Top 100 Cited Articles on Lumbar Spondylolisthesis: A Bibliographic Analysis

STUDY DESIGN: Bibliographic analysis. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to identify the most cited studies on lumbar spondylolisthesis and report their impact in spine field. METHODS: Thomson Reuters Web of Science–Science Citation Index Expanded was searched using title-specific search “spondylolisthesis.” All studies published in English language between 1900 and 2019 were included with no restrictions. The top 100 cited articles were identified using “Times cited” arranging articles from high to low according to citation count. Further analysis was made to obtain the following items: article title, author’s name and specialty, country of origin, institution, journal of publication, year of publication, citations number, study design. RESULTS: The citation count of the top 100 articles ranged from 68 to 589. All published between 1932 and 2016. Among 20 journals, Spine had the highest number of articles (49), with citation number of 6155 out of 13 618. Second ranked was Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery with 15 articles and total citations of 3023. With regard to the primary author’s specialty, orthopedic surgeons contributed to the majority of top 100 list with 82 articles, and neurosurgery was the second specialty with 11 articles. The United States had produced more than half of the list with 59 articles. England was the second country with 7 articles. Surgical management of degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis was the most common discussed topic. CONCLUSION: This article identifies the top 100 influential articles on lumbar spondylolisthesis and recognizes an important aspect of knowledge evolution served by leading researchers as they guided today’s clinical decision making in spondylolisthesis.