The Most Cited and Influential Publications Relating to Ice Hockey Since 2000 Focus Primarily on Concussion and Traumatic Brain Injuries

The most cited publications on snowboarding-related head injuries, concussions, and injury distribution

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this study was to identify the 50 most-cited publications relating to snowboarding and conduct a bibliometric analysis of the identified studies.

METHODS

Clarivate Analytics Web of Science database was queried to identify all publication titles, abstracts, and keywords related to snowboarding. The resulting articles were sorted by total number of citations. Titles and abstracts were included based on their relevance to snowboarding. Once the 50 most cited articles were identified, each article was further analyzed to obtain author name, publication year, country of origin, journal name, article type, research topic, competition level, total number of citations, and the level of evidence. Citation density (total number of citations/years since publication) was calculated and recorded for each of the most-cited studies.

RESULTS

The 50 most-cited articles were cited 4,123 times with an average of 82.5 citations per article. The most cited article was cited 212 times. The majority of articles came from 2 different countries, with the United States and Canada contributing 18 and 10 articles, respectively. The American Journal of Sports Medicine published the most articles (n = 11). The most studied topic was injury distribution (n = 25) followed by head injuries (n = 8). Recreational snowboarding was the most studied level of competition (n = 43).

CONCLUSIONS

The 50 most-cited articles related to snowboarding are predominantly cohort and review studies from the United States and Canada, focusing on recreational athletes. These articles primarily detail the total anatomic distribution of snowboard-related injuries, particularly head injuries and concussions.

The limited impact of randomized controlled trials on the management of greater trochanteric pain syndrome as demonstrated by fragility Indices: A citation analysis

IMPORTANCE

Greater trochanteric pain syndrome (GTPS) is a chronic condition commonly defined as pain in the lateral hip joint that can be severely limiting to activities of daily living, sleep, and overall quality of life. It encompasses numerous disease states causing pain in the region of the greater trochanter of the femur. Noninvasive management approaches for GTPS include corticosteroid injections and physiotherapy, preferred as first-line interventions prior to surgical interventions. Understanding the impact of randomized control trials (RCTs) can enhance the understanding of treatment paradigms.

OBJECTIVE

To identify factors and study characteristics associated with the impact, as measured by the citation density of RCTs in the management of GTPS.

EVIDENCE REVIEW

MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL, SCOPUS, and Web of Science were searched from database inception to September 5, 2023 for RCTs evaluating conservative and surgical interventions for GTPS. The inclusion criteria for this systematic review were level I evidence, assessment of at least two different approaches to the management of GTPS, published in English, and featuring human subjects. Pertinent study characteristics were extracted from the included trials after title/abstract and full-text screening. Citation metrics were obtained from the Clarivate Web of Knowledge database on September 28, 2023. The fragility index (FI) and continuous fragility index (CFI) were calculated for primary outcomes across all included RCTs. Univariate regression models were used to assess correlations between citation density and a variety of study characteristics. A sub-analysis by category of intervention (injectable modalities, non-invasive modalities, and surgical modalities) was also performed, with an ANOVA of study and bibliometric characteristics.

FINDINGS

Twenty-one studies published from 2009 to 2023 comprising 1683 patients (1690 hips) met inclusion criteria and were eligible for analysis. Treatments ranged from non-invasive (n ​= ​8), injectable (n ​= ​12), to surgical modalities (n ​= ​1). Eleven different countries were represented amongst the included RCTs; 71.4 ​% were from the United States or Europe, with the remaining 28.6 ​% originating from Australia. The median journal impact factor of published studies was 3.4 (IQR 2.4-4.8). The mean citation density across all three intervention categories were injectable modalities (4.37 ​± ​3.39), noninvasive modalities (3.27 ​± ​1.77), and surgical modalities (1, not applicable). The median CFI was 2 (IQR 0-12). Correlation analysis demonstrated a statistically significant correlation to year published (R ​= ​-0.473, p ​= ​0.03) and study sample size (R ​= ​0.735, p ​< ​0.01).

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

RCTs assessing the management of GTPS demonstrate a varied range of clinical uptake, as evidenced by citation density. An array of different healthcare disciplines is involved in GTPS management, signified by the diversity of journals publishing RCTs on the topic. The median CFI is low compared to other citation analyses in orthopedics, demonstrating that the collective conclusions drawn by these studies are limited by fragility. Additionally, RCTs on surgical treatments for cases refractory to nonsurgical management are notably underrepresented, highlighting the necessity for further evaluation.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

I.

Most cited articles involving lacrosse since 1990 primarily focus on concussion and traumatic brain injury

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this study was to identify the 50 most-cited publications relating to lacrosse since 1990 and conduct a bibliometric analysis of the identified studies.

METHODS

Clarivate Analytics Web of Science database was queried to identify all publication titles, abstracts, and keywords for the term 'lacrosse' on 9 June 2023. The resulting articles were sorted by total number of citations. Titles and abstracts were included based on their relevance to lacrosse. Once the 50 most cited articles were identified, each article was further analyzed to obtain author name, publication year, country of origin, journal name, article type, research topic, competition level, total number of citations, and the level of evidence. Citation density (total number of citations/years since publication) was calculated and recorded for each of the most-cited studies.

RESULTS

The 50 most-cited articles were cited 4237 of times with an average of 84 citations per article. The most cited article was cited 637 (15.0%) times. The articles came from 2 different countries, with the United States and Australia comprising 49 and 1 articles, respectively. All articles were published in English. The American Journal of Sports Medicine published the most articles (n = 21, 42.0%). The most studied topic was concussion/traumatic brain injury (n = 18) followed by studies assessing all injuries (n = 7). Collegiate-level lacrosse was the most studied level of competition (n = 22), while high school-level followed (n = 12).

CONCLUSIONS

The majority of the 50 most-cited articles related to lacrosse since 1990 focus on the prevalence, diagnosis and identification of concussion/traumatic brain injury in high school and collegiate-level athletes. These articles are predominantly epidemiological or cohort studies with Level III or IV evidence that almost unanimously originate from the United States.

The 50 Most Cited Papers on Rugby since 2000 Reveal a Focus Primarily on Strength and Conditioning in Elite Male Players

We sought to conduct a bibliometric analysis and review of the most cited publications relating to rugby since 2000 in order to identify topics of interest and those that warrant further investigations. Clarivate Web of Science database was used to perform a literature search using the search term "rugby." The top 200 papers by citation count were extracted and reviewed for the inclusion criteria: all subjects were rugby players. The top 50 manuscripts were included for analysis of author, publication year, country of lead authors, institution, journal name and impact factor, topic, participant sex, and level of rugby. The total number of citations was 9,071 (average of 181.4 citations/article), with an average journal impact factor of 7.21; the top article was cited 407 times at the time of analysis. The most frequent publication was the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research (26%), followed by the British Journal of Sports Medicine (20%) and the Journal of Sports Sciences (18%). Forty-eight (96%) of the manuscripts contained only male subjects, with 1 manuscript including females only and 1 manuscript containing mixed sexes. Thirty-three (66%) of the manuscripts focused on professional rugby players, with the next highest player group being mixed levels (10%). Twenty-eight (56%) concentrated on topics regarding strength and conditioning, 11 (22%) on injury, and 4 (8%) on physiology. Despite rugby being one of the most injurious sports and community players representing the largest component of the player pool, most of the top-cited rugby articles are cohort studies of professional male athletes focused on performance and strength and conditioning, noting the bias in research towards socially relevant topics that may not impact the majority of stakeholders and long-term health of rugby athletes. These findings highlight the need for further research among women and community athletes and on topics in injury prevention.

The impact of surgical randomised controlled trials on the management of FAI syndrome: a citation analysis

PURPOSE

To identify and assess the clinical impact of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) assessing the surgical management of femoroacetabular impingement syndrome (FAIS) through a citation analysis.

METHODS

MEDLINE, EMBASE and CENTRAL were searched from inception to April 22, 2023 for RCTs assessing the surgical management of FAIS. Study characteristics were directly abstracted from included trials and citation metrics were obtained from the Clarivate Web of Knowledge database on May 19, 2023. The continuous fragility index (CFI) was calculated for eligible outcomes. Univariate regression models were used to explore correlations between total citations per year and various study characteristics.

RESULTS

Ten studies comprising one thousand two hundred ninetypatients were eligible for analysis. Studies were published from 2013 to 2023. Eight countries were represented across various trials with 91% being either North American or European. The mean journal impact factor of published studies was 39.684 (median 2.982; range 1.31-202.73). The mean citation density was 14.17 (range 0.33-48.67). The median CFI was 4.8 (range 1-32.2). Correlation analysis demonstrated strong and statistically significant correlations to study sample size (R = 0.75, p = 0.012), journal impact factor (R = 0.80, p = 0.006) and continuous fragility index (R = 0.95, p = 0.015).

CONCLUSION

Trials assessing the surgical management of FAIS present with a wide range of clinical uptake based on citation density and are published in journals of broadly variable impact factor. Despite promising citation metrics, high-quality evidence on arthroscopy for FAIS is limited to the United States and Europe with an unclear international impact. Future knowledge translation efforts are warranted to maximise the international uptake of evidence regarding arthroscopic management of FAIS.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

I.