Anesthesia & Analgesia (A&A), official journal of the International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS), has achieved a significant increase in its Impact Factor, a key indicator of the influence and scientific value of medical journals, the IARS announced today.

According to the 2009 ISI Journal Citation Reports®, published by Thomson Reuters, the Impact Factor for A&A jumped to 3.1—an increase of 19 percent over the 2008 impact factor of 2.59, and the highest Impact Factor in A&A’s history. The Impact Factor reflects the frequency with which studies published in peer-reviewed journals are cited by new research papers.

Increase Shows Unique Value of Anesthesia & Analgesia

“We are pleased with the positive trend in Impact Factor over the past few years,” comments Dr. Steven L. Shafer of Columbia University, Editor-in-Chief of Anesthesia & Analgesia. “The Impact Factor has increased by almost 50% in the past 4 years. Every section of the Journal has contributed to this improvement. An across-the-board increase allows us to raise the bar for all manuscripts while remaining the most comprehensive journal in our specialty. The credit goes to the outstanding research submitted by our authors, and the hard work and dedication of our reviewers, editors, and staff.”

The increase in Impact Factor reflects the high scientific and clinical value of the papers published over the past year. Each monthly issue of by Anesthesia & Analgesia presents important new research in cardiovascular, ambulatory, and pediatric anesthesia; anesthetic pharmacology; technology, computing, and simulation; critical care, trauma, and resuscitation; neuroscience in anesthesiology and perioperative medicine; and economics, education, and policy.

The journal’s unique emphasis on analgesia—including pain medicine, pain mechanisms, and regional anesthesia—highlights the growing importance of pain control in research and clinical practice. The emphasis on analgesia is also consistent with the journal’s history as the first medical journal in analgesia research. Every month, approximately 350,000 Anesthesia & Analgesia articles are viewed online.

View Anesthesia & Analgesia’s July issue Table of Contents

About the IARS

The International Anesthesia Research Society is a nonpolitical, not-for-profit medical society founded in 1922 to advance and support scientific research and education related to anesthesia, and to improve patient care through basic research. The IARS contributes nearly $1 million annually to fund anesthesia research; sponsors an annual forum for anesthesiology leaders to share information and ideas; maintains a worldwide membership of more 15,000 physicians, physician residents, and others with doctoral degrees, as well as health professionals in anesthesia-related practice; sponsors the SAFEKIDS initiative; and publishes the journal Anesthesia & Analgesia. Additional information about the society and the journal may be found at http://www.iars.org and http://www.anesthesia-analgesia.org.

About Anesthesia & Analgesia

Anesthesia & Analgesia was founded in 1922 and was issued bi-monthly until 1980, when it became a monthly publication. A&A is the leading journal for anesthesia clinicians and researchers and includes more than 500 articles annually in all areas related to anesthesia and analgesia, such as cardiovascular anesthesiology, patient safety, anesthetic pharmacology, and pain management. The journal is published on behalf of the IARS by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins (LWW), a division of Wolters Kluwer Health.

Source:  International Anesthesia Research Society (IARS)