Spring has fast arrived and as we celebrate the new growth and life that it brings, we’re taking the opportunity to highlight the new entries in the Top 10 most read BMJ Open papers in February 2026.

Since our last blog post, we have three new entries in our Top 10 most read list, starting with a longitudinal analysis by Kumar et al (#4). The authors aimed to investigate cause-specific excess mortality in rural India during the COVID-19 pandemic, extracting data from India’s Health Management Information System, a healthcare surveillance system that captures data from roughly 200,000 facilities. 

Our next new entry (#9) is a randomised control trial by Rafique et al, investigating the efficacy and safety of patiromer (a potassium binder hypothesised to aid in the management of hyperkalaemia) in the emergency department. The authors found that patriomer lowered serum potassium levels, but these reductions were not significantly different from those observed with the placebo at any measured time point. Authors acknowledged that the study was heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and was terminated early, leading to underpower and limited ability to detect efficacy. (A friendly reminder that BMJ Open considers all research study types, including specialist studies and studies reporting negative results.)

Finally, at #10, is a mixed methods study protocol by Xu et al, exploring the factors influencing patient involvement in diabetic retinopathy treatment-decision making. The authors plan to use quantitative and qualitative methodology to investigate the current status of decision making roles amongst Chinese patients with diabetic retinopathy, and to explore these findings through patients’ subjective experiences and attitudes.