Abstract
Background and Objectives: The population is aging and fragility fractures are a research topic of steadily growing importance. Therefore, a systematic bibliometric review was performed to identify the 50 most cited articles in the field of fragility fractures analyzing their qualities and characteristics. Materials and Methods: From the Core Collection database in the Thomson Reuters Web of Knowledge, the most influential original articles with reference to fragility fractures were identified in February 2021 using a multistep approach. Year of publication, total number of citations, average number of citations per year since year of publication, affiliation of first and senior author, geographic origin of study population, keywords, and level of evidence were of interest. Results: Articles were published in 26 different journals between 1997 and 2020. The number of total citations per article ranged from 12 to 129 citations. In the majority of publications, orthopedic surgeons and traumatologists (66%) accounted for the first authorship, articles mostly originated from Europe (58%) and the keyword mostly used was “hip fracture”. In total, 38% of the articles were therapeutic studies level III followed by prognostic studies level I. Only two therapeutic studies with level I could be identified. Conclusions: This bibliometric review shows the growing interest in fragility fractures and raises awareness that more high quality and interdisciplinary studies are needed.
Highlights
Patients with fragility fractures represent a vulnerable patient group with specific demands and characteristics
Due to the rising numbers of fragility fractures over the last decades, they have increasingly become a key topic in clinical research with a growing number of publications reporting results of studies exploring fragility fractures
The aim of the present study was to report in a bibliometric review the current research literature on fragility fractures
Summary
Patients with fragility fractures represent a vulnerable patient group with specific demands and characteristics. Patient-centered care of this patient population requires specific medical expertise to prevent complications and to avoid loss of independence and the need for institutional care. Due to the rising numbers of fragility fractures over the last decades, they have increasingly become a key topic in clinical research with a growing number of publications reporting results of studies exploring fragility fractures. The aim of the present study was to report in a bibliometric review the current research literature on fragility fractures. We were interested to know what disciplines were active in clinical research in the field of fragility factures, in what geographical regions this research has been conducted, and what key topics were addressed in the most highly cited research articles elaborating fragility fractures
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
