Side Effects of COVID-19 Vaccine in Pregnant Women: A Bibliometric Study

Abstract

Introduction: Side effects related to COVID-19 vaccination are short-lived and disappear within a few days and can affect both pregnant and nonpregnant women. Aim: To evaluate the bibliometric profile of the worldwide scientific production on the side effects of COVID-19 vaccine in pregnant women, in Scopus. Materials and methods: A retrospective, cross-sectional, bibliometric study that analyzed metadata published in scientific journals indexed in Scopus during 2019 and 2021. The search and download of the papers were performed on May 13, 2022, and the SciVal program was used for the measurement of the bibliometric indicators. Results: The Lancet Infectious Diseases and International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics had the highest impact with 24.8 and 14.3 citations per publication, respectively. The institutions with the highest number of papers were Harvard University and National Institutes of Health, with 13 papers, respectively. Goldfarb Ilona Telefus, Kampmann Beate, and Khalil Asma were the authors with the highest number of papers, with 3 each. Only one publication on the side effects of COVID-19 vaccine in pregnant women was identified in 2019, whereas the highest scientific output was identified in 2021, with 127, of which 67 were from Q1. Conclusion: In Scopus, there is an increase in the production of papers on the side effects of the vaccine against COVID-19 in pregnant women, with the United States being the country with the most institutions with the highest scientific production. However, over the years, the quartile of the journals where these studies were published decreased.