Letter from a Dutch uncle

As I read the inner cover of September's BJGP I noted once again the preponderance of researchers whose surnames contain an almost implausible combination of vowels or suspicious frequency of diphthongs. Not for the first time and, like a bygone Eurovision Song Contest, the Dutch scored highest on the Original Papers count.

I am happy to read and learn from articles originating elsewhere in the world and delight in the cosmopolitan culture of this proud journal. I do wonder though as to why quite so many articles appear from the Benelux and Scandinavian countries. Perhaps ours is truly the pinnacle of publishing excellence that Danish researchers can only aspire to. I have a nagging suspicion though that many such papers are received on the back of rejections from reviewers elsewhere on the continent.

I am curious that an antibiotic study should exclude ‘families that had not mastered the Swedish language’1 and yet its intended readership is not subject to such denial. I am bemused by the relevance of studying prescribing habits that stray from those of the Dutch College of General Practitioners' guidelines.2 I am perplexed that our Editor must ‘again’ apologise to ‘non-UK readers’ for content found elsewhere within the BJGP.3 I know the BMJ struggles with the word ‘British’ in its title and has considered abandoning it for something more ‘international.’ Perhaps it delayed because the Icelandic Medical Journal (IMJ) got there first (by almost a century!) with those particular initials.

May I suggest that the, otherwise helpful, little coloured box: ‘How this fits in’ should be extended to mention the country in which the study was conducted and how it relates (or literally translates) to British general practice.

It is not a safe assumption that research findings anywhere within these ever expanding European boundaries apply throughout or even elsewhere. Many cultural and practical differences exist and in a medical context alone these would include incompatible or different: X-ray facilities and guidelines; Ethics committees: Notification of diseases; Organisation of health services; Politics and pharmaceuticals, Hospital management; Out-of-hospital care; Bed availability and usage; Infrastructures and Attitudes. I appreciate this has a most unfortunate acronym but I do hope my point is not lost in translation.

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• © British Journal of General Practice, 2006.