Since the inception of bibliometric data collection by the Spanish portal SCImago Journal & Country Rank,1 Colombian rheumatology has stood out prominently in the global scientific arena. Even in its nascent stage (1996), when Colombia ranked 57th in overall medical research and 61st in all fields of science, Colombia ranked 41st globally in rheumatology research, determined by the indexed number of documents in the Scopus database. Within Latin American countries, Colombia was in fourth place, behind Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina, but excelling several Latin American counterparts like Chile, Cuba, and Venezuela, who at that time surpassed us in scientific production. Over 10 years, in 2006, Colombia’s position remained steady, ranked 43rd globally, climbing to 29th by 2016, securing the third spot in Latin America, tied with Argentina, with 68 publications.
Since 2017, Colombia has consistently outpaced Argentina, cementing its position as the third-largest contributor to rheumatology research in the region. Moreover, Colombia has attained an honorable 30th position globally, surpassing its standing in all scientific disciplines (47th) and medical specialties (43rd). This remarkable rise contrasts with the performance of some regional counterparts. While Brazil has surged from 25th to 15th place over 25 years, Mexico has always remained around 20th place. Among the countries that have witnessed declines in their global rankings are Argentina (which has dropped from 27th to 31st place), Venezuela, (which has gone from 51st to 73rd), or Cuba (from 66th to 77th).
The inclusion of the REVISTA COLOMBIANA DE REUMATOLOGIA in the Scopus database since 2013 has undoubtedly played a crucial role in disseminating national scientific production. Credit must also be attributed to the Colombian Association of Rheumatology and the REVISTA COLOMBIANA DE REUMATOLOGIA for their significant contributions to maintaining the scientific production of this specialty, above that of most other medical specialties. The Association’s efforts in encouraging quality research through awards, recognition, and high-level scientific conferences have been commendable. Similarly, REVISTA COLOMBIANA DE REUMATOLOGIA has provided Colombian researchers with a platform to showcase their work on international indices.2
While this analysis is based on a single bibliometric database, exploring other sources such as the Web of Science (heir to the Science Citation Index) and the SciELO Citation Index, of more recent creation and greater emphasis on Latin American scientific literature, could provide further insights.
