Citation classics in radiology journals: the 100 top-cited articles, 1945-2012

Hepatocellular carcinoma treatment: ablation and arterial embolization

Percutaneous and endovascular techniques take an important role in the therapeutic management of patients with hepatocarcinoma. Different techniques of percutaneous ablation, especially indicated in tumors up to 2cm diameter offer, at least, similar results to surgical resection. Taking advantage of double hepatic vascularization and exclusive tumor nutrition by the artery, several endovascular techniques of treating the tumor have been developed. Intra-arterial administration of embolizing particles, alone or charged with drug (chemoembolization), will produce ischemia and consequent necrosis with excellent results in selected patients. Certain types of particles may exclusively be carriers of a therapeutic agent when they incorporate a radioisotope that facilitates the direct intratumoral selective irradiation (radioembolization). This technique has demonstrated its efficacy in lesions not susceptible to be treated with other methods and should be considered, together with ablation and chemoembolization, in the therapeutic algorithms of hepatocarcinoma.

The 100 Top-Cited Articles in Pulmonary Imaging: A Bibliometric Analysis

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study was to identify and characterize the 100 top-cited articles in pulmonary imaging.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

From the database of Journal Citation Reports, 274 journals whose scope included pulmonary imaging were selected. The Web of Science search tools were then used to identify the 100 top-cited articles in the subject of pulmonary imaging published in these journals. The parameters used to analyze the characteristics of the 100 top-cited articles were journal (including subject category and impact factor), publication year, number of citations and annual citations, department and institution of authors, country of origin, article type, imaging technique, and topic.

RESULTS

The 100 top-cited articles in pulmonary imaging were published between 1953 and 2012, with 43 published between 2000 and 2009. Citations ranged from 199 to 1447, and annual citations ranged from 5.1 to 314. The majority of articles were published in radiology or imaging journals (n=64), originated in the United States (n=49), were original articles (n=87), used computed tomography (n=66), and were based on the topic of pulmonary thromboembolism (n=18). Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic (n=7), and Department of Radiology, University of British Columbia and Vancouver General Hospital (n=7), were the leading institutions, and Müller NL (n=11) was the most prolific author.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study lists the 100 top-cited articles in pulmonary imaging, provides an insight into historical developments, and allows for recognition of advances in this field.

Trends in CT colonography: bibliometric analysis of the 100 most-cited articles

Our purpose was to identify the top 100 cited articles, which focused on CT colonography (CTC). This list could then be analysed to establish trends in CTC research while also identifying common characteristics of highly cited works. Web of Science search was used to create a database of scientific journals using our search terms. A total of 10,597 articles were returned from this search. Articles were included if they focused on diagnostic imaging, imaging technique, cost-effectiveness analysis, clinical use, patient preference or trends in CTC. Articles were ranked by citation count and screened by two attending radiologists. The following information was collected from each article: database citations, citations per year, year published, journal, authors, department affiliation, study type and design, statistical analysis, sample size, modality and topic. Citations for the top 100 articles ranged from 73 to 1179, and citations per year ranged from 4.5 to 84.21. Articles were published across 22 journals, most commonly Radiology (n = 37) and American Journal of Roentgenology (n = 19). Authors contributed from 1 to 20 articles. 19% of first authors were affiliated with a department other than radiology. Of the 100 articles, the most common topics were imaging technique (n = 40), diagnostic utility of imaging (n = 28) and clinical uses (n = 18). Our study provides intellectual milestones in CTC research, reflecting on the characteristics and quality of published literature. This work also provides the most influential references related to CTC and serves as a guide to the features of a citable paper in this field.

The Top 100 Articles in the Medical Informatics: a Bibliometric Analysis

The number of citations that a research paper receives can be used as a measure of its scientific impact. The objective of this study was to identify and to examine the characteristics of top 100 cited articles in the field of Medical Informatics based on data acquired from the Thomson Reuters' Web of Science (WOS) in October, 2016. The data was collected using two procedures: first we included articles published in the 24 journals listed in the "Medical Informatics" category; second, we retrieved articles using the key words: "informatics", "medical informatics", "biomedical informatics", "clinical informatics" and "health informatics". After removing duplicate records, articles were ranked by the number of citations they received. When the 100 top cited articles had been identified, we collected the following information for each record: all WOS database citations, year of publication, journal, author names, authors' affiliation, country of origin and topics indexed for each record. Citations for the top 100 articles ranged from 346 to 7875, and citations per year ranged from 11.12 to 525. The majority of articles were published in the 2000s (n=43) and 1990s (n=38). Articles were published across 10 journals, most commonly Statistics in medicine (n=71) and Medical decision making (n=28). The articles had an average of 2.47 authors. Statistics and biostatistics modeling was the most common topic (n=71), followed by artificial intelligence (n=12), and medical errors (n=3), other topics included data mining, diagnosis, bioinformatics, information retrieval, and medical imaging. Our bibliometric analysis illustrated a historical perspective on the progress of scientific research on Medical Informatics. Moreover, the findings of the current study provide an insight on the frequency of citations for top cited articles published in Medical Informatics as well as quality of the works, journals, and the trends steering Medical Informatics.

The most-cited articles in pediatric imaging: a bibliometric analysis

INTRODUCTION

The number of citations that an article has received reflects its impact on the scientific community. The purpose of our study was to identify and characterize the 51 most-cited articles in pediatric imaging.

EVIDENCE ACQUISITION

Based on the database of Journal Citation Reports, we selected 350 journals that were considered as potential outlets for pediatric imaging articles. The Web of Science search tools were used to identify the most-cited articles relevant to pediatric imaging within the selected journals.

EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS

The 51 most-cited articles in pediatric imaging were published between 1952 and 2011, with 1980-1989 and 2000-2009 producing 15 articles, each. The number of citations ranged from 576-124 and the number of annual citations ranged from 49.05-2.56. The majority of articles were published in pediatric and related journals (N.=26), originated in the USA (N.=23), were original articles (N.=45), used MRI as imaging modality (N.=27), and were concerned with the subspecialty of brain (N.=34). University College London School of Medicine (N.=6) and School of Medicine University of California (N.=4) were the leading institutions and Reynolds EO (N.=7) was the most voluminous author.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study presents a detailed list and an analysis of the most-cited articles in the field of pediatric imaging, which provides an insight into historical developments and allows for recognition of the important advances in this field.

Distribution of Citations Received by Scientific Papers Published in the Imaging Literature From 2001 to 2010: Decreasing Inequality and Polarization

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study was to assess the distribution of citations received by scientific papers published in the imaging literature between 2001 and 2010.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We extracted the number of citations of all articles and reviews for 5 years after publication using the Scopus (Elsevier) citation database of imaging journals between 2001 and 2010. We quantitatively analyzed article and review citations from each journal and each year, including the number, proportion, and annual number of citations of the most- (≥ 20 citations) and least-cited (three or fewer citations) papers; ratio of most-cited to least-cited papers; 75/25 percentile citation ratio; 90/10 percentile citation ratio; Gini coefficient; and Kolkata index.

RESULTS

Our analysis of 124,331 articles and 13,575 reviews from 121 journals showed that the proportion of most-cited articles (from 19.6% to 27.1%) and reviews (from 19.1% to 37.2%) increased from 2001 to 2010, whereas the proportion of least-cited articles (from 32.3% to 23.0%) and reviews (from 31.9% to 15.8%) declined over the same period. The annual numbers of citations of most-cited articles and reviews both reached a peak in the fourth year after publication, whereas those of least-cited articles and reviews reached a peak in the second and fist years, respectively, after publication and thereafter decreased. The 75/25 percentile ratio for articles declined from 41.1 to 27.5 between 2001 and 2010. Over the same time, the 75/25 percentile ratio for reviews declined from 47.4 to 22.9. The 90/10 percentile ratio for articles declined from 1730.8 to 188.7; for reviews, the 90/10 percentile ratio declined from 5788.0 to 100.7. The Gini coefficient of articles and reviews also declined from 0.6116 to 0.5721 for articles and from 0.6507 to 0.5649 for reviews; the k index, from 0.7260 to 0.7088 for articles from 0.7409 to 0.7072 for reviews.

CONCLUSION

Inequality and polarization of citations consistently decreased in the imaging literature from 2001 to 2010.

The Top 100 Most-Cited Articles in Stroke Imaging: A Bibliometric Analysis

PURPOSE

The goal of our study was to compile a list of the top 100 most-cited articles in stroke imaging literature across all peer-reviewed scientific journals. These articles were then analyzed to identify current trends in stroke imaging research and determine the characteristics of highly-cited articles.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A database of the top 100 most-cited articles was created using Scopus and Web of Science. Articles were reviewed for applicability by 2 fellowship-trained radiologists with over 10 years of combined experience in neuroimaging. The following information was collected from each article: Article Title, Scopus Citations, Year of Publication, Journal, Journal Impact Factor, Authors, Number of Institutions, Country of Origin, Study Topic, Study Design, and Sample Size.

RESULTS

Citations for the top 100 most-cited articles ranged from 159-810, and citations per year ranged from 5.7-516.0. Most of articles were published between 1996 and 2000 (n = 43). Articles were published across 18 journals, most commonly in Stroke (n = 40). Magnetic resonance imaging was the focus in 46 articles, computed tomogrphy in 16, and functional magnetic resonance imaging in 10. The most common study topic is prognostic use of an imaging modality (n = 27).

CONCLUSIONS

Our study helps to characterize the field and identify the characteristics of most-cited articles.

Highlights in bioethics through 40 years: a quantitative analysis of top-cited journal articles

BACKGROUND

The field of bioethics is constantly evolving. To investigate trends in the field of bioethics, we conducted a quantitative analysis of the top-cited articles in bioethical journals over the past 40 years.

METHODS

Retrospective quantitative study of the 20 most cited bioethics articles published each year from 1975 to 2014 were conducted. Article samples were selected from a list of the most relevant 100 journals in the field of bioethics.

RESULTS

In total, 800 top-cited articles between 1975 and 2014 in the domain of bioethics were retrieved and analysed. More than half of them were composed by single authors, but multiauthorship became more prevalent with time. The majority (84.5%) of these highly cited articles originated from the USA (65.3%), UK or Canada, though the proportion of other countries increased in recent years. Almost half (44.6%) of the highly cited articles belonged to the subfield of clinical ethics, but other subfields such as research ethics, public health ethics and neuroethics became more prominent. Overall, the distribution of Thesaurus keywords and subfields became more diverse over time, and the number of journals publishing top-cited articles doubled. Furthermore, the empirical ethics approach increased over time in our sample of top-cited articles.

CONCLUSIONS

In sum, the forefront of bioethics is getting more diversified, collaborative and international. The presumed 'mainstream' becomes less dominant over time, as more highly cited articles come from new subfields, discuss new topics, use more Bioethics Thesaurus keywords, more authors participate and more countries other than the USA contribute to bioethics journals.

The Most Frequently Cited 100 Articles in Liver Transplantation Literature

INTRODUCTION

We investigated the liver transplantation literature since 1975 and found the most frequently cited 100 articles and assessed the distribution of authors and journals of these articles.

METHOD

Using the advanced mode of the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) Web of Science (WOS) search engine, the words "SU = transplantation AND TI = liver OR SU = transplantation AND TS = liver" were used to scan articles and determine the most-cited 100 articles on July 18, 2016.

RESULTS

From 1975 to date, it appears a total of 43,369 articles were published in the field of liver transplantation in the WOS. Although the most cited article had 677 citations, the least cited article had 180 citations. The mean citation number for the 100 articles was 252.31 ± 96.75. The mean annual citation number for the articles varied from 61.55 to 5 and the mean was 15.31 ± 8.63. The most cited article was by Feng et al "Characteristics Associated With Liver Graft Failure: The Concept of a Donor Risk Index" published in the American Journal of Transplantation (677 citations).

CONCLUSION

Bibliometric analysis highlights the key topics and publications that have shaped the understanding and management of liver transplantation. According to our research, this is the first study to investigate articles with most citations in the field of liver transplantation. In our study the article with the most citations was cited 677 times, whereas the 100th article was cited 180 times with a mean citation number for the 100 articles of 252.31 ± 96.75.

Spanish Society of Vascular and Interventional Radiology (SERVEI) Bibliometric Study (2010-2015): What, How, and Where do Spanish Interventional Radiologists Publish?

PURPOSE

We analyzed the scientific production of members of the Spanish Society of Vascular and Interventional Radiology (SERVEI) from 2010 to 2015.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We retrospectively analyzed the indexed scientific productivity of all SERVEI members for the last 6 years as measured by bibliometric indexes. Different databases were used (e.g., PubMed, Scopus, Web of Knowledge) to retrieve the total number of publications, number of citations, and h-index. Every article was assigned the impact factor of its publication year and its corresponding quartile according to Journal Citation Reports. The relationships between all of these parameters and the Spanish region, the gender and age of the interventional radiologists (IRs), and their connection to the university environment were also studied.

RESULTS

A total of 519 scientific articles from 247 SERVEI members working in 118 Spanish hospitals were included, an average of 0.3 articles per interventionist/year. Most of the manuscripts were published in impact journals (52.2%) and placed in the lowest quartile (Q4). Navarre, Aragon, and Catalonia were the regions with the highest publication rate during the period studied (1.7, 0.92, and 0.6 publications per interventionist/year, respectively). Only 57 articles (12.6%) were published in 11 of the 125 journals under the category of Radiology, Nuclear Medicine, and Medical Imaging according to JCR.

CONCLUSIONS

The scientific production of the Spanish IRs in the last 6 years is difficult to interpret. However, more than 50% of IRs published one article in the last 6 years. Finally, it would be advisable to repeat this study over a period of time in order to compare.

Use of a Machine-learning Method for Predicting Highly Cited Articles Within General Radiology Journals

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to assess the performance of a text classification machine-learning model in predicting highly cited articles within the recent radiological literature and to identify the model's most influential article features.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We downloaded from PubMed the title, abstract, and medical subject heading terms for 10,065 articles published in 25 general radiology journals in 2012 and 2013. Three machine-learning models were applied to predict the top 10% of included articles in terms of the number of citations to the article in 2014 (reflecting the 2-year time window in conventional impact factor calculations). The model having the highest area under the curve was selected to derive a list of article features (words) predicting high citation volume, which was iteratively reduced to identify the smallest possible core feature list maintaining predictive power. Overall themes were qualitatively assigned to the core features.

RESULTS

The regularized logistic regression (Bayesian binary regression) model had highest performance, achieving an area under the curve of 0.814 in predicting articles in the top 10% of citation volume. We reduced the initial 14,083 features to 210 features that maintain predictivity. These features corresponded with topics relating to various imaging techniques (eg, diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging, hyperpolarized magnetic resonance imaging, dual-energy computed tomography, computed tomography reconstruction algorithms, tomosynthesis, elastography, and computer-aided diagnosis), particular pathologies (prostate cancer; thyroid nodules; hepatic adenoma, hepatocellular carcinoma, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease), and other topics (radiation dose, electroporation, education, general oncology, gadolinium, statistics).

CONCLUSIONS

Machine learning can be successfully applied to create specific feature-based models for predicting articles likely to achieve high influence within the radiological literature.

The 100 most-cited articles in neuroimaging: A bibliometric analysis

The purpose of our study was to identify and characterize the 100 most-cited articles in neuroimaging. Based on the database of Journal Citation Reports, we selected 669 journals that were considered as potential outlets for neuroimaging articles. The Web of Science search tools were used to identify the 100 most-cited articles relevant to neuroimaging within the selected journals. The following information was recorded for each article: publication year, journal, category and impact factor of journal, number of citations, number of annual citations, authorship, department, institution, country, article type, imaging technique used, and topic. The 100 most-cited articles in neuroimaging were published between 1980 and 2012, with 1995-2004 producing 69 articles. Citations ranged from 4384 to 673 and annual citations ranged from 313.1 to 24.9. The majority of articles were published in radiology/imaging journals (n=75), originated in the United States (n=58), were original articles (n=63), used MRI as imaging modality (n=85), and dealt with imaging technique (n=45). The Oxford Centre for Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Brain at John Radcliffe Hospital (n=10) was the leading institutions and Karl J. Friston (n=11) was the most prolific author. Our study presents a detailed list and an analysis of the 100 most-cited articles in the field of neuroimaging, which provides an insight into historical developments and allows for recognition of the important advances in this field.

An Audit of Top Citations Published in Pediatric Emergency Care

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to identify and compare the 100 articles published in Pediatric Emergency Care (PEC) from its inception in 1985 to date that are most often cited.

METHODS

Three online citation indices, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar, were examined to identify the 100 top cited articles from PEC. Mean citation numbers were used to rank the studies, due to differences in the results among the 3 citation indexes. Median citation number, country of origin, study topic within the field of pediatric emergency medicine, and year of publication were compiled, compared, and analyzed. Those articles that had an outcome with the same mean citation number were listed in the table in alphabetical order according to the last name of the primary author of the publication.

RESULTS

Mean citation numbers were used to identify the 100 most often cited articles from PEC. The citation counts ranged from a high of 132 to a low of 42 citations, the median being 55. Research for 84 of the 100 articles was conducted in the United States with no other country contributing more than 3 articles each. The top subjects of these articles (and their frequencies) included infectious disease (12), resuscitation (11), anesthesia (10), and toxicology (9). The number 1 ranked article was graduate medical education (GME) related and evaluated resident training/education, with respect to the field of resuscitation. All articles in the top 100 cited were published between 1985 and 2010. The top publication years included 1997, 2000, and 2001, wherein 9 articles were published in each of those 3 years. Of the top 100 articles cited, 78% were published in 1997 and later.

CONCLUSIONS

In reviewing the literature and to our knowledge, this study is the first of its kind in the field of pediatric emergency medicine to determine the influence of articles in a journal by evaluating citation number. It identified the 100 articles with the highest number of citations that were utilized in subsequent journal articles and published in PEC since 1985. The clinical relevance of identifying the most popular article topics cited supports the value to the pediatric emergency medicine readership of emphasizing subjects of core curriculum content for further education. In addition, reviewing the literature using PEC as a source for articles published 10 to 15 years ago can be helpful because these articles may be considered benchmark articles that many authors choose to cite, creating an impact in their more recent publications.

Most Common Publication Types in Radiology Journals:: What is the Level of Evidence?

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to assess the most common publication types in radiology journals, as well as temporal trends and association with citation frequency.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

PubMed was searched to extract all published articles having the following "Publication Type" indices: "validation studies," "meta-analysis," "clinical trial," "comparative study," "evaluation study," "guideline," "multicenter study," "randomized study," "review," "editorial," "case report," and "technical report." The percentage of articles within each category published within clinical radiology journals was computed. Normalized percentages for each category were also computed on an annual basis. Citation counts within a 2-year window following publication were obtained using Web of Science. Overall trends were assessed.

RESULTS

Publication types with the highest fraction in radiology journals were technical reports, evaluation studies, and case reports (4.8% to 5.8%). Publication types with the lowest fraction in radiology journals were randomized trials, multicenter studies, and meta-analyses (0.8% to 1.5%). Case reports showed a significant decrease since 1999, with accelerating decline since 2007 (P = 0.002). Publication types with highest citation counts were meta-analyses, guidelines, and multicenter studies (8.1 ± 10.7 to 12.9 ± 5.1). Publication types with lowest citation counts were case reports, editorials, and technical reports (1.4 ± 2.4 to 2.9 ± 4.3). The representation in radiology journals and citation frequency of the publication types showed weak inverse correlation (r = -0.372).

CONCLUSIONS

Radiology journals have historically had relatively greater representation of less frequently cited publication types. Various strategies, including methodological training, multidisciplinary collaboration, national support networks, as well as encouragement of higher level of evidence by funding agencies and radiology journals themselves, are warranted to improve the impact of radiological research.

The Impact of Melatonin in Research

Citation indexes represent helpful tools for evaluating the impact of articles on research. The aim of this study was to obtain the top-100 ranking of the most cited papers on melatonin, a relevant neurohormone mainly involved in phase-adjusting the biological clock and with certain sleep-promoting capability. An article search was carried out on the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) Web of Science platform. Numbers of citations, names of authors, journals and their 2014-impact factor, year of publication, and experimental designs of studies were recorded. The ranking of the 100-most cited articles on melatonin research (up to February 2016) revealed a citation range from 1623 to 310. Narrative reviews/expert opinions were the most frequently cited articles, while the main research topics were oxidative stress, sleep physiology, reproduction, circadian rhythms and melatonin receptors. This study represents the first detailed analysis of the 100 top-cited articles published in the field of melatonin research, showing its impact and relevance in the biomedical field.

Understanding bibliometric parameters and analysis

Bibliometric parameters have become an important part of modern assessment of academic productivity. These parameters exist for the purpose of evaluating authors (publication count, citation count, h-index, m-quotient, hc-index, e-index, g-index, i-10 [i-n] index) and journals (impact factor, Eigenfactor, article influence score, SCImago journal rank, source-normalized impact per paper). Although in recent years there has been a proliferation of bibliometric parameters, the true meaning and appropriate use of these parameters is generally not well understood. Effective use of existing and emerging bibliometric tools can aid in assessment of academic productivity, including readiness for promotions and other awards. However, if not properly understood, the data can be misinterpreted and may be subject to manipulation. Familiarity with bibliometric parameters will aid in their effective implementation in the review of authors-whether individuals or groups-and journals, as well as their possible use in the promotions review process, maximizing the effectiveness of bibliometric analysis.

Classic Citations in Main Primary Health Care Journals: A PRISMA-Compliant Systematic Literature Review and Bibliometric Analysis

The impact of a publication in a particular medical area is reflected by the number of times the article is included as a citation. It is not known, however, which articles are cited the most in primary care journals. In our study, we aimed to identify the 100 most cited articles in primary care medicine and analyze their characteristics.We searched the Science Citation Index Expanded for articles published in 18 primary care journals using the subject category "Primary health care." We identified 100 articles in primary health care that were the most cited. We analyzed the characteristics of these articles using the title, number of citations, citation density, year of publication, journal source, decade published, country of origin, institution, author names, and type of article.The 100 articles that were cited the most were published between the years 1977 and 2009. The 1990s decade was the most productive decade. The number of citations ranged from 117 to 775. The articles were published in 9 journals and the journal with the largest number of most cited articles (n = 33) was the Journal of Family Practice. This was followed by the British Journal of General Practice (n = 17) and the journal Family Practice (n = 16). The United States was the most productive country (n = 59); the United Kingdom was next (n = 25) and this was followed by Canada (n = 5) and The Netherlands (n = 5). The most popular article type was a review article and this was followed by a qualitative study and then methodological study.Our study provides insight into the historical development of primary care studies, based on citations, and provides the foundation for further investigations.

Subspecialty Virtual Impact Factors within a Dedicated Neuroimaging Journal

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The growing number of subspecialties within neuroradiology compete for pages in neuroradiology journals. We performed a bibliometric analysis of the American Journal of Neuroradiology to identify the virtual Impact Factor of different journal subsections and article topics.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Original Research and Review Articles published in American Journal of Neuroradiology during 2010-2012 were evaluated. The journal section for each article was recorded, and the number of citations was evaluated by using the Web of Science database. Numbers of citations within the first 2 years after publication were evaluated, normalized to the 2013 journal Impact Factor (for American Journal of Neuroradiology, 3.675), and used to calculate a virtual Impact Factor for different journal subsections.

RESULTS

One thousand forty-nine Original Research and Review Articles were published during this time, which obtained an average of 6.59 citations each within their first 2 years after publication; 91.8% of articles obtained at least 1 citation. Expedited Publications had the greatest number of citations, averaging 43.7 citations each (virtual Impact Factor, 24.39), followed by Review Articles averaging 9.39 citations each (virtual Impact Factor 5.23). Virtual Impact Factors for other sections were the following: Interventional, 4.54; Brain, 3.70; Pediatrics, 2.91; Functional, 2.74; Head & Neck, 2.24; and Spine, 1.86. Virtual Impact Factors for article topics were the following: interventional, 4.75; functional/advanced, 3.79; brain, 3.66; pediatrics, 2.99; head and neck, 2.46; and spine, 2.32.

CONCLUSIONS

Citation patterns of Original Research and Review Articles in American Journal of Neuroradiology varied widely on the basis of subsections. Understanding the citation patterns of specific topics and subsections of a journal may aid authors and editors in evaluating the appropriate balance among various topics and allow authors to determine whether their articles are being cited at a level expected for similar ones in a journal.

The 50 Most Cited Papers in Craniofacial Anomalies and Craniofacial Surgery

Background

Citation analysis is a recognized scientometric method of classifying cited articles according to the frequency of which they have been referenced. The total number of citations an article receives is considered to reflect it's significance among it's peers.

Methods

Until now, a bibliometric analysis has never been performed in the specialty of craniofacial anomalies and craniofacial surgery. This citation analysis generates an extensive list of the 50 most influential papers in this developing field. Journals specializing in craniofacial surgery, maxillofacial surgery, plastic surgery, neurosurgery, genetics and pediatrics were searched to demonstrate which articles have cultivated the specialty within the past 55 years.

Results

The results show an intriguing compilation of papers which outline the fundamental knowledge of craniofacial anomalies and the developments of surgical techniques to manage these patients.

Conclusions

This citation analysis provides a summation of the current most popular trends in craniofacial literature. These esteemed papers aid to direct our decision making today within this specialty.

Fifty top-cited classic papers in orthopedic elbow surgery: A bibliometric analysis

OBJECTIVE

The number of citations that a paper has received reflects the impact of the article within a particular medical area. Citation analysis concerning the most cited articles have been widely reported in orthopedic surgery and its subspecialties. However, which articles are cited most frequently in orthopedic elbow surgery is unknown. This study aimed to identify and analyze the characteristics of the 50 most cited articles in elbow surgery.

METHODS

Science Citation Index Expanded was used to search for citations in 181 journals chosen according to the relevance for elbow publications. The 50 most cited articles in elbow surgery were identified. The title, authors, year of publications, article type, journal source, country, institution, number of citations, decade published, citation density and level of evidence were recorded and analyzed.

RESULTS

The 50 most cited articles were published between 1950 and 2010. The 1980s was the most productive decade. The number of citations ranged from 388 to 124. All the articles were written in English and published in nine journals. The majority of articles originated from United States, followed by Canada and United Kingdom. Fracture was the most discussed topic. The majority of the top cited articles were clinical studies, with the remaining basic research. The most common level of evidence was level IV.

CONCLUSIONS

Identification of the most cited papers in elbow surgery shows an insight into the historical development of elbow surgery and provides the foundation for further investigations.

The 100 most cited papers in spinal deformity surgery: a bibliometric analysis

Spinal deformity is a condition that has been recognized for many millennia. There have been major advances in the treatment of spinal deformity in recent years and studies outlining new ideas can inspire others to further advance the speciality. The number of citations a paper receives may indicate the influence of that paper. It is therefore important that we evaluate and analyze the most cited works in our field. The aim of this study is to identify the 100 most cited papers relevant to spinal deformity surgery in the literature. A search through the Thomson Reuters Web of Science™ for citations related to spinal deformity surgery was performed. The number of citations, mean citation number (total number citations/years since publication), journal, authors, year of publication and country of origin of the top 100 papers was recorded. The top 100 papers were cited a combined 17,646 times, ranging from 453 to 112. The majority of papers originated from the United States (71) and were published in 20 different journals. The decade 1990-1999 was the most prolific, with 36 of the 100 papers published during this time. Papers pertaining to the management of scoliosis (49) were the most common. This study identifies the top 100 most cited papers in the field of spinal deformity surgery. While citation is not a specific marker of the scientific quality of a paper, it is a surrogate for the influence a paper has had on the orthopedic community. This list of papers provides an invaluable resource for both those in training and those actively practicing and involved in the further development of spinal deformity surgery.

Highly cited works in radiology: the top 100 cited articles in radiologic journals

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES

The number of citations a publication receives can be used to show its impact on a field of study. It may indicate the educational interest in a given population or underline a perceived or real educational gap. This article identifies and characterizes the 100 top cited publications in radiologic journals as of May 2013.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

All clinical radiologic journals listed by Thomson Reuters Journal Citation Reports in 2011 were identified. A total of 46 journals were identified, and all articles published within these journals were analyzed for citation counts. The top 100 highly cited articles were recorded.

RESULTS

The most frequently cited radiologic articles appeared in 9 of the 46 journals. These included 59 articles in Radiology, 17 in Journal of Nuclear Medicine, 9 in the American Journal of Roentgenology, 5 in the British Journal of Radiology, 4 in Investigative Radiology, 2 in American Journal of Neuroradiology, 2 in European Radiology, 2 in Radiologic Clinics of North America, 1 in the Seminars in Nuclear Medicine, and 1 in Pediatric Radiology. The citation values ranged from 422 to 7506 with a mean of 751. Publication dates ranged from 1967 to 2006 with the 5-year period between 1986 and 1990 accounting for the largest percentage of articles. The most frequently studied radiologic modality was magnetic resonance imaging (MRI; 28 articles), followed by vascular/interventional (19 articles) and nuclear medicine (13 articles). The central nervous system was the most frequently studied organ system (22 articles), followed by mixed organ systems (14 articles) and liver (12 articles).

CONCLUSIONS

The top cited articles in radiologic journals span a wide range of imaging modalities, subspecialties, and organ systems. Topics that occurred frequently in the top 100 cited articles included contrast and radiopharmaceutical characterization, MRI of motion, percutaneous radiofrequency ablation in the liver and percutaneous vertebroplasty. We present a methodology that uses citation analysis to identify and characterize these articles. Its use may aid radiologists, academic organization, and editorial staff in determining areas of imaging interest or perceived educational gap. It also highlights the importance of including classic articles in current imaging education.

MR-sequences for prostate cancer diagnostics: validation based on the PI-RADS scoring system and targeted MR-guided in-bore biopsy

PURPOSE

This study evaluated the accuracy of MR sequences [T2-, diffusion-weighted, and dynamic contrast-enhanced (T2WI, DWI, and DCE) imaging] at 3T, based on the European Society of Urogenital Radiology (ESUR) scoring system [Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System (PI-RADS)] using MR-guided in-bore prostate biopsies as reference standard.

METHODS

In 235 consecutive patients [aged 65.7 ± 7.9 years; median prostate-specific antigen (PSA) 8 ng/ml] with multiparametric prostate MRI (mp-MRI), 566 lesions were scored according to PI-RADS. Histology of all lesions was obtained by targeted MR-guided in-bore biopsy.

RESULTS

In 200 lesions, biopsy revealed prostate cancer (PCa). The area under the curve (AUC) for cancer detection was 0.70 (T2WI), 0.80 (DWI), and 0.74 (DCE). A combination of T2WI + DWI, T2WI + DCE, and DWI + DCE achieved an AUC of 0.81, 0.78, and 0.79. A summed PI-RADS score of T2WI + DWI + DCE achieved an AUC of 0.81. For higher grade PCa (primary Gleason pattern ≥ 4), the AUC was 0.85 for T2WI + DWI, 0.84 for T2WI + DCE, 0.86 for DWI + DCE, and 0.87 for T2WI + DWI + DCE. The AUC for T2WI + DWI + DCE for transitional-zone PCa was 0.73, and for the peripheral zone 0.88. Regarding higher-grade PCa, AUC for transitional-zone PCa was 0.88, and for peripheral zone 0.96.

CONCLUSION

The combination of T2WI + DWI + DCE achieved the highest test accuracy, especially in patients with higher-grade PCa. The use of ≤2 MR sequences led to lower AUC in higher-grade and peripheral-zone cancers.

KEY POINTS

• T2WI + DWI + DCE achieved the highest accuracy in patients with higher grade PCa • T2WI + DWI + DCE was more accurate for peripheral- than for transitional-zone PCa • DCE increased PCa detection accuracy in the peripheral zone • DWI was the leading sequence in the transitional zone.

Citation classics: top 50 cited articles in bariatric and metabolic surgery

BACKGROUND

The number of times an article has been cited reflects its influence in a specific field. The aim of this study was to identify and characterize the most highly cited articles published on bariatric and metabolic surgery.

METHODS

The 50 most frequently cited articles in bariatric and metabolic surgery were identified from the Scopus database in December 2013.

RESULTS

The median number of citations was 383.5 (range 275-2482). Most of the articles were published from 2000-2012 (n = 35), followed by 1990-1999 (n = 12), then before 1990 (n = 3). These citation classics came from 8 countries, with the majority originating from the United States (n = 34), followed by Sweden (n = 4) and Australia (n = 4). The 50 articles were published in 20 journals, led by New England Journal of Medicine (n = 9) and Annals of Surgery (n = 9). Only 10 of the articles were published in obesity-specific journals. The level of evidence of the 49 clinical publications and 1 animal study consisted of level I (n = 5), II (n = 11), III (n = 9), IV (n = 19), and V (n = 6). Meta-analyses were 16% of the total citations. Metabolic (n = 12) and survival (n = 6) effects of surgery were among the most common fields of study.

CONCLUSION

Extending from the early 1950s through the voluminous growth period of the early 2000s, the field of bariatric and metabolic surgery led to the emergence of many top-cited scientific articles. These articles have provided the scientific basis for the only currently effective treatment for severe obesity. Articles published in high-impact journals, innovative observational studies, meta-analyses, survival analyses, and research on postoperative metabolic changes are most likely to be cited in the field of bariatric surgery.