of papers for each country, considering the affiliation of the first author. Finally, to describe the relationships between the words and the papers, we used the 30 most cited words, and we built a matrix describing in which papers a word was cited. This matrix was used to create a network based on the graph theory using Gephi 0.9.2 software. (3) Results: The most cited nerves were median and ulnar ones, and the most cited body parts were hand, wrist and elbow. The United States of America was the most productive country, with 80 papers. The graph of the network showed the importance of ultrasound as support for therapy. (4) Conclusions: The study represents a lexical analysis of the literature and shows information about subjects, authors and relationships of the papers. This may be helpful for better understanding and evaluation of the situation of the current literature.
Authors: Emanuele Marzetti; Riccardo Calvani; Jameson DuPree; Hazel A Lees; Silvia Giovannini; Dong-oh Seo; Thomas W Buford; Kindal Sweet; Drake Morgan; Kevin Y E Strehler; Debra Diz; Stephen E Borst; Natasha Moningka; Karina Krotova; Christy S Carter Journal: Age (Dordr) Date: 2012-05-26