Bibliometric analysis of the orthopedic literature.

Bibliometric indicators are used to assess research performance. The goal of this study was to explore publication output to construct a picture of orthopedics that may be beneficial to researchers and orthopedic specialists. All orthopedics articles published in 61 journals from 2000 to 2011 were retrieved from the Science Citation Index Expanded database. The numbers of articles, citations, authors, institutions, and journals were analyzed and subjected to quantitative and qualitative comparisons. The number of published orthopedics articles increased between 2000 and 2011. Articles published by authors from the United States always ranked first in number, although the United States' share is decreasing in the world literature. Authors from the United States published the most-cited articles and the most articles in journals with top-10 impact factors; moreover, the United States also had the greatest share of experts and highly ranked institutions. The United Kingdom, Germany, and Japan were always within the world's top 4 in terms of numbers of articles and citations. The shares of Germany, South Korea, and China among total orthopedics articles increased, especially that of China. In 2011, China ranked the fifth in the world, with its world share increasing from 0.64% in 2000 to 5.05% in 2011. However, China lags behind in average citations per article, top research institutions, and most prolific authors. According to the total citations per article, the University of Pittsburgh, Harvard University, and the Hospital for Special Surgery were the most prolific institutions.