The Pattern of Publications on Cerebral Arteriovenous Malformations and Cavernomas in the Middle East and North Africa

Abstract

Background: Cerebrovascular malformations are encountered frequently in clinical practice, but not much is known about the pattern of publication in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries. We aim to evaluate the status and pattern of publications of cerebral arteriovenous malformations (AVM) and cavernomas in the MENA. Materials and Methods: PubMed database was searched for publications on cerebral AVM and cavernomas in the MENA between 2009 and 2019. Results: We found only 94 publications in the MENA region out of 31,333 publications pertaining to AVMs (0.3%). The highest publishing country was Turkey, with 50 (53.1%) studies. The case report was the study design used most by authors with 59 (62.7%) studies. The majority of publications were by neurosurgeons with 42 of 94 (42.4%) papers. European journals ranked first in the number of published articles with 42 of 94 (46.1%) articles. Conclusions: We found a limited number of publications on cerebral AVMs and cavernomas by MENA countries in the past decade. Research support and national/regional registries are important factors to improve the academic output on AVMs and cavernomas in the MENA region.