Abstract
IntroductionThe objective of this study was to identify and characterize the most highly cited clinical research articles published on sepsis.MethodsA comprehensive list of citation classics in sepsis was generated by searching the database of Web of Science-Expanded (1970 to present) using keywords 'sepsis' or 'septic shock'. The top 50 cited clinical research papers were retrieved by reading the abstract or full text if needed. Each eligible article was reviewed for basic information, including country of origin, article type, journals, authors, and funding sources.ResultsA total of 2,151 articles were cited more than 100 times; the 50 top-cited clinical articles were published between 1974 and 2008. The number of citations ranged from 372 to 2,932, with a mean of 678 citations per article. These citation classics came from nine countries, of which 26 articles came from the United States. Rush University and the University of Pittsburgh lead the list of classics with six papers each. The 50 top-cited articles were published in 17 journals, with the New England Journal of Medicine and Journal of the American Medical Association topping the list. The top 50 articles consisted of 21 clinical trials and 29 observational studies.ConclusionsOur bibliometric analysis provides a historical perspective on the progress of clinical research on sepsis. Articles originating from the United States and published in high-impact journals are most likely to be cited in the field of sepsis research.
Highlights
The objective of this study was to identify and characterize the most highly cited clinical research articles published on sepsis
The 50 top cited articles originated from nine countries, with the United States (26) and France (8) being the most prolific (Table 3)
There was a weak correlation between the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita and the numbers of articles on sepsis related to the nine countries (r2 = 0.02)
Summary
The objective of this study was to identify and characterize the most highly cited clinical research articles published on sepsis. Sepsis is a systemic inflammatory response syndrome that occurs during severe infection. It remains a leading cause of death in critically ill patients [1]. Numerous critical care and infectious disease specialists and researchers have focused their efforts on sepsis in an attempt to gain a better understanding of the pathophysiological basis of sepsis or to develop new methods for the diagnosis and treatment of sepsis. Large numbers of articles have been published annually and have given new insights into the mechanism or treatment of sepsis [2]. It is generally accepted that publications represent the central part of a research process.
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