The 100 Most-Cited Papers on Giant Cell Arteritis: A Bibliometric Analysis

Background: Giant cell arteritis (GCA) carries a significant risk of vascular and visual morbidity. Given its clinical importance, the 100 most frequently cited articles on GCA were systematically identified and bibliometrically analyzed. Methods: All databases belonging to the Web of Science platform were searched for research articles with no restriction on publication date. The distribution of papers among journals, countries of origin, and publication types were evaluated. The correlations between the year of publication with total number of citations and annual citation rate were also assessed. Results: The top 100 articles on GCA were published between 1946 and 2018 and were cited a median (range) of 229 (153-1751) times. The papers were published in 30 journals, including nine rheumatology journals (n= 45), seven general medical journals (n= 21), three ophthalmology journals (n= 8), and eleven journals from other fields of research (n= 26). Based on corresponding author affiliation, the articles originated from 13 countries, led by the US (n= 55), Spain (n= 12), and the UK (n= 11). Clinical studies (n= 73) and non-systematic reviews (n= 11) were the most common publication types. The median (range) number of authors per article was 5 (1-44), and 73 individuals had more than one authorship. Year of publication was significantly correlated with the annual citation rate (P<0.001) but not with the total number of citations (P= 0.487). Conclusion: This bibliometric analysis provides insight into the history and evolution of GCA research, highlighting some of the most influential contributions to the field. The latest landmark papers may not have been identified due to temporal constraints on citation accumulation.