Study design: A bibliometric analysis.
Objective: To identify and analyze the 100 top-cited articles on spinal deformity.
Summary of background data: The nature of spinal deformity leads to the complexity of its treatment. There is a scarcity of guidelines for the treatment of spinal deformity despite of the growing literature. So it is crucial to discern researches with higher impact and quality.
Methods: A keyword search using the Thomson Reuters Web of Science was conducted to select articles relevant to spinal deformity. The 100 top-cited articles were identified based on titles and abstracts, and then analyzed.
Results: The citation count for the final 100 articles ranged from 154 to 775, with an average of 243.0 citations. Most studies were published in the journal Spine (49/100). The most productive publication time was from 2000 to 2009. The natural history of scoliosis was the most frequent topic (10 articles), followed by pedicle screw instrumentation (8), outcome of nonoperative treatment for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) (8), health-related quality of life (7), relationship between sagittal parameters and clinical symptoms (7), and complications of surgical treatment (7). Despite AIS was the most common deformity, the top two most frequently cited articles were all about adult spinal deformity, both describing the correlation between sagittal parameters and symptoms.
Conclusion: The current study attempted to develop a resource with detailed information on 100 top-cited articles on spinal deformity. It demonstrated the essential advances in spinal deformity. Although the most common spinal deformity is AIS, the adult spinal deformity is of greater impact. These insights into priorities and trends of the researches could help future academic pursuits.
Level of evidence: 5.