Global practice guidelines in rheumatology: a cross-sectional altmetric and citation analysis
Zimba O. Korkosz M. Alnaimat F. Fragoulis G.E. Yessirkepov M. Baimukhamedov C. Kocyigit B.F.
June 2025Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH
Rheumatology International
2025#45Issue 6
Clinical practice guidelines are instrumental for managing rheumatic diseases, which are often chronic, multifaceted, and require evidence-based diagnostic and therapeutic approaches. This study assessed the societal and academic implications of global rheumatology practice guidelines. A cross-sectional altmetric and citation analysis was conducted to assess the implications of rheumatology practice guidelines. Practice guidelines published in Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases and Arthritis & Rheumatology (2000–2024) were retrieved through PubMed searches. A total of 127 guidelines were included in this study. On April 9, 2025, the Altmetric Attention Score (AAS), Mendeley bookmarking data, and citation metrics from the Scopus and Dimensions databases were recorded for each document. A significant rise in the volume of published guidelines over time was detected (p < 0.001 for the trend). Guidelines in Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases attracted more Scopus citations (median: 320) compared to Arthritis & Rheumatology (median: 145.5; p = 0.046); AAS values did not show a significant difference between the sources (p = 0.168). The analysis demonstrated statistically significant positive correlations between Scopus citation counts and several altmetric indices, including AAS, news outlets, and Facebook mentions, and Mendeley bookmarking counts (all p < 0.001). No correlations recorded for X (Twitter) mentions. This study reveals the implications of global rheumatology practice guidelines in view of their traditional and alternative metrics. To maximize the societal implications, renewed social media strategies are warranted to expand online visibility and academic outreach of global rheumatology practice guidelines.
Altmetrics , Bibliometrics , Practice guidelines as topic , Rheumatology , Social media
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Department of Rheumatology, Immunology and Internal Medicine, University Hospital in Krakow, Krakow, Poland
National Institute of Geriatrics, Rheumatology and Rehabilitation, Warsaw, Poland
Department of Internal Medicine N2, Danylo Halytsky Lviv National Medical University, Lviv, Ukraine
Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Jakubowskiego 2 Str., Kraków, 30-688, Poland
Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, School of Medicine, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan
First Department of Propaedeutic and Internal Medicine, Joint Academic Rheumatology Program, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
Center for Life and Health Sciences, National Academy of Sciences Under the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Almaty, Kazakhstan
South Kazakhstan Medical Academy, Shymkent, Kazakhstan
Shymkent Medical Centre of Joint Diseases, Shymkent, Kazakhstan
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Health Sciences, Adana City Research and Training Hospital, Kışla District, Dr. Mithat Özsan Boulevard, 4522. Street No:28, Yüreğir, Adana, Turkey
Department of Rheumatology
National Institute of Geriatrics
Department of Internal Medicine N2
Department of Rheumatology and Immunology
Department of Internal Medicine
First Department of Propaedeutic and Internal Medicine
Center for Life and Health Sciences
South Kazakhstan Medical Academy
Shymkent Medical Centre of Joint Diseases
Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
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