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

Exploring vital pulp Therapies: A bibliometric analysis of the most cited articles

Aim

The aim of this study was to identify and analyze the most cited articles on vital pulp therapies.

Methodology

Bibliographical data related to the abstract, citations, keywords, and other relevant information was extracted using different combinations of keywords. Further evaluation and visualization of the selected data were performed with the help of various tools, including MS Excel, Microsoft Word, Google open refine, BibExcel, and VOS viewer. An initial search revealed 91 documents, of which 40 were chosen for further analysis. We used the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and Spearman correlation coefficient test, and our adopted significance level was p < 0.05.

Results

In total, the articles received 1,905 citations, with six of them receiving at least 100 citations. Among the top 40 articles, the United States of America (10 articles) and Ireland (6 articles) were the countries with the highest number of cited articles. The journals "Journal of Endodontics" (14 articles; 650 citations) and "International Endodontic Journal" (13 articles; 577 citations) published most of the articles among the 50 most cited ones. Duncan H. was the author with the highest number of works cited (11 articles; 339 citations). Of the articles, systematic reviews accounted for 32%, literature reviews for 14%, in vitro experimental studies for 12%, clinical trials for 8%. Among the biomaterials used in vital pulp therapies, mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) was discussed in 37 articles (74%), followed by calcium hydroxide, mentioned in 30 studies (60%). Interestingly, the publication year did not demonstrate a significant impact on citation count.

Conclusion

The present study provided a detailed list of the top 50 most cited and classic articles on vital pulp therapies. This will help researchers, students, and clinicians in the field of endodontics with an impressive source of information.

General practice-related MeSH terms in main journals: a bibliometric analysis from 2011 to 2021

BACKGROUND

There are various Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms used to index general practice research, without consistency.

AIM

To understand how general practice-related research is indexed in the main general practice journals between 2011 and 2021, and to analyse the factors that influenced the choice of the general practice-related MeSH.

DESIGN AND SETTING

This was a quantitative bibliometric study conducted on MEDLINE.

METHOD

MeSH were selected according to the international definition of General Practice/Family Medicine: 'General Practice', 'Primary Health Care', 'Family Practice', 'General Practitioners', 'Physicians, Primary Care', and 'Physicians, Family'. Their use was studied from 2011 to 2021 on MEDLINE, reviewing the 20 general practice journals with the highest impact factors. A descriptive and analytical approach was used; the association of the country, journal, and year with the choice of general practice-related MeSH terms was analysed.

RESULTS

A total of 8514 of 150 286 articles (5.7%) were using one of the general practice-related MeSH terms. The most used were 'Primary Health Care' (4648/9984, 46.6%) and 'General Practice' (2841/9984, 28.5%). A total of 80.0% (6172/7723) of the articles were related to the UK or US and 71.0% (6055/8514) of the articles came from four journals (BJGP, BMJ, Journal of General Internal Medicine, and Annals of Family Medicine). Two main country clusters emerged from the use of general practice-related MeSH: a British cluster mainly using 'General Practice' and an American cluster using 'Primary Health Care'. The journals also mainly differed in their used of these two MeSH terms.

CONCLUSION

Important variations in the indexation of general practice research were found. Researchers should consider combining 'Primary Health Care' and 'General Practice' in their PubMed searches to access all the general practice research, regardless of their country of origin.

Developmental Defects of Enamel: A Bibliometric Analysis of the Top 100 Most-Cited Papers

BACKGROUND

Developmental defects of enamel (DDE) are a result of disturbances during formation and maturation of the enamel. Evaluating the most-cited DDE papers can provide important tools that point to the gaps and strengths of this important topic in dentistry.

SUMMARY

This bibliometric study analyzed the 100 most-cited papers on DDE. Using a combined keyword search strategy, the 100 most-cited papers were selected in the Web of Science Core Collection. Papers that addressed any type of DDE were included. The extracted data were title, number of citations, study theme, authorship, journal, type of DDE, type of dentition (primary or permanent), type of diagnosis, study design, year, and country of publication. The bibliometric networks were generated through VOSviewer software. The 100 papers had a range from 78 to 459 citations. The main themes of studies were etiopathogenesis (53%), prevalence and incidence (22%), and diagnosis (8%). The authors with the highest number of citations were Goodman AH and Rose JC (459 citations). Most articles were published in dental journals (47%). The most studied types of DDE were fluorosis and amelogenesis imperfecta in the permanent dentition (47%). Observational (24%) and non-systematic reviews (24%) were the most common study designs and ranged from 1977 to 2019. The country with the highest number of publications was the USA (41%).

KEY MESSAGES

Most of the top 100 DDE papers were about fluorosis and amelogenesis imperfecta, with top papers from three continents with English as the native language. This topic is of great importance in dentistry, and the need for further studies is highlighted, especially regarding the diagnosis and treatment of some DDEs.

Citation analysis of the most influential publications on whiplash injury: A STROBE-compliant study

Whiplash injury is a common diagnosis and causes substantial economic burden. Numerous papers have been published to provide new insights into whiplash injury. However, so far there has not been a comprehensive analysis of the most influential publications on whiplash injury. This study aimed to determine the 100 most cited publications on whiplash injury and analyze their characteristics. A keyword search was conducted using the Web of Science database. The top 100 cited publications relevant to whiplash injury were gathered. The main characteristics including title, year of publication, citation, authorship, journal, country, institution, and topic were generated. The number of citations of the top 100 cited publications ranged from 82 to 777. Fifteen countries contributed the top 100 publications. Australia had the largest number of publications (26), followed by the United States (21), and Canada (12). The majority of the publications were from Europe (40) and North America (33). A total of 19 institutions and 17 authors published more than one publication. The University of Queensland (16) and the author Sterling M (7) had the leading publication record. This is the first citation analysis to identify and characterize the highest impact researches on whiplash injury. The present analysis provides the most influential studies on whiplash injury, and reveals the leading journals, counties, institutions, and authors with special contributions in this filed. The list may serve as an archive of historical development of whiplash injury and a basis for further research.

Top 100 most-cited oral health-related quality of life papers: Bibliometric analysis

OBJECTIVE

This study assessed the features of the 100 most-cited papers on oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL).

METHODS

The 100 most-cited OHRQoL papers were collected from Web of Science, adopting a combined keyword search strategy. Google Scholar and Scopus databases were searched to compare citations. The following data were extracted from papers: title of the paper, number of citations, authorship, country, year of publication, title of the journal, study design, sample size, topic and OHRQoL instruments used. Graphical bibliometric networks were created using VOSviewer software.

RESULTS

The number of citations of the top 100 most-cited OHRQoL papers ranged from 73 to 949. Fifty-six papers received at least 100 citations and two received more than 400 citations. Most papers were from Canada (23%) and had been published in Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology (37%). David Locker was the most-cited author (25 papers; 3,521 citations). The cross-sectional study design was the most common (68%). The impact of oral health conditions on OHRQoL (43%) was the most frequent topic, and the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP) was the most commonly used OHRQoL instrument (48%).

CONCLUSIONS

This bibliometric analysis highlighted the characteristics of the 100 most-cited OHRQoL papers, demonstrating that this field is far from saturated. This list of the most-cited articles can provide a reference point to guide oral health research, education and services.

The Most Influential Publications on Endoscopic Submucosal Dissection: A Bibliometric Analysis

Background/Aims: Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is the first-line treatment for superficial gastrointestinal neoplasms with negligible lymph node metastasis. It has evolved through improvements in expertise and equipment, increased understanding of indications and short- and long-term outcomes, and better management of complications. This study aimed to assess and characterize the most influential publications in ESD research.Materials and Methods: We searched the top 50 most cited articles using Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) and Google Scholar (GS) from the inception of these services to January 2019. The top 50 Altmetric Attention Score (AAS) articles based on online media mentions were also searched. Each article was evaluated for the number of citations, title, journal, and publication year.Results: The number of citations for the top 50 WoSCC articles on ESD ranged from 37 to 199; Endoscopy published the most articles (20%). Among the top 50 GS articles, Gastrointestinal Endoscopy published the most ESD articles (34%) and the most shared AAS articles (42.6%). PubMed Central article citations in WoSCC or GS showed significant correlation with those from each metric, unlike AAS. The words with the highest relevance scores were “submucosal tunnel dissection,” “guideline,” “novel submucosal gel,” “adhesive material,” “cell sheet,” “esophageal ulcer,” “hemospray,” and “endoscopic closure,” while the following words were influential: “meta-analysis,” “esophageal stricture,” “perforation,” “bleeding,” “fibrin glue,” “artificial ulcer,” “porcine model” and “esophageal squamous cell neoplasia,” excluding “ESD.”Conclusions: This study presents a detailed list of influential articles, journals, and topic words.

Applications of Bone Morphogenetic Proteins in Dentistry: A Bibliometric Analysis

Background

Many articles on bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) have been published. Bibliometric analysis is helpful to determine the most influential studies in a specific field. This bibliometric analysis is aimed at identifying and analyzing the top 50 most-cited articles on the dental applications of BMPs.

Methods

An electronic search was conducted using the Web of Science (WoS) “All Databases” without any restriction of language, study design, or publication year. Of 1341 publications, the top 50 were included based on their citation count. After downloading the full texts, their bibliometric data including publication title, authorship, citation count, current citation index 2019, citation density, year of publication, country and institution of origin, journal of publication, type of BMP, study design, evidence level of publication, and keywords were extracted and analyzed.

Results

The citation counts for the top 50 publications ranged from 81 to 557 (median 113.5). The most prolific year was 1997 (n = 7). Wikesjö UM (n = 12) and Wozney JM (n = 11) were the major contributors in this study. Most of the articles were generated primarily from the USA (n = 24), with Loma Linda University Medical Center, USA being the most prolific institution (n = 5). Majority of the articles were published in the Clinical Oral Implants Research and Journal of Periodontology, with nine publications each. Most of the publications were animal studies (n = 30) and focused on BMP-2 (n = 39). Most of the articles were within evidence level V (n = 36). The most frequently used keyword in the top articles was “bone regeneration” (n = 23).

Conclusion

The present study presents insights into the past and recent trends in the applications of BMPs in dentistry. A statistically significant association was observed between citation count, citation density, and age of publication.

Systemic Manifestations of the Periodontal Disease: A Bibliometric Review

This bibliometric review aimed to identify and analyze the top 100 most-cited publications on the systemic manifestations of periodontal disease (PD). A literature search was performed using the Web of Science (WoS) 'All Databases', without any restriction of language, publication year, or study design. Of 4418 articles, the top 100 were included based on their citation count. After downloading the full texts, their bibliometric information was extracted and analyzed. The citation counts for the top 100 articles ranged from 156 to 4191 (median 217). The most productive years were 2003 and 2005, with 20 articles on the list. Majority of the articles were published in the Journal of Periodontology (n = 25). The top 100 articles were generated primarily from the USA (n = 61). Most of the publications were clinical trials (n = 27) and focused on the cardiovascular manifestations of PD (n = 31). Most of the articles were within the evidence level V (n = 41). A total of 58 studies received funding and the most frequently used keyword in the top articles was "periodontal disease" (n = 39). The current citation analysis presents insights into the current trends in the systemic manifestations of periodontal disease.

Top 100 most-cited papers in core dental public health journals: bibliometric analysis

OBJECTIVE

This quali-quantitative study analysed the 100 most-cited papers in core dental public health (DPH) journals focusing on understanding international knowledge production.

METHODS

The DPH journals were selected from titles and scopes at Web of Science Core Collection database up to March 2020. Further comparisons were performed at Scopus and Google Scholar databases. Some bibliometric parameters were extracted as follows: title, number of citations, citation density (number of citations per year), first author's country, year of publication, study design and subject. VOSviewer software was used to create graphical bibliometric maps.

RESULTS

Papers were ranked by the total number of citations, which ranged from 104 to 1,019, and six papers were cited more than 400 times. Papers were published from 1974 to 2013, mainly in Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology. Most frequent study designs were cross-sectional (30%) and nonsystematic review (25%). Most papers were from Europe (54%) and North America (31%). First authors were predominantly from the United Kingdom (17%), United States of America (17%) and Canada (14%). VOSviewer map of co-authorship demonstrated the existence of clusters in the research collaboration. Although epidemiology was the most frequent subject (84%), health services research presented eight times higher citation density.

CONCLUSIONS

Top 100 most-cited papers in core DPH journals were predominantly observational studies from Anglo-Saxon countries. Top 100 most-cited papers in core DPH journals tend to be cross-sectional studies carried out in the United States with highest citation in health services research. Locker D, Petersen PE and Sheiham A are a landmark for DPH field.

The Most-Cited Authors Who Published Papers in JMIR mHealth and uHealth Using the Authorship-Weighted Scheme: Bibliometric Analysis

Background

Many previous papers have investigated most-cited articles or most productive authors in academics, but few have studied most-cited authors. Two challenges are faced in doing so, one of which is that some different authors will have the same name in the bibliometric data, and the second is that coauthors’ contributions are different in the article byline. No study has dealt with the matter of duplicate names in bibliometric data. Although betweenness centrality (BC) is one of the most popular degrees of density in social network analysis (SNA), few have applied the BC algorithm to interpret a network’s characteristics. A quantitative scheme must be used for calculating weighted author credits and then applying the metrics in comparison.

Objective

This study aimed to apply the BC algorithm to examine possible identical names in a network and report the most-cited authors for a journal related to international mobile health (mHealth) research.

Methods

We obtained 676 abstracts from Medline based on the keywords “JMIR mHealth and uHealth” (Journal) on June 30, 2018. The author names, countries/areas, and author-defined keywords were recorded. The BCs were then calculated for the following: (1) the most-cited authors displayed on Google Maps; (2) the geographical distribution of countries/areas for the first author; and (3) the keywords dispersed by BC and related to article topics in comparison on citation indices. Pajek software was used to yield the BC for each entity (or node). Bibliometric indices, including h-, g-, and x-indexes, the mean of core articles on g(Ag)=sum (citations on g-core/publications on g-core), and author impact factor (AIF), were applied.

Results

We found that the most-cited author was Sherif M Badawy (from the United States), who had published six articles on JMIR mHealth and uHealth with high bibliometric indices (h=3; AIF=8.47; x=4.68; Ag=5.26). We also found that the two countries with the highest BC were the United States and the United Kingdom and that the two keyword clusters of mHealth and telemedicine earned the highest indices in comparison to other counterparts. All visual representations were successfully displayed on Google Maps.

Conclusions

The most cited authors were selected using the authorship-weighted scheme (AWS), and the keywords of mHealth and telemedicine were more highly cited than other counterparts. The results on Google Maps are novel and unique as knowledge concept maps for understanding the feature of a journal. The research approaches used in this study (ie, BC and AWS) can be applied to other bibliometric analyses in the future.

100 Years of the Journal of Dental Research: A Bibliometric Analysis

Since its inception in 1919, the Journal of Dental Research has continually published high-quality articles that span the breadth of research topics relevant to dentistry, oral surgery, and medicine. As part of the journal’s centennial celebration, we conducted an electronic search on Scopus to identify and analyze the top 100 most cited articles from 1919 to 2018. Since Scopus does not capture older citations, we conducted an additional analysis by Google Scholar to identify key articles published in the first 50 y of the journal. Based on Scopus, the articles were ranked in descending order per their citation counts. The citation counts of the 100 most cited articles varied from 262 to 1,503. The year in which the largest number of top 100 articles were published was 2004 ( n = 6). Within the top 100, the majority of articles originated from the United States ( n = 52). Research Reports–Biomaterials & Bioengineering was the most frequent category of cited articles ( n = 35). There was no significant association between total citation count and time since publication (correlation coefficient = –0.051, P = 0.656). However, there was a significant negative association of citation density (correlation coefficient = –0.610, P < 0.01) with time since publication. Our analyses demonstrate the broad reach of the journal and the dynamics in citation patterns and research agenda over its 100-y history. There is considerable evidence of the high variance in research output, when measured via citations, across the globe. Moreover, it remains unclear how patients’ priorities and dental health care needs are aligned with the perceived influence of single research pieces identified by our search. Our findings may help to inspire future research in tackling these inequalities and highlight the need for conceptualizing research priorities.

Bibliometric Analysis of Medication-Related Osteonecrosis of the Jaw: High Citation Rates but Low Evidence

PURPOSE

Citation analysis is one of the most commonly used bibliometric tools for measuring the academic importance of a report in a specific area of knowledge. The objective of the present study was to identify the 100 most cited reports on medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ), determine their main bibliometric characteristics, and identify the bibliometric variables that affected the citation rates.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We performed a data search in the Scopus database to determine the number of MRONJ article citations up to September 30, 2018. We next selected the 100 most referenced studies and recorded the following information: ranking according to the number of citations; citation density; number and names of authors; language and year of publication; country and institution of origin; financial support; journal name, impact factor, category, and quartile; type of research; evidence level; and area of study.

RESULTS

The 100 most cited reports had a mean citation density of 21.7 ± 20.7 (range, 6.2 to 99.4) and an h-index of 96. The 100 most cited reports on MRONJ had been published in 42 scientific journals, classified into 10 separate categories of the Journal Citation Reports; 56% of the articles were in the first quartile of their category. Most of the studies had been classified with a level of evidence of 4 (n = 45) or 5 (n = 29). In the bivariate analyses, only the conflict of interest (P = .002) was associated with citation density. After adjusting for numerous variables, conflict of interest (r = 0.27; P = .020) and country of the first author (r = 0.23; P = .043) were significantly associated with citation density.

CONCLUSIONS

The 100 most cited studies of MRONJ had a large number of citations and had been reported in journals with a high impact factor; however, the studies had a generally low evidence level and randomized clinical trials were lacking.

Citation Analysis of Articles about Hand Surgery Published in Orthopaedic and Hand Surgery Journals

BACKGROUND

To date, little is known about the characteristics of highly cited studies in hand surgery compared with other orthopaedic subspecialties. We aimed to assess the position of hand surgery within the orthopedic surgery literature.

METHODS

We conducted a bibliographic analysis using the Web of Science database to review 1,568 articles published between January 2012 and December 2012 in 4 relevant general orthopedic and 2 hand surgery journals. We used the number of citations within 3 years of publication to measure the impact of each paper. To analyze prognostic factors using logistic regression analysis, we extracted data on orthopedic subspecialty, published journal, location of authorship, and type of study for all articles. For clinical studies, we also recorded details on study design and sample size.

RESULTS

Of eligible hand surgery articles (n = 307), the majority (62%) were case reports/series. Only 19% were comparative studies, comprising a significantly smaller proportion of comparative studies from other subspecialties in general orthopedic journals. Systematic reviews/meta-analyses generated a significantly higher number of average citations, whereas educational reviews were consistently cited less frequently than other study types (14.9 and 6.1 average citations, respectively). Being published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, American volume, having authorship in North America or Europe and Australia, focusing on subspecialties like hip & knee, sports, or shoulder, utilizing a comparative or randomized clinical trial study design, and having a larger sample size increased the odds of receiving more citations.

CONCLUSIONS

Clinical studies related to hand surgery published in general orthopedic journals are most often of lower quality study design. Having a larger sample size or using a comparative study or randomized clinical trial design can improve the quality of study and may ultimately increase the impact factor of hand surgery journals.

Applying Gini coefficient to evaluate the author research domains associated with the ordering of author names: A bibliometric study

BACKGROUND

Team science research includes the number of coauthors in publications. Many papers have discussed the ordering of author names and the contributions of authors to a paper. However, no paper addresses the relation between authors' research domains and personal impact factors (PIF) with the ordering of author names. We aimed to apply Gini coefficient (GC) to evaluate the author research domains associated with the PIF and the ordering of author names on academic papers.

METHODS

By searching the PubMed database (Pubmed.com), we used the keyword "medicine" [journal] and downloaded 10,854 articles published from 1969 to 2018. A total number of 7502 articles labeled with complete author's countries/areas were included in data analysis. We also proposed a PIF index and jointly applied social network analysis (SNA), the GC, and Google Maps to report the following data with visual representations: the trend of author collaboration in Medicine; the dominant nations and keywords in Medicine; and the author research domains in Medicine associated with the PIF and the ordering of author names on academic papers.

RESULTS

The trend of author collaboration in Medicine is slightly declining (= -0.06) based on the number of authors per article. The mean number of individuals listed as authors in articles is 7.5. Most first authors are from China (3649, 48.64%) and Taiwan (847, 11.29%). The median of GC (0.32) and PIF (0.74) for the middle authors are obviously less than those for the first (0.53, 2.19) and the last authors (0.42, 2.61). A perfect positive linear relation with a large effect exists between GC and PIF because the correlation coefficient is 0.68 (>0.50, t = 2.48, n = 9).

CONCLUSION

Results suggest that the corresponding author is submitting the manuscript to the target journal with a core author's academic background and the personal impact factor related to the research domain and the journal scope in the future. As such, peer reviewers can quickly determine whether the manuscript is a potentially citable research paper.

Publication trend, resource utilization, and impact of the US National Cancer Database: A systematic review

BACKGROUND

The utilization and impact of the studies published using the National Cancer Database (NCDB) is currently unclear. In this study, we aim to characterize the published studies, and identify relatively unexplored areas for future investigations.

METHODS

A literature search was performed using PubMed in January 2017 to identify all papers published using NCDB data. Characteristics of the publications were extracted. Citation frequencies were obtained through the Web of Science.

RESULTS

Three hundred 2 articles written by 230 first authors met the inclusion criteria. The number of publications grew exponentially since 2013, with 108 articles published in 2016. Articles were published in 86 journals. The majority of the published papers focused on digestive system cancer, while bone and joints, eye and orbit, myeloma, mesothelioma, and Kaposi Sarcoma were never studied. Thirteen institutions in the United States were associated with more than 5 publications. The papers have been cited for a total of 9858 times since the publication of the first paper in 1992. Frequently appearing keywords congregated into 3 clusters: "demographics," "treatments and survival," and "statistical analysis method." Even though the main focuses of the articles captured a extremely wide range, they can be classified into 2 main categories: survival analysis and characterization. Other focuses include database(s) analysis and/or comparison, and hospital reporting.

CONCLUSION

The surging interest in the use of NCDB is accompanied by unequal utilization of resources by individuals and institutions. Certain areas were relatively understudied and should be further explored.

The top-cited systematic reviews/meta-analyses in tuberculosis research: A PRISMA-compliant systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis

BACKGROUND

The top-cited systematic reviews/meta-analyses in tuberculosis research have not been identified. The objective of this study was to identify the 100 top-cited systematic reviews/meta-analyses in tuberculosis research, and to understand factors resulting in highly cited works, and establish trends in systematic reviews/meta-analyses in tuberculosis research.

METHODS

The Web of Science Core Collection was searched for systematic reviews/meta-analyses on tuberculosis up to January 31, 2016. Articles were ranked by citation count and screened by 2 authors. The following information was collected and analyzed from each included study: citation of Web of Science Core Collection, author, country, year, journal, institution, page number, and reference number.

RESULTS

The 100 top-cited studies were cited from 54 to 662 times and were published between 1997 and 2014. Ten authors have more than 1 study as the first author and 10 authors have more than 1 study as corresponding author. The country with the most top-cited studies was USA (n = 26). The institutions with the largest number of the studies were McGill University in Canada (n = 18). The studies were published in 32 journals, whereas 12 were published in PloS Medicine, followed by Lancet Infectious Diseases (n = 11).

CONCLUSIONS

Developed countries and high-impact journals may publish more top-cited systematic review/meta-analysis in tuberculosis research.