Trends and Characteristics of Highly Cited Articles in Shoulder Arthroplasty

Citation calculations measure academic influence. This study sought to analyze highly cited shoulder arthroplasty articles and determine the best measure to assess their impact. Scopus identified the 50 most cited articles, and each was analyzed for citation number, authors, institution, country of origin, and journal of publication. SPSS 23 was used for descriptive statistics, and a Pearson correlation coefficient assessed the relationship between citation measures. The results revealed an average citation count of 259 ± 108 and a citation density (citation count /years since publication) of 18 ± 10 annually. Most articles originated in the United States (31) and France (9). Twelve surgeons were included on three or more articles. Forty-one studies were clinically based. Finally, correlation was demonstrated between citation count and citation density (r = 0.486, p ¡ .001). In conclusion, this study revealed the trends of highly cited shoulder arthroplasty articles and found citation count and citation density to be acceptable measures of academic influence. (Journal of Surgical Orthopaedic Advances 28(1):10–17, 2019)
Key words: citation count, citation density, citation trends, shoulder arthroplasty, most cited, publication trends, Scopus