Scientometric analysis of medicinal leech therapy
Research article published in Journal of Ayurveda and integrative medicine (2019)
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Hirudotherapy, also known as medicinal leech therapy, has been used to treat a wide range of disorders for thousands of years since Ancient Egypt. Leech therapy is also mentioned as a minimal invasive technique called Jalaukavacharana in the Sushruta Samhita, an ancient Sanskrit text of Ayurvedic medicine. Although hirudotherapy has become a popular component of complementary medicine in the last decade, scientometric studies investigating the articles published in this field, do not exist. OBJECTIVE: In this study, we aimed to perform a detailed scientometric analysis of hirudotherapy literature. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We collected data by using four databases provided by Web of Science using the keywords "hirudotherapy", "leech therapy", "medicinal leech" and "medicinal leech therapy". RESULTS: A total of 834 articles were found of which 89.8% were original articles. USA was the leading country with 280 publications, followed by UK, Germany and France (128, 101 and 41 items, respectively). The most productive countries regarding hirudotherapy were the UK (1.93), Slovenia (1.44), and Israel (1.32). The peak publication year for hirudotherapy literature was 2011 with 41 papers. CONCLUSION: To the best of our knowledge, our study was the first bibliometric and scientometric analysis in this field and we believe that multicenter studies and further searches from developing and least-developed countries are needed in hirudotherapy literature.
Abstract sourced from PubMed (NCBI) for the cited record. See the original publication for the authoritative version.
Resumen
Scientometric analysis of medicinal leech therapy.
Por qué esto importa para la hirudoterapia
Este estudio proporciona un análisis cienciométrico detallado de la literatura sobre hirudoterapia, analizando las tendencias de publicación, los países más productivos y la producción científica a partir de la base de datos Web of Science. Es directamente relevante para la American Society of Hirudotherapy, ya que cartografía la trayectoria histórica y la huella científica global de la terapia medicinal con sanguijuelas, identificando a EE. UU. y Europa como contribuyentes destacados. Los autores señalaron la necesidad de más estudios multicéntricos e investigación procedente de países en desarrollo para fortalecer la base de evidencia del campo. Sin embargo, como análisis bibliométrico, no ofrece nuevos datos clínicos ni biológicos sobre la eficacia terapéutica, los mecanismos de acción o el perfil de seguridad de la hirudoterapia en sí.
Citación
Scientometric analysis of medicinal leech therapy
Senel E et al. · Journal of Ayurveda and integrative medicine, 2019
Contexto clínico relacionado
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Añadido a la biblioteca ASH: May 27, 2026 · Última actualización del sitio: 18 de junio de 2026