Analysis of Scientific Products about Microbiota and Covid-19: A Scientometric Study

  Background and purpose: Gastrointestinal symptoms along with respiratory symptoms recorded in patients with Covid-19 indicate the role of microbiota in this disease. The purpose of this scientometric study was to assess the articles published on the relationship between microbiota and Covid-19 in order to control the pandemic by reaching new strategies. Materials and methods: Relevant articles were searched in Scopus database by titles and abstracts, published from January 1 to October 15, 2020. Data analysis was performed by analysis tools available in Scopus database, SPSS and VOSviewer network analysis version 1.6.15. Results: Overall, 87 papers were included. The most productive time was July in which 20 articles were published. The top subject area was medicine (n=66 papers). The first productive country was the USA (24.14%), and the top institute was the Chinese University of Hong Kong (8.54%) in China. The top source was the Lancet Gastroenterology and Hepatology journal that published 8.05% of the articles. Total number of citations were 401 and their H‑index was 9. Top author and top country in the co-authorship network assessment or international collaboration were from China and the USA, respectively. From the Middle East, six articles were published on microbiota and Covid-19 by Iran, Jordan, Qatar, and Turkey and the highest cited article (5 times) was  from Jordan. Conclusion: Some research has been carried out to investigate the role of microbiota in developing Covid-19. However, further studies are needed to clarify this role.