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The top 100 classic papers on adolescent idiopathic scoliosis in the past 25 years: a bibliometric analysis of the orthopaedic literature

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Abstract

Study design

Bibliometric analysis.

Objectives

To identify the 100 most cited orthopedic papers in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) over the past 25 years and characterize them by study type, topic, and country and assess study quality (design, level of evidence, and impact factor) to provide an updated account of the most impactful AIS evidence.

Summary of background data

AIS represents a three-dimensional deformity that drives a significant number of investigations. Although available evidence continues to grow, recent impactful studies pertaining to AIS have not been identified; their quality has not been thoroughly assessed.

Methods

Web of Science was reviewed to identify the top 1000 cited AIS studies published from 1992 to 2017. Articles were organized by number of citations. Titles and abstracts were screened for inclusion/relevance, and the top 100 articles by citation count were identified, and study and publication characteristics were extracted.

Results

Among the top 100 articles, 42 were cited ≥ 100 times. Mean number of authors and citations of these studies was 5.6 and 118.3, respectively. Study types were predominantly retrospective (n = 53), followed by prospective (n = 18), cross-sectional (n = 13), and systematic review/meta-analysis (n = 7). Topics covered in these studies included clinical/patient outcomes (n = 47), methodology/validation (n = 22), basic science (n = 15), radiographic analyses (n = 12), and gait/biomechanics (n = 4). Most studies originated in the United States of America (n = 65) and were published in Spine (n = 76), with 8266 total citations. Most studies were of Level III (n = 55) or Level II (n = 23) evidence. Mean impact factor was 3.47.

Conclusions

Despite recent studies’ shorter time frames for impact, citations of AIS research have progressively increased during the past 25 years. The top 100 cited orthopedic studies were predominantly Level III, retrospective, nonrandomized studies, and therefore, were subject to biases. The low proportion of prospective studies (18%) reflects an area of future improvement, underscoring the need for higher-quality studies to support our practice.

Level of evidence

N/A.

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Funding

No sources of funding were solicited or used for any aspect of this study.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation Medicine, SUNY Downstate Medical Center, State University of New York (SUNY), 450 Clarkson Ave., MSC 30, Brooklyn, NY, 11203, USA

    Jared M. Newman, Neil V. Shah, Bassel G. Diebo, Ariana C. Goldstein, Marine Coste, Jeffrey J. Varghese, Daniel P. Murray, Qais Naziri & Carl B. Paulino

  2. Ross University School of Medicine, Portsmouth, Dominica

    Ariana C. Goldstein

  3. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Seton Hall University School of Health and Medical Sciences, 400 S Orange Ave, South Orange, NJ, 07079, USA

    Jeffrey J. Varghese

  4. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Lenox Hill Hospital, Northwell Health, 100 E 77th St, New York, NY, 10075, USA

    Daniel P. Murray

  5. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Cleveland Clinic Florida, 2950 Cleveland Clinic Blvd, Weston, FL, 33331, USA

    Qais Naziri

Authors
  1. Jared M. Newman
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  2. Neil V. Shah
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  3. Bassel G. Diebo
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  4. Ariana C. Goldstein
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  5. Marine Coste
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  6. Jeffrey J. Varghese
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  7. Daniel P. Murray
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  8. Qais Naziri
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  9. Carl B. Paulino
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jared M. Newman.

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Conflict of interest

JMN (none), NVS (none), BGD (none), ACG (none), MC (other from Johnson and Johnson, Roche, Sanofi-Aventis, and from Shire, outside the submitted work), JJV (none), DPM (none), QN (none), CBP (personal fees from DePuy/Ethicon, outside the submitted work).

IRB approval

This study included the use of publicly available data; thus, it was deemed exempt by the institutional review board at the State University of New York (SUNY), Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY.

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Newman, J.M., Shah, N.V., Diebo, B.G. et al. The top 100 classic papers on adolescent idiopathic scoliosis in the past 25 years: a bibliometric analysis of the orthopaedic literature. Spine Deform 8, 5–16 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43390-020-00035-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s43390-020-00035-2

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