The Upsurge in Research and Publication on Articular Cartilage Repair in the Last 10 Years

Global Stem Cell Research in Orthopaedics: A Bibliometric Study from 1995 to 2020

Background

The research field of stem cell-based therapies in orthopaedics has witnessed significant growth in the recent past. We aimed to identify and analyze the bibliometric characteristics of the global highly cited papers (HCPs) in stem cell research in orthopaedics.

Methods

This study relied on secondary data extracted from Scopus, Elsevier's abstract and citation database. An advanced search string was employed, for the period from 1995 to 2020. For each paper, the extracted information included the number of citations, title, authors (name, number, authorship position, and country), year of publication, title of the journals, study design, and thematic field. The VOSviewer (1.6.20) was used to uncover relationships between authors, institutions, keywords, and publications.

Results

There were a total of 1427 publications and out of these 186 papers had 100 or more citations (range 100-2644) and were considered as HCPs. The average citation per paper (CPP) was 265.8. Only 4% of the top HCPs contributed 20% of the total citations of all HCPs. All the HCPs were published from high-income countries, and the USA was the leading country in all aspects of publication on stem cell research. Méndez-Ferrer S registered the highest citation (n = 2644), Prockop DJ was the most prolific author (n = 8 papers), and Harvard Medical School, USA emerged as the most prolific organization with 12 HCPs.

Conclusion

Global research in stem cell therapies for orthopaedic problems is making strides, and is an emerging field of research. Stem cell research offers the potential for improved treatment outcomes for various musculoskeletal conditions.

Graphical Abstract

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s43465-024-01160-0.

Coronavirus disease-2019 and orthopedics: A bibliometric analysis of the literature

BACKGROUND

The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a dramatic impact on global health, with orthopedics among the most affected specialties. An increasing number of COVID-19-related orthopedic studies have been published. The purpose of this study was to analyze the orthopedic literature published during the COVID-19 pandemic to guide future research.

METHODS

The Scopus database was searched for relevant literature published between 2020 and 2022. The keywords used in the retrieval process were ("COVID-19" OR "Coronavirus" OR "2019-nCoV" OR "SARS-CoV-2" OR "Betacoronavirus" OR "novel coronavirus 2019" OR "novel coronavirus" OR "coronavirus-19" OR "COVID 19" OR "nCOV" OR "COVID-2019" OR "COVID 2019") and ("orthopedic" OR "orthopedics" OR "orthopedic" OR "orthopedical" OR "orthopedical" OR "orthopedics"). Spreadsheet software (Excel, Microsoft Corp., Redmond, WA) was used to analyze the top 10 cited authors, countries, journals, and articles. The top 5 publication types were also analyzed. VOSviewer (Center for Science and Technology Studies, Leiden, Netherlands) was used to network and visualize the literature.

RESULTS

A total of 1619 publications relevant to COVID-19 and orthopedics were reviewed. Among these publications, the most active country, author, and publication type included the United States, Vaishya R, and original articles, respectively. The most frequently used keywords were human, coronavirus disease-2019, pandemic, and orthopedics. The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery American Volume was the most cited journal, whereas the greatest number of articles was published in the Journal of Clinical Orthopedics and Trauma.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides a perspective on the development of orthopedic publications during the COVID-19 pandemic and evidence for researchers worldwide to strengthen global cooperation in fighting the epidemic.

Trends in Meniscus-Related Publications in PubMed Since 1928: A Bibliometric Study

Background

As information on the meniscus accumulates in PubMed, it is possible to evaluate the trends in research on the topic over time.

Purpose

To evaluate the major trends in meniscus-related publications in PubMed from the earliest publication to the present day.

Study Design

Cross-sectional study.

Methods

PubMed was searched on January 3, 2023, using the search strategy "menisc *"[All Fields] AND ("knee"[MeSH Terms] OR "knee"[All Fields] OR "knee joint"[MeSH Terms] OR ("knee"[All Fields] AND "joint"[All Fields]) OR "knee joint"[All Fields]) AND 1900/01/01:2022/12/31[Date - Publication]. This retrieved 15,569 human and animal studies. We determined the top 10 meniscus-related publications in terms of overall citations and citations per year, as well as the top 10 authors, journals, countries, and institutions of cited publications on the meniscus. In addition, we performed word-cloud analyses based on meniscus-related terms from different periods (before 1981, before 2000, after 2005, and in the past 5 years [2018-2022]), including the year of first appearance and the number of publications featured.

Results

Since the first recorded publication on the meniscus in 1928, there was a steady growth in the number of articles until 2005, when there was an upsurge in publications from 254 in 2005 to 955 in 2022. Noyes was the author with the most citations (n = 3314), and a 2006 study by Caplan and Dennis had the most citations per year (n = 125). Arthroscopy published the most articles on the meniscus with 1118, whereas the Journal of Cellular Biochemistry had the most citations per article with 125.69. The most published countries and institutes were the United States and the Hospital for Special Surgery, respectively. Word-cloud analysis of article titles showed that "meniscectomy" had become less prominent, and "root,""ramp,""transplantation," and "slope" had become more prominent.

Conclusion

There has been an upsurge in publications on the meniscus since 2005, with word-cloud analysis indicating shifting interests in meniscus-related research.

The 50 Most Cited Publications on Concentrated Bone Marrow Aspirate with Application in Orthopaedic Surgery

Concentrated bone marrow aspirate (cBMA) has garnered widespread and increasing attention in recent years. We aimed to characterize the most influential articles in cBMA research while clarifying controversies surrounding its use and clinical efficacy and identifying important areas on which to focus future research efforts. The Science Citation Index Expanded subsection of the Web of Science Core Collection was systematically searched to identify the top 50 most cited publications on orthopaedic cBMA research. Publication and study characteristics were extracted, and Spearman's correlations were calculated to assess the relationship between citation data and level of evidence. The top 50 articles were published between the years 1996 and 2018, with 58% published in the year 2010 or later. Of the 29 studies for which level of evidence was assessed, the majority were Level IV (24, 83%). Twenty-one articles (42%) were classified as basic science or translational (9 cell culture, 8 animal study, and 4 using human blood samples). Application to treat cartilage defects was the most common focus of studies (17 studies, 34%), followed by analysis of cBMA composition (14 studies, 28%). No correlation was found between rank, citation rate, or year of publication and level of evidence. The most influential articles on cBMA are recent and consist of a majority low level of evidence studies. Cohort studies were the most common study type among the top 50 most cited articles, while basic science articles were relatively less common. These results suggest a rapidly evolving field with the potential to better explain inconsistent clinical results with improved understanding and documentation of basic science concepts in addition to large-scale, prospective clinical trials. Orthobiologics especially cBMA holds great promise for the future, and higher level clinical trials will help better define the best clinical uses for this treatment.

Bibliometric and Visualized Analysis of Tissue Engineering for Cartilage Repair and Regeneration Over the Past Decade

Background

Tremendous progress has been made in the field of cartilage repair and regeneration, particularly with tissue-engineering approaches. This study aims to estimate the global status and current trends in the field of cartilage tissue engineering.

Methods

Publications from 2011 to 2020 on tissue engineering for cartilage repair and regeneration were retrieved from Web of Science Core Collection database. The source data were statistically evaluated based on the bibliometrics. In terms of visualized analysis, some bibliometric indicators such as bibliographic coupling, co-citation, co-authorship and co-occurrence analysis were performed by VOSviewer software, to investigate the research trends in tissue engineering for cartilage repair and regeneration.

Results

In total, 3715 papers were included. Since 2011, the amount of issued papers and relative research interest (RRI) have grown by leaps and bounds globally. The United States was the biggest contributor to the research in this field, due to the greatest citation frequency, the highest H index and the strongest total link strength. Romania had the highest average citation for each. The journal Tissue Engineering Part A published most articles in this field. For institutions, the largest contributors were Shanghai Jiaotong University, University of California System and Sichuan University. Studies could all be grouped into four main clusters: study of biomaterial scaffolds, study of seeding cells and growth factors, experimental animal model and clinical study, and mechanism research.

Conclusion

Great efforts should be put into the study of biomaterial scaffolds, seeding cells and growth factors, considered to be the next hot topics in cartilage tissue engineering. This findings provide collaborative insights and research orientation for academic researchers, surgeons and healthcare practitioners to a certain extent.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s43465-021-00569-1.

Biological reconstruction of the joint: Concepts of articular cartilage regeneration and their scientific basis

Articular cartilage injuries are common. The diagnosis of these injuries is often delayed and may lead to early osteoarthritis. Treatment depends on many factors but mainly on the stage and size of the lesion. The anatomy of articular cartilage is complex, and it is an avascular, aneural, and alymphatic structure. Recently, more emphasis is laid on its anatomy and biomechanics to understand the regeneration process of articular cartilage.

Bibliometric analysis of COVID-19 related publications in Indian orthopaedic journals

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in an infodemic about the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 outbreak to build knowledge and develop mitigation strategies. In addition, scientific journals across the world have studied the impact of COVID-19 on trauma and orthopaedics.

METHODS

A cross-sectional, bibliometric analysis of the literature was undertaken on COVID-19 related articles from three Pubmed and Scopus indexed orthopaedic journals from India, namely, Indian Journal of Orthopaedics(IJO),Journal of Clinical Orthopaedics and Trauma(JCOT), and Journal of Orthopaedics (JOO), in May 2021. All the article types and study designs were included for this review. The authors, institutions, countries, keywords, and co-authorship mapping were studied.

RESULTS

A total of 112 COVID-19 related documents were retrieved. Period of these publications was from 2^nd April 2020 to 31^st May 2021. Vaishya R. (n = 16) was the most cited author, and Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals (n = 16) was the most cited research Institution. India led the list of countries in academic publication output. On keyword mapping, telemedicine was the most prominent Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) search word.

CONCLUSION

The Indian orthopedic journals have addressed the impact of COVID-19 on orthopaedic practice in India and aborad whilst continuing to publish knowledge about basic science and clinical orthopaedic research studies. The JCOT has outperformed and become the most leading orthopaedic journal from India during the pandemic. COVID -19 articles have been fast tracked, open accessed and attracted more citations in reduced duration of time compared to non-COVID-19 papers.

Trends of arthroscopy publications in PubMed and Scopus

PURPOSE

Arthroscopy is an established sub-speciality in orthopaedics. With advancing technology, instrumentation and implants, this sub-speciality has seen an explosion of knowledge and techniques since its inception. The indications for arthroscopic management are increasing and, hence, the number of publications on this topic. There has been no study looking into the bibliometrics of all publications within this speciality. The purpose of this study was to look into the trends of published articles on arthroscopy from PubMed and Scopus including studying their citation numbers.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We set out to look into the number of publications from the earliest up to 2019 and their trends and citation numbers in PubMed and Scopus. We also performed a VOS viewer analysis of MeSH terms and titles of publications to look at research trends over time.

RESULTS

There were 41,149 articles published on PubMed since 1955 and 50,373 articles on Scopus since 1939. The total number of citations were 912,630 for 38,338 cited articles. With 2864 publications in 2019, there was a more than four-fold increase from the number published in the year 2000. The knee joint was the most frequently published joint with an increasing trend in hip arthroscopy. Cohort studies were the most common with 13,180 articles followed by Reviews with 5746 articles. The top 10 authors, universities and journals were listed along with citation numbers. We analysed the trends of publications for each joint and compared them. Yearly citations have progressively increased to reach a maximum of 45,407 in 2007. Arthroscopy was the most published and cited journal on this topic. The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (JBJS) (Am) had the most citations per article. The USA and Hospital for Special Surgery, New York were the most published country and university, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

There is a healthy growth of publications on the subject of arthroscopy with a steep increase in the number of publications and citations in recent years. VOS Viewer analysis showed an evolution of research and practice in the field of arthroscopy. Recommendations were made for databases and search engines to improve on the search and analysis of such studies in the future.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

4.

Integration of Three-dimensional Technologies in Orthopedics: A Tool for Preoperative Planning of Tibial Plateau Fractures

Background:

There is a growing scientific interest in the use of three-dimensional (3D) technologies in orthopedic surgery. Digitalization makes research in orthopedics more accurate and quantitative. Scientific literature describes an overview of current 3D technologies applications in orthopedics, without any emphasis on integrating available technologies as a clinical workflow.

Objective:

To develop a clinical workflow integrating 3D technologies for patient-specific applications in orthopedics validated in practice by employment of a free 3D software solution with the aim of minimizing the intervention.

Method:

By exploring the applications of 3D technologies in orthopedic surgery, we have created a clinical workflow integrating 3D technologies for patient-specific applications in orthopedics. It is validated in practice for preoperative planning of a 49-year-old male patient who had a tibial plateau fracture of Schatzker type VI in his right leg. The software solution we have used is Democratiz3D, from Embodi3d platform, which allows patient-specific modeling and surgical planning.

Results:

By using the proposed methodology we obtained the model of the tibial plateau fracture Schatzker type VI, as a “solid” representation in stl type files, which represents a numerically defined geometry of the bones fragments. It helps surgeons in planning the surgical approach. The time from the beginning to the end of the analysis was 193 min, which is 15% lower than times reported in similar studies.

Conclusion:

The planning potential of the 3D solution is a valuable instrument for surgeons in exploring the nature of tibial plateau fractures and the formulation of a suitable surgical plan for surface alignment, design and screw fixation guides, strength calculations of bone fragments, and printing surgical objects.