A Bibliometric Analysis of the Most Cited Journal Articles in Kidney Transplantation

Citation analysis uses the number of times an author, article, or publication has been cited to determine its relative importance or effect. To provide an overview and identify the articles that have gotten the most attention in the field of kidney transplantation, this bibliometric analysis was conducted to analyze the top 100 most cited articles in the Scopus database. The search terms "kidney" and "renal" and transplant-related words such as "transplant," "donor," "recipient," and "procurement" were used to search the Scopus database. Articles up to the query date of December 21, 2022, were included, and all document types including articles, reviews, conference papers, editorials, book chapters, and meeting abstracts were analyzed. The analysis focused on authors, annual trends, journals, and countries. A total of 68,271 articles related to kidney transplantation were published in the Scopus database up to the search date of December 21, 2022. The top 100 cited papers had a total of 76,029 citations, with a mean citation count of 760.3 ± 284.6. The most cited article was a clinical practice guideline paper published by the Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) Work Group. The top cited journals were the New England Journal of Medicine, Transplantation, and the American Journal of Transplantation. The most productive authors were primarily based in the United States, with the most frequently cited first author being Kasiske B.L. The greatest number of articles and citations were published between 2000 and 2005. This bibliometric analysis provides a comprehensive overview of the top cited articles in the field of kidney transplantation. The results highlight the most influential and impactful research, as well as the most productive authors, journals, and countries. These findings can be used to guide future research and support decision-making in funding and policy.