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This work was funded by EULAR (SCI020).

Analysis of institutional authors

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March 9, 2022
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EULAR points to consider for minimal reporting requirements in synovial tissue research in rheumatology

Publicated to:ANNALS OF THE RHEUMATIC DISEASES. 81 (12): 1640-1646 - 2022-01-01 81(12), DOI: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2021-221875

Authors: Najm A, Costantino F, Alivernini S, Alunno A, Bianchi E, Bignall J, Boyce B, Cañete JD, Carubbi F, Durez P, Fonseca JE, Just SA, Largo R, Manzo A, Maybury M, Naredo E, Orr C, Pitzalis C, Rivellese F, Romão VC, van Rompay J, Tas SW, Veale DJ, D'Agostino MA, Filer A

Affiliations

Amsterdam Rheumatology and Immunology Center, Department of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology, Amsterdam University Medical Centres, Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, The Netherlands. - Author
Amsterdam Univ Med Ctr, Amsterdam Rheumatol & Immunol Ctr, Dept Clin Immunol & Rheumatol, Amsterdam, Noord Holland, Netherlands - Author
AP HP, Rheumatol Dept, Paris, France - Author
Arthritis Unit, Rheumatology Dpt, IDIBAPS, Barcelona, Spain. - Author
Barts & London Queen Marys Sch Med & Dent, Ctr Expt Med & Rheumatol, William Harvey Res Inst, London, England - Author
Catholic Univ Louvain, Inst Rech Expt & Clin, Pole Rech Rhumatol, Sect Sci Sante, Brussels, Belgium - Author
Cent Univ Hosp Liege, Dept Pathol, Dept Anat Pathol, Liege, Belgium - Author
Centre for Arthritis and Rheumatic Disease, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland. - Author
Centre for Experimental Medicine and Rheumatology, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry William Harvey Research Institute, London, UK. - Author
Clin Univ St Luc, Pole Rech Rhumatol, Inst Rech Expt & Clin, Brussels, Belgium - Author
Ctr Hosp Univ Lisboa Norte, Inst Med Mol, Serv Reumatol, Lisbon, Portugal - Author
Department of Medicine, San Salvatore Hospital, L'Aquila, Italy. - Author
Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York, USA. - Author
Department of Pathology, Department of Anatomical Pathology, Central University Hospital of Liege, Liege, Belgium. - Author
Department of Rheumatology, Bone and Joint Research Unit, Odense Universitetshospital, Odense, Denmark. - Author
Fdn IRCCS Policlin San Matteo, Div Rheumatol, Translat Immunol Res Labs LaRIT, Pavia, Italy - Author
Hosp Univ Fdn Jimenez Diaz, Joint & Bone Res Unit, Rheumatol Dept, Madrid, Spain - Author
IDIBAPS, Arthrit Unit, Rheumatol Dept, Barcelona, Spain - Author
Institute of Infection, Immunity and Inflammation, University of Glasgow College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences, Glasgow, UK aurelie.najm@glasgow.ac.uk. - Author
Internal Medicine and Nephrology Unit, Department of Clinical Medicine Life Health and Environmental Sciences, University of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy. - Author
Joint and Bone Research Unit. Rheumatology Dept, Hospital Universitario Fundación Jiménez Díaz, Madrid, Spain. - Author
Odense Univ Hosp, Dept Rheumatol, Bone & Joint Res Unit, Odense, Denmark - Author
Patient Res Partners, Antwerp, Antwerp Prov, Belgium - Author
Patient Research Partners, Antwerp Province, Antwerpen, Belgium. - Author
Pôle de Recherche en Rhumatologie, Institut de Recherche Expérimentale et Clinique, Cliniques universitaires Saint-Luc, Bruxelles, Belgium. - Author
Pôle de Recherche en Rhumatologie, Institut de Recherche Expérimentale et Clinique, Université catholique de Louvain Secteur des sciences de la santé, Bruxelles, Belgium. - Author
Rheumatology Department, AP-HP, Boulogne-billancourt, Paris, France. - Author
Rheumatology Patient Group, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham, UK. - Author
Rheumatology Research Group and Research into Inflammatory Arthritis Centre Versus Arthritis, Institute of Inflammation and Ageing, NIHR Birmingham Biomedical Research Center, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham, UK. - Author
San Salvatore Hosp, Dept Med, Laquila, Italy - Author
Serviço de Reumatologia, Centro Hospitalar Universitário Lisboa Norte, Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Lisboa, Portugal. - Author
St Vincents Univ Hosp, Conway Inst, Dublin, Ireland - Author
The Conway Institute, St Vincent's University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland. - Author
Translational Immunology Research Laboratories (LaRIT), Division of Rheumatology, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Pavia, Italy. - Author
Univ Autonoma Madrid, Madrid, Spain - Author
Univ Autonoma Madrid, Univ Fdn Jimenez Diaz, IIS Fdn Jimenez Diaz, Rheumatol, Madrid, Spain - Author
Univ Cattolica Sacro Cuore, Fdn Policlin Univ Agostino Gemelli IRCSS, UOC Reumatol, Rome, Italy - Author
Univ Coll Dublin, Ctr Arthrit & Rheumat Dis, Dublin, Ireland - Author
Univ Glasgow, Inst Infect Immun & Inflammat, Coll Med Vet & Life Sci, Glasgow, Lanark, Scotland - Author
Univ Hosp Birmingham NHS Fdn Trust, Res Inflammatory Arthrit Ctr Versus Arthrit, NIHR Birmingham Biomed Res Ctr, Inst Inflammat & Ageing, Birmingham, W Midlands, England - Author
Univ Hosp Birmingham NHS Fdn Trust, Rheumatol Patient Grp, Birmingham, W Midlands, England - Author
Univ Hosp Birmingham NHS Fdn Trust, Rheumatol Res Grp, NIHR Birmingham Biomed Res Ctr, Inst Inflammat & Ageing, Birmingham, W Midlands, England - Author
Univ LAquila, Dept Clin Med Life Hlth & Environm Sci, Internal Med & Nephrol Unit, Laquila, Italy - Author
Univ Paris Saclay, Lab Excellence Inflamex, UVSQ, Inserm,U1173,Infect & Inflammat, Montigny Le Bretonneux, France - Author
Univ Rochester, Med Ctr, Dept Pathol & Lab Med, Rochester, NY 14642 USA - Author
Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain. - Author
Universitario Fundación Jiménez Díaz, IIS Fundación Jiménez Díaz, Rheumatology, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain. - Author
Université Paris-Saclay, UVSQ, Inserm U1173, Infection et Inflammation, Laboratory of Excellence Inflamex, Montigny-Le-Bretonneux, France. - Author
UOC di Reumatologia, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCSS, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy. - Author
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Abstract

Synovial tissue research has become widely developed in several rheumatology centres, however, large discrepancies exist in the way synovial tissue is handled and, more specifically, how data pertaining to biopsy procedure, quality check and experimental results are reported in the literature. This heterogeneity hampers the progress of research in this rapidly expanding field. In that context, under the umbrella of European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology, we aimed at proposing points to consider (PtC) for minimal reporting requirements in synovial tissue research.Twenty-five members from 10 countries across Europe and USA met virtually to define the key areas needing evaluation and formulating the research questions to inform a systematic literature review (SLR). The results were presented during a second virtual meeting where PtC were formulated and agreed.Study design, biopsy procedures, tissue handling, tissue quality control and tissue outcomes (imaging, DNA/RNA analysis and disaggregation) were identified as important aspects for the quality of synovial tissue research. The SLR interrogated four databases, retrieved 7654 abstracts and included 26 manuscripts. Three OPs and nine PtC were formulated covering the following areas: description of biopsy procedure, overarching clinical design, patient characteristics, tissue handling and processing, quality control, histopathology, transcriptomic analyses and single-cell technologies.These PtC provide guidance on how research involving synovial tissue should be reported to ensure a better evaluation of results by readers, reviewers and the broader scientific community. We anticipate that these PtC will enable the field to progress in a robust and transparent manner over the coming years.© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.

Keywords

arthritisbiomarkerbiopsyexpressioninflammationjointrecommendationst-cellstherapytocilizumabultrasonographyArthritisInflammationOmeract filterSynovitisUltrasonography

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal ANNALS OF THE RHEUMATIC DISEASES due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency WoS (JCR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2022, it was in position 2/34, thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Rheumatology. Notably, the journal is positioned above the 90th percentile.

From a relative perspective, and based on the normalized impact indicator calculated from World Citations provided by WoS (ESI, Clarivate), it yields a value for the citation normalization relative to the expected citation rate of: 1.4. This indicates that, compared to works in the same discipline and in the same year of publication, it ranks as a work cited above average. (source consulted: ESI Nov 14, 2024)

This information is reinforced by other indicators of the same type, which, although dynamic over time and dependent on the set of average global citations at the time of their calculation, consistently position the work at some point among the top 50% most cited in its field:

  • Weighted Average of Normalized Impact by the Scopus agency: 2.27 (source consulted: FECYT Feb 2024)
  • Field Citation Ratio (FCR) from Dimensions: 9.08 (source consulted: Dimensions Jul 2025)

Specifically, and according to different indexing agencies, this work has accumulated citations as of 2025-07-16, the following number of citations:

  • WoS: 5
  • Scopus: 15

Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2025-07-16:

  • The use, from an academic perspective evidenced by the Altmetric agency indicator referring to aggregations made by the personal bibliographic manager Mendeley, gives us a total of: 31.
  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 34 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 29.5.
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 16 (Altmetric).
  • The number of mentions in news outlets: 3 (Altmetric).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

  • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.

Leadership analysis of institutional authors

This work has been carried out with international collaboration, specifically with researchers from: Belgium; Denmark; France; Italy; Netherlands; Portugal; United Kingdom; United States of America.