THE TOP 50 MOST-CITED ARTICLES ON TALUS OSTEOCHONDRAL LESIONS (1980–2024): A BIBLIOMETRIC ANALYSIS

Objective: This study aimed to identify and evaluate the top 50 most-cited articles on talus osteochondral lesions (OLTs), analysing their characteristics and research trends to provide insights for future studies and clinical management.Materials and Methods: A systematic search was performed in the Web of Science database using the terms “osteochondral lesions of the talus” and “talus osteochondral lesions.” Articles were ranked by citation count, and the top 50 were included. Data on citations, publication years, authorship, study topics, journals, levels of evidence (LOE), and countries of origin were extracted.Results: The top 50 most-cited articles accumulated 8,470 citations (mean 169.4 per article). In the search covering the period 1980–2024, the top 50 most-cited articles were published between 1980 and 2017, with 80% appearing after 2000. The most-cited article, a systematic review by Zengerink et al., garnered 376 citations. The United States contributed 34% of the articles, followed by Italy and the Netherlands. Foot and Ankle International and The American Journal of Sports Medicine were the most common journals. Most articles (n=37) addressed treatment methods, including microfracture (n=14) and mosaicplasty (n=12). Diagnostic and imaging studies (n=7) were less common. The majority (n=37) were Level IV, with few higher-level studies.Conclusion: The findings emphasise the dominance of treatment-focused studies, particularly microfracture and mosaicplasty techniques. Despite advancements in diagnosis and management, the predominance of Level IV evidence and scarcity of randomised controlled studies highlight the need for multicentre studies to establish standardised protocols.