International Journal of Cardiology Congenital Heart Disease (Aug 2021)
The 100 most influential articles in congenital heart disease in 2000–2020: A bibliometric analysis
Abstract
Background: Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the most common type of major congenital malformations. CHD outcomes have improved in the past 20 years, and research efforts in the field have increased exponentially. The purpose of this investigation is to identify the most influential recent publications related to CHD, and reveal their shared features using bibliometric analysis. Methods: Journal articles related to CHD published between 2000 and 2020 were retrieved from the Scopus database. In order of citation frequency, the 100 most-cited clinical original articles overall, the 20 most-cited clinical original articles of the years 2018–2020, and the top 10 most-cited review articles were compiled. The lists were analyzed to identify characteristics of highly cited publications. VOS Viewer was used to construct and visualize network maps based on co-authorship and co-occurring keywords. Results: The total number of citations varied from 244 to 1741, and the number of citations per year varied from 13.2 to 121.9. Articles were most commonly published in Circulation, Journal of the American College of Cardiology, or Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. Most originated from the USA, and had a sample size of 200 patients or less. A total of 46 authors had at least 3 publications among the list and were organized in 6 collaboration clusters. Tetralogy of Fallot, atrial septal defect, the perinatal period, Fontan, and cardiac surgery were identified as major areas of research. Conclusions: This bibliographic analysis mapped two decades of research in CHD, highlighting important articles and defining major areas of research.
