Korean J Dermatol.
2008 Jul;46(7):903-908.
Analysis of Case Reports in the Korean Journal of Dermatology (1960~2006)
- Affiliations
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- 1Department Dermatology, Collage of Medicine, Soonchunhyang University, Seoul, Korea. dermasung@schch.co.kr
Abstract
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BACKGROUND: The Korean Journal of Dermatology represents Korean dermatological circulars. Analyses of the papers in this journal can be utilized as critical information in determining where the Korean dermatology is now and where it is heading. Papers on original articles have appeared in the Korean Journal of Dermatology, but there has been no paper in this journal dealing with articles of case reports.
OBJECTIVE
To study chronological changes in case reports published in The Korean Journal of Dermatology by analyzing the articles of case reports.
METHODS
We collected 3913 articles from 292 issues of the Korean Journal of Dermatology published from 1960 through 2006. We grouped the case reports into 17 categories by the disease the case report is mainly concerned about, and also classified them by period.
RESULTS
Out of 6,189 papers, 3,913 (63.2%) dealt with case reports. The number of case reports gradually increased from the 1960s to the 2000s. When it comes to the type of disease, the number in the category 'other skin tumors' was highest, followed by other skin diseases', 'tumors of the skin appendages', 'other infectious diseases', 'epidermal tumors', 'drug eruption/erythema/hypersensitivity diseases' and 'dermal tumors' in the order named. The average volume included 5 articles of case reports (45/9) in the 1960s, 7.3 (283/39) in the 1970s, 13.3 (800/60) in the 1980s, 15.9 (1,049/66) in the 1990s and 20.7 (1,736/84) in the 2000s, showing an upward trend. Meanwhile, 'genodermatoses/congenital anomalies' was the most frequently reported disease in the 1960s. From 1970s through 1990s, it was 'other skin tumors' that had the greatest number of case reports. In the 2000s, 'other skin diseases' took the place of 'other skin tumors'.
CONCLUSION
The number of case reports published in The Korean Journal of Dermatology has been gradually increasing and, especially, the incidences of 'Skin tumors' and 'Other skin diseases' have been increasing in recent years.
