The top 50 most cited articles in carpometacarpal arthritis: A bibliometric analysis

Background: Carpometacarpal (CMC) arthritis is common and can be debilitating and disabling for patients. While a common pathology, treatment may vary. Understanding the current literature and evidence regarding therapy is paramount. This study analyzed the most prolific studies, authors, and journals regarding CMC arthritis. We predict they will be in hand journals from academic institutions in the U.S. by fellowshiptrained hand surgeons. Methods: The Elsevier Scopus database was queried for articles related to carpometacarpal arthritis. Search results were filtered by citations. The top 50 articles were reviewed, and multiple data points were collected. Citation density and h-index were identified for the articles and high producing authors. Results: The search yielded 1,288 articles from 1920-2024. The articles ranged from years 1968 to 2017. These papers were cited 6,608 times, ranging from 69 to 706 and averaged 132 citations. The average citation density was 5.3. The most prolific institution was Columbia University (n=6). Authors with the most publications were R.G Eaton (n=8), R.I Burton (n=5) and V.D Pellegrini (n=5). The U.S. produced the most articles (n=36). The Journal of Hand Surgery published the most articles with 20. The most common level of evidence was IV and case series was the most used type of study. Conclusion: Highly cited papers on carpometacarpal arthritis were most likely case series produced in the United States from a few institutions that evaluated postoperative outcomes of surgical techniques. The list provides a group of highly impactful papers that can be included in a curriculum for surgical trainees.