It is interesting how, over the course of our lives, we become accustomed to the facilities that progress and technology add to our routine and we forget what things were like not long ago. Older researchers like me scarcely remember the time when we performed hand bibliographic searches and stayed in contact without computers, without the Internet, and without cell phones. The same is true for our scientific journals. Ten years ago, the Brazilian Journal of Pulmonology (BJP) was in transition from the editorship of Professor Thais Queluz to that of Professor Geraldo Lorenzi Filho. As an exercise, let us compare the 2001-2002 period with the 2011-2012 period, in terms of the type and number of publications. This exercise is important for allowing us to reflect on the next steps, i.e., the future of the BJP. During the most recent Brazilian Pulmonology Conference, which was held in November of 2012 in the city of Belo Horizonte, we had an open meeting in which 27 researchers interested in respiratory medicine discussed the current situation of and the prospects for the BJP. This meeting was very interesting and productive, and, without a doubt, it is only with the greater participation of all that we will be able to achieve scientific maturity and establish our journal as a respected vehicle for the dissemination of national and international findings in thoracic research.

In 2002, the BJP was indexed for the Scientific Electronic Library Online and thus began to gain prominence. More recently, in June of 2012, Journal Citation Reports issued the first impact factor for our journal (1.391), which has further increased our visibility. This figure represents the relative importance of the BJP within its field. As commented in an editorial published at that time,(1) the BJP ranks fourth among the 93 Brazilian scientific journals indexed for the Thomson Reuters Journal Citation Reports database, ranking third in the medical field.

In the 12 issues published in the 2001-2002 period, there were 57 original articles, 15 review articles, 40 case reports, 8 editorials, and 9 letters to the editor. These figures demonstrate the difficulty that the then-editors had in obtaining a sufficient number of manuscripts for evaluation and subsequent publication, especially original studies, which provide more well-developed, better quality research and which accounted for less than half of the articles published in that period. None of the published material was authored by researchers from abroad or involved international cooperation. In the 2011-2012 period, after circulation had increased and the BJP had received international recognition, the situation was quite different: 155 original articles, 25 review articles, 12 case reports, 19 editorials, and 36 letters to the editor were published. Of those, 39 (nearly 25%) were manuscripts, editorials, or letters to the editor authored by researchers in countries other than Brazil or resulting from cooperation with centers of excellence in such countries. This also represents advancements in clinical and surgical research in the area of respiratory diseases nationwide.

Ten years ago, the main topics of research in the respiratory field that were published in the BJP were as follows: asthma and COPD (accounting for 20% of the manuscripts), followed by tuberculosis, pediatrics, and surgery (each accounting for 10%), i.e., half of the publications addressed these more classical areas. Approximately 5% of the manuscripts addressed sub-areas that are equally important but had less regional scientific appeal, such as pulmonary function, infectious diseases (other than tuberculosis), interstitial diseases, intensive care, smoking, bronchoscopy, and neoplasia. Only two manuscripts resulted from experimental research, one addressing sleep-disordered breathing and one addressing cystic fibrosis. This mirrored the incipient state of research. With the development and consolidation of graduate programs at university centers, these emerging areas became a little more interesting to Brazilian researchers.


By the 2011-2012 period, there had been a four-fold increase in the number of original articles published, and the diversity of themes among those articles is noteworthy. Manuscripts related to obstructive diseases and tuberculosis were still quite common (each accounting for 20%). However, other areas were covered. The number of manuscripts related to pulmonary function increased significantly (by 10%), the publication of studies aimed at updating or comparing techniques for the assessment of respiratory function being of note.(2-7) Another commonly addressed topic was the determination of reference values for the Brazilian and South American populations, especially for the six-minute walk test.(8-11) In addition, the BJP published an international study that proposed reference values for expiratory volumes and flows for the population of Iran.(12)

Experimental studies were also more common in the 2011-2012 period than in the 2001-2002 period. Many of the experimental studies published in the 2011-2012 period were authored by surgical teams. There were three studies involving ex vivo experimental models.(13-15) The use of a surgical adhesive for lung repair after lobectomy was tested in rats,(16) the extracellular matrix of the rat trachea was examined,(17) an experimental rat model of pulmonary hypertension(18) was studied, and the use of a self-expanding tracheal stent was tested in rabbits.(19) Murine models of allergic response(20) and of protective ventilation strategies(21) were studied. This diversity of studies shows that research groups in Brazil are expanding their activities and engaging in benchtop research.

In the earlier period, interstitial lung diseases were addressed mainly in reports of rare cases. In the more recent period, this profile changed. Although case reports and letters to the editor dealing with uncommon situations continued to be published, there were some manuscripts reporting the results of clinical trials. Two articles on sarcoidosis were published, of which one was an epidemiological study conducted in the city of Rio de Janeiro(22) and one evaluated the histopathology of the pulmonary and extrapulmonary forms of the disease.(23) There was a study on evaluating pulmonary function in systemic sclerosis,(24) and that study prompted an editorial by Professor Charlie Strange, of the state of South Carolina, in the United States.(25) On the theme of collagenosis, there was a special article on anti-synthetase syndrome written by a group also working in the United States, at the National Jewish Center of Colorado.(26) We published an interesting study on exposure-related bronchiolitis among workers at a cookie factory,(27) as well as two important original studies on the treatment of lymphangioleiomyomatosis-one involving the use of goserelin(28) and one involving the use of doxycycline, which is a metalloproteinase inhibitor.(29) This latter study was discussed in an editorial by Professor Francis McCormack, who works in the American city of Cincinnati.(30) Thanks to the efforts of research groups across Brazil who study interstitial lung diseases, the Brazilian Thoracic Association finally issued guidelines for the diagnosis and management of this important family of diseases.(31)

Another important sub-area in our field in which there has been an increase in interest and in scientific production is intensive care,(32-34) including mechanical ventilation and the essential participation of respiratory therapy, an area in which the volume of research has also increased.(35,36) The use of ventilatory support and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation was the subject of a study conducted in the city of São Paulo(37) and of an editorial authored by Professor Alan Morris of Salt Lake City, Utah.(38) There were three publications on weaning from mechanical ventilation: an original article on weaning protocols conducted in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul,(39); a review article on predictive parameters(40); and an editorial by Professor Martin Tobin of Chicago, Illinois.(41)Other emerging areas, such as pulmonary circulation, smoking, environmental exposure, bronchoscopy, and sleep-disordered breathing, were also addressed.(42,43)

Therefore, owing to its evolving profile and growing international exposure, the JBP, which welcomes submissions from Brazil and other countries, is positioned to become an important vehicle for the dissemination of knowledge in respiratory medicine. As I said, the work is just beginning.


Carlos Roberto Ribeiro Carvalho
Full Professor of Pulmonology, University of São Paulo School of Medicine,
São Paulo, Brazil Editor of the Brazilian Journal of Pulmonology

References

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