Twitter promotion is associated with higher citation rates of cardiovascular articles: the ESC Journals Randomized Study.

The association between the dissemination of scientific articles on Twitter and online visibility (as assessed by the Altmetric Score) is still controversial, and the impact on citation rates has never been rigorously addressed for cardiovascular medicine journals using a randomized design. The ESC Journals Study randomized 695 papers published in the ESC Journal Family (March 2018-May 2019) for promotion on Twitter or to a control arm (with no active tweeting from ESC channels) and aimed to assess whether Twitter promotion was associated with an increase in citation rates (primary endpoint) and of the Altmetric Score. This is the final analysis including 694 articles (one paper excluded due to retraction). After a median follow-up of 994 days (interquartile range: 936-1063 days), Twitter promotion of articles was associated with a 1.12 (95% confidence interval: 1.08-1.15) higher rate of citations, and this effect was independent of the type of article. Altmetric Attention Score and number of users tweeting were positive predictors for the number of citations. A social media strategy of Twitter promotion for cardiovascular medicine papers seems to be associated with increased online visibility and higher numbers of citations.

Social media in cardiovascular medicine: a contemporary review.

Social media increasingly impact both the private and professional lives of the majority of the population, including individuals engaged in cardiovascular healthcare and research. Healthcare providers across the world use social media platforms such as Twitter or Facebook to find medical and scientific information, to follow scientific meetings, to discuss individual clinical cases with colleagues, and to engage with patients. While social media provide a means for fast, interactive and accessible communication without geographic boundaries, their use to obtain and disseminate information has limitations and the potential threats are not always clearly understood. Governance concerns include a lack of rigorous quality control, bias due to the pre-selection of presented content by filter algorithms, and the risk of inadvertent breach of patient confidentiality. This article provides information and guidance regarding the role and use of social media platforms in cardiovascular medicine, with an emphasis on the new opportunities for the dissemination of scientific information and continuing education that arise from their responsible use.