Scientometric Evaluation of the Itch Mite, Sarcoptes scabiei (Acari: Sarcoptidae): The Last Four Decades of Global Academic Output on Scabies.

Objective: Scabiosis, the infestation of the skin with Sarcoptes scabiei, is a neglected tropical disease, with at least 200 million people being infested with the parasite at any time. It is estimated that scabies is responsible for 0.07% of the total burden of disease worldwide. Objective of this study is to perform a scientometric analysis of S. scabiei literature using the Web of Science Core Collection database for the years 1981-2020.

Methods: All documents indexed between 1981 and 2020 in scabies literature were analyzed by using a search string including keywords of "scabies", "Sarcoptes scabiei" and "S. scabiei" in Web of Science Core Collection database. We excluded all materials including data on the bacterium species named Streptomyces scabies and Streptomyces scabiei.

Results: Overall, 2,933 articles were retrieved on scabies, 66.3% of which were original article. With 663 publications the USA was the most productive country, while The International Journal of Dermatology was the journal with the highest number of publications on scabies. Half of the most productive institutions and seven of the top ten prolific authors were also from Australia. The National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia was the most supportive funding agency. With 4,706 citations, 2020 was the year with most references on scabies. The most cited publication was "The Global Burden of Skin Disease in 2010: An Analysis of the Prevalence and Impact of Skin Conditions" by Hay et al. in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology with a total of 565 citations. The most collaborative country was Australia and the most cooperative institution was the University of Melbourne.

Conclusion: The majority of the studies were done in a given country while multicenter studies are very rare. It is recommended that more studies should be conducted on scabiosis in developing countries where the problem of scabies is the biggest.