Publication trends in pediatric renal transplantation: Bibliometric analysis of literature from 1950 to 2017

Abstract

Introduction Pediatric renal transplantation has been heavily published since the 1950s. Herein, we describe the bibliometrics and impact of the 200 most‐cited pediatric renal transplantation manuscripts. Methods We identified pediatric renal transplantation publications from 1900 onwards. Year, citations, h‐index, geographic origin, impact factor, topic, and design of the 200 top‐cited papers were extracted. Impact index was calculated, adjusting for citation volume and time since publication. Results Of the top 200 papers, mean citation count was 80 ± 40, impact factor 3.9 ± 3.7, h‐index 35 ± 20, and impact index 25 ± 13. Studies were mostly retrospective (31%) or observational (32%). Most papers originated from the United States (58%), Germany (9%), and Italy (6%), which did not correlate with citation counts. Transplantation (18%), Pediatric Nephrology (16%), and American Journal of Transplantation (11%) had the highest publication volume, which did not correlate with citation count. The main topics were medical renal disease, drug monitoring, compliance, and viruses. Most of the top‐cited papers (179; 90%) were published after 1991. The difference in the number of times cited between papers published before and after 1991 was insignificant (75 ± 24 vs 80 ± 42; P = 0.59). There was a difference in impact index for the same period (48 ± 15 vs 22 ± 10; P < 0.01). Conclusions The most‐cited papers were concentrated in three journals, but the top three cited papers were published elsewhere. Recent publications were more cited with a higher impact than older papers. Despite the importance of surgery in transplantation, there is a paucity of high‐impact papers on this topic.

Vascular inflow after renal transplantation: Does the arteriotomy technique impact early allograft perfusion and function?

“…Also, there is no prior evidence suggesting AP technique is superior to TA techniques in RT which makes the present study novel, adding to the very limited body of evidence pertaining to surgical aspects within the field of pediatric RT. 20 Given that we found no difference in these parameters when comparing underlying ESRD causes and donor type, it is suggestive that anastomosis technique is the driving factor. Further follow-up may shed light on the clinical impact of improved early perfusion on long-term graft function.…”

“…Despite these limitations, our paper has several strengths including a large RT database allowing for selection of appropriately matched controls for comparisons. Also, there is no prior evidence suggesting AP technique is superior to TA techniques in RT which makes the present study novel, adding to the very limited body of evidence pertaining to surgical aspects within the field of pediatric RT 20 . Given that we found no difference in these parameters when comparing underlying ESRD causes and donor type, it is suggestive that anastomosis technique is the driving factor.…”

Publication Trends and Global Collaborations on Esophageal Atresia Research: A Bibliometric Study

“…In line with the findings of others, North American and European countries were most productive in publishing on EA worldwide. 10,11 This might be explained by the high socioeconomic development of these countries. Huffman and his group showed that high-income countries accomplished more output of research, while low-and middleincome countries had only less scientific contributions.…”

“…Thus, research trends, striking journals, active countries, authors, institutions, as well as global collaborations can be identified. 9,10 To elucidate the quantitative and qualitative scientific output, hot topics, and collaboration of research in EA, we performed a comprehensive bibliometric study on the existing peer-reviewed literature of the past 74 years.…”

Scientometrics: Judging the impact of published articles in the field of pediatric kidney transplantation

“…Bibliometric analyses can also be applied to several papers within a specific field, to judge the relative impact of each paper in that field. In this issue of the journal, Rickard et al have performed, to this editorial author's knowledge, the first ever such bibliometric analysis of papers published in the field of pediatric kidney transplantation, between 1950 and 2017 . They have created a list of the top 200 most cited papers.…”