The top 100 most impactful articles on the anterior cruciate ligament: An altmetric analysis of online media

The 100 Most Impactful Articles on Total Shoulder Arthroplasty: An Altmetric Analysis

Background

To use the top 100 articles pertaining to total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA) to understand the impact that social media platforms have on the dissemination of shoulder research while highlighting bibliometric factors associated with Altmetric Attention Score (AAS) to offer insight into the impact that social media platforms have on the dissemination, attention, and citation of shoulder research publications.

Methods

In June 2023, the Altmetric database was searched using the following PubMed MeSH terms: "total shoulder arthroplasty" or "TSA." Articles with the highest AAS were screened to exclude other topics unrelated to TSA. The top 100 articles that met inclusion criteria were used in the final analysis. Bibliometric factors pertaining to each study were collected for further analysis of article characteristics in accordance with prior studies.

Results

The Altmetric Database query yielded 1,283 studies. After applying our inclusion criteria, the top 118 articles with the highest AAS were identified. The mean AAS was 29.14 ± 42.35, with a range of 13 to 402. The included articles represented 27 journals, with 70 articles attributed to 2 journals: Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery (JSES; 43%) and the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (JBJS; 16%). There was a significant increase in AAS for the presence of a conflict of interest (p = 0.042) and open access status (p < 0.01), but no association between the score and citation rate (p > 0.05).

Conclusions

Top articles on TSA, as defined by high AAS, mostly comprise original clinical research performed in the United States or Europe. The presence of a conflict of interest and open access status is associated with an increase in AAS, but there was no association between AAS score and citation rate.

The Top Ranked 101 Articles in Pediatric Surgical Journals from an Altmetric Perspective

INTRODUCTION

 In the era of scientific digitalization, online media platforms gain increasing popularity to accomplish research output awareness. The Altmetric Attention Score AAS weights these online mentions based on a privy algorithm. We aimed to characterize the top 100 articles with the highest (AAS) published in pediatric surgery journals.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

 Publications from six core pediatric surgery journals were retrieved from www.altmetric.com in January 2023 and ranked by their AAS. The top 101 publications were analyzed for their bibliometric measures, study design, and quality as well as online media mentions.

RESULTS

 The top 101 AAS articles were published between 1974 and 2022, preferentially from the United States (64%) and mainly in Journal of Pediatric Surgery (73%), followed by Journal of Pediatric Surgery Case Reports, Pediatric Surgery International, Seminars in Pediatric Surgery, and European Journal of Pediatric Surgery. Their AAS ranged between 21 and 389 (median: 33), with Twitter/X being mostly responsible for online mentions (n = 2,189; 75%). The number of citations in peer-reviewed journals ranged between 0 and 358 (median: 16) and did not correlate to AAS. Retrospective study design (33%) with low evidence level IV (43%) dominated.

CONCLUSION

 The Journal of Pediatric Surgery is the main source of high-profile AAS publications in pediatric surgery. The altmetric popularity of articles is predominantly achieved by their propagation via X, irrespective of the study quality and recognition in the scientific community. Thus, active "twitterism" may play the key role to reach high AAS scores.

Subject matter predicts where top pediatric spine articles are shared: citations vs. social media

STUDY DESIGN

Systematic review. The purpose of this study was to compare the top 25 articles on pediatric spine surgery by number of citations and Altmetric score. All published articles pertaining to pediatric spine surgery from 2010 to 2021 were assessed for: Altmetric scores, Altmetric score breakdown (e.g. Twitter, News), citation counts, and article topics. The top 25 Altmetric articles and top 25 cited articles were identified. Out of the 50 total articles, only 3 (6.0%) overlapped between the two groups. The top Altmetric articles had averages (mean ± SD) of 167 ± 130 Altmetric score and 66 ± 135 citations, while the top citation articles had averages of 22 ± 45 Altmetric score and 196 ± 114 citations. When evaluating article topics, articles on 'back pain' (36% vs. 4%; P  = 0.003) and 'backpacks' (16% vs. 0%; P  = 0.030) were published significantly more in the top Altmetric group, while articles on 'scoliosis' (93% vs. 36%; P  < 0.001) and 'growth friendly surgery' (24% vs. 4%; P  = 0.041) were published significantly more in the top citation group. The total number of citations and online mentions for both groups are presented in Table 2. The biggest differences were the top Altmetric score articles receiving greater percentages of Twitter mentions relative to overall mentions (87% vs. 57%). The most socially popular articles focused on back pain and backpacks, and the most cited articles focused on scoliosis and growth-friendly surgery. Twitter had the most mentions of all social media for both the top cited articles and the top Altmetric articles.

Evaluating Funding for Authors Achieving High Citations vs. Online Popularity

INTRODUCTION

The Altmetric score is a validated tool that measures online attention of scientific studies. A relationship between government/industry funding for authors and their study's citations have been previously demonstrated. It is not known whether funding is related to greater online attention. We hypothesize authors publishing studies achieving greater online attention (higher Altmetric scores) receive greater monetary support from industry while authors publishing studies achieving critical acclaim (more citations) receive greater monetary support from the National Institute of Health (NIH).

METHODS

Top spine surgery studies between 2010 and 2021 were selected based on Altmetric scores and citation number. The Open Payments Database was accessed to evaluate industry financial relationships while the NIH Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tool was accessed to evaluate NIH funding. Payments were compared between groups and analyzed with the Student t-test, analysis of variance, and chi square analysis. Alpha <0.05.

RESULTS

There were 60 and 51 authors with payment data in the top 50 Altmetric and top 50 citation studies, respectively, with eight authors having studies in both groups. Total industry payments between groups were not markedly different. The eight authors with studies in both groups received markedly more industry payments for consulting, travel/lodging, and faculty/speaking fees. Authors with articles in both groups (50%) were significantly more likely to receive NIH support, compared with authors of the top Altmetric articles (5%; P < 0.001) and top citation articles (12%; P < 0.001). Authors receiving NIH support received significantly less industry payments compared with authors not receiving NIH support ($148,544 versus $2,159,526; P < 0.001).

DISCUSSION

These findings reject our hypothesis: no notable differences for industry payments and NIH funding between authors for top Altmetric and citation studies. Authors receiving funding from industry versus the NIH are generally two distinct groups, but there is a small group supported by both. These studies achieve both critical acclaim (citations) and online popularity (Altmetric scores).

DATA AVAILABILITY

Data can be available on reasonable request.

The Top 100 Most Impactful Articles on the Achilles Tendon According to Altmetric Attention Score and Number of Citations

Background

Achilles tendon injuries often generate substantial discussion in the mainstream media. The Altmetric Attention Score (AAS) measures the online dialogue pertaining to Achilles tendon research that occurs outside scientific journals, which traditional citation-based metrics fail to capture.

Purpose

To characterize the top 100 most-cited Achilles tendon articles and compare them with the 100 Achilles tendon articles with the highest AAS. A secondary goal was to gain an improved understanding of the online dissemination and interpretation of Achilles tendon research through this comparison.

Study Design

Cross-sectional study.

Methods

The Web of Science Clarivate database was queried to isolate the 100 most-cited Achilles tendon articles, and the Altmetric database was queried to identify the Achilles tendon articles with the top 100 AAS values. Data elements were extracted for each article including study type, study topic, and geographic origin.

Results

The Web of Science Clarivate database search yielded 10,890 articles published between 1970 and 2021. The 100 most-cited articles were published in 35 journals, with the American Journal of Sports Medicine being the most prevalent. The mean (±SD) number of citations was 214.5 ± 86.47. The most prevalent study type was laboratory (28.0%). The most prevalent study topic was treatment (41.0%). Of these articles, 72.0% were European. The Altmetric database search yielded 3810 articles published between 1957 and 2021. The AAS of the top 100 articles ranged from 37 to 476 with a mean of 98.17 ± 85.53. The selected articles were published in 39 journals, with the British Journal of Sports Medicine being the most prevalent. The most prevalent study type was randomized controlled trial (25.0%). The most common study topic was treatment (40.0%). Of these articles, 46.0% were European.

Conclusion

Our findings suggest that, although the scientific community remains committed to high-impact journals with articles backed by high citation numbers, there is an increasing opportunity to consume Achilles tendon literature through social media.

The Most Impactful Articles on the Shoulder Labrum From the United States or Europe, and Decreased Level of Evidence Is Associated With Increased Altmetric Attention Score

Purpose

To use the top 100 articles pertaining to the shoulder labrum to understand the impact that social medial platforms have on the dissemination of shoulder research and to highlight bibliometric factors associated with Altmetric Attention Scores (AAS) to offer insight into the impact that social media platforms have on the dissemination, attention, and citation of shoulder research publications.

Methods

This was a cross-sectional study. In January 2023, the Altmetric database was searched using the PubMed Medical Subject Headings terms "shoulder labrum." Articles with the greatest AAS were screened to exclude other topics unrelated to the labrum of the shoulder. The top 100 articles that met inclusion criteria were used in the final analysis. Bibliometric factors pertaining to each study were collected for further analysis of article characteristics in accordance with previous studies.

Results

The Altmetric Database query yielded 619 studies. The top 100 articles with highest AAS were identified, mean Attestation Score was 24.85 ± 55.51, with a range of 7 to 460. The included articles represented 35 journals, with 57 articles attributed to 3 journals: American Journal of Sports Medicine (AJSM; 29%), Arthroscopy: The Journal of Arthroscopic & Related Surgery (Arthroscopy; 19%), and the Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery (JSES; 9%). There was a significant increase in AAS for every decrease in the numerical Level of Evidence value for a study (P = .011) but no association between score and citation rate (P > 005).

Conclusions

Top articles on the shoulder labrum, as defined by high AAS score, are most commonly original clinical research published in 1 of 3 sports medicine journals and performed in the United States or Europe. A decreased numerical Level of Evidence is associated with an increase in AAS score, but there is no association between AAS score and citation rate.

Clinical Relevance

The increasing amount of science and health information shared freely through open-access journals, online servers, and numerous social media channels makes it difficult to measure the impact of research. Using measures such as the Altmetric Attention Score, in isolation or addition to measures of researcher or journal impact, has the potential to provide comprehensive information about the impact of research in the modern world.

The 50 most impactful articles on the medial ulnar collateral ligament: An altmetric analysis of online media

The purpose of this study was to use the Altmetric Attention Score to determine the 50 most impactful medial ulnar collateral ligament articles in online media and compare their characteristics to the most-cited medial ulnar collateral ligament articles in the scientific literature. The Altmetric database was queried to identify all published articles about the medial ulnar collateral ligament, and this list was stratified by the Altmetric Attention Score to identify the 50 highest scoring articles. Several data elements were extracted, including article topic, article type, journal name, and the number of online mentions on Facebook, Twitter, news, and other platforms. Each article's geographic origin was determined based on the institutional affiliation of the first author. Our index search yielded 1283 articles published between 1987 and 2020, from which the 50 articles with the highest Altmetric Attention Scores were included for analysis. Altmetric Attention Scores of the top 50 medial ulnar collateral ligament articles ranged from 20 to 482 (median: 32, interquartile range: 20-62). The most common article type was original research (72%), and the most common topic was epidemiology/risk factors (26%). A majority of studies were Level 3 (36%) or Level 4 evidence (36%). Of the top 50 medial ulnar collateral ligament articles, 94% originated from the United States. A few articles had a high Altmetric Attention Score, suggesting that medial ulnar collateral ligament research does not generate consistently high online attention. The lack of Level 1 studies suggests the need for high-level studies on the medial ulnar collateral ligament. Most studies originated in the United States and were published in the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine-affiliated journals. The medial ulnar collateral ligament articles included in this study differed substantially from a previous report of the most-cited medial ulnar collateral ligament articles in the literature, suggesting that alternative metrics add a unique dimension to understanding the overall impact of published research on the medial ulnar collateral ligament.

The 100 most impactful articles on the rotator cuff: an altmetric analysis of online media

Purpose

The purpose of our study was to use the Altmetric Attention Score (AAS) to evaluate the 100 most impactful articles in online media pertaining to the rotator cuff and compare their characteristics to the most-cited rotator cuff articles in the scientific literature.

Methods

We performed an article extraction using Altmetric Explorer to identify all published articles pertaining to the rotator cuff. The top 100 articles with the highest AAS were included for analysis. Several data elements were extracted for each included article: title, article type, article topic, year of publication, journal name, authors, institutional affiliations, and online mentions (i.e. the number of times the article was mentioned in news, blog, Twitter, Facebook, and Wikipedia sources). The geographic origin of each article was also determined by the institutional affiliation of the first author, which was categorized as American (originating in the United States), European (originating in Europe), or other.

Results

The 100 articles with the highest AAS were published between 2009 and 2020, with AAS ranging from 47 to 676 (median: 74.5, 25^th percentile: 59.5, 75^th percentile: 114.5). Of all online media sources, Twitter correlated most strongly with AAS (r = 0.9007, r² = 0.8112). The selected articles were most frequently published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine (13), the Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery (11), and the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (7). The most common article type was Systematic Review/Meta-Analysis (29%), followed by Randomized Controlled Trial (15%). The top 3 AAS articles were all published by authors based in Europe.

Conclusion

The most impactful rotator cuff articles in online media generated substantial online attention. These studies were often performed in Europe and tended to be high level of evidence, focusing on treatment of rotator cuff pathology. The rotator cuff articles that produced the most online attention differed from a previous report of the most-cited rotator cuff articles, suggesting that alternative metrics may be used in concert with conventional bibliometrics to obtain a more complete representation of scientific impact.