Bibliometric analysis of the literature relating to silicone hydrogel and daily disposable contact lenses

PURPOSE: Publication metrics are derived for the fields of silicone hydrogel (SH) and daily disposable (DD) contact lenses. METHODS: A search of the Scopus database for papers in the fields of SH and DD contact lenses found 979 SH and 291 DD papers. Subject-specific h-indices for SH lenses (h(SH)-index) and DD lenses (h(DD)-index) were derived, in relation to five categories – authors, institutions, countries and journals – to serve as measures of impact. A short list of the most impactful entities was generated for each of the above five categories in the SH and DD fields. RESULTS: A paper entitled “Soft contact lens polymers: An evolution” by Nicholson and Vogt was the most highly cited article (495 citations) in both SH and DD fields. The most impactful entities for the SH and DD fields were: authors – Lyndon Jones (h(SH) = 33) and Philip Morgan (h(DD) = 15); institutions – the University of Waterloo (h(SH) = 37) and the University of New South Wales (h(DD) = 15); countries – the United States (h(SH) = 45) and the United Kingdom (h(DD) = 24); and journals – Optometry and Vision Science (h(SH) = 33) and Contact Lens and Anterior Eye (h(DD) = 17). Overall, the SH field (h(SH) = 64) is far more impactful than the DD field (h(DD) = 34). CONCLUSIONS: Impactful papers, authors, institutions, countries and journals in the SH and DD fields are identified. Optometry is revealed as the leading profession in relation to SH and DD publications.