The Top 100 Most Cited Articles on Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction: A Bibliometric Analysis.

BACKGROUND

The concept of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction (ACLR) has become widely accepted, gaining increased attention in recent years and resulting in many research achievements in this field.

PURPOSE

The aim of this study was to determine which original articles on ACLR have been most influential in this field by identifying and analyzing the characteristics of the 100 most cited articles.

STUDY DESIGN

Cross-sectional study.

METHODS

Articles on ACLR were identified via the Thomson ISI Web of Science database on November 30, 2019. The 100 most cited articles were identified based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. The data extracted from each article for the subsequent analysis included title, date of publication, total citations, average citations per year (ACY), journal name, first author, institutions, themes, level of evidence, and keywords.

RESULTS

The total number of citations was 29,629. The date of publication ranged from 1975 to 2015. A majority of the articles originated from the United States (58%) and were published in the 1990s (32%) and 2000s (48%). The mean ACY was 18.43 ± 9.51. Of the selected articles, nearly one-half were published in the (42%). The most prolific co-author and first author were Freddie H. Fu (n = 13) and K. Donald Shelbourne (n = 5), respectively. The most productive institution was the University of Pittsburgh (14%). Material comparison (19%) and technique comparison (16%) were the 2 most popular themes. More than one-quarter of articles were level 4 evidence (37%). Moreover, the keywords , , , , , and showed the highest degree of centrality.

CONCLUSION

By analyzing the characteristics of articles, this study demonstrated that ACLR is a growing and popular area of research, with the focus of research varying through timeline trends. Studies on anatomic reconstruction and biomechanics might be areas of future trends.