The Top 100 Cited Articles in Urethral Reconstruction

Abstract Objective To examine the most cited literature in urethralreconstruction, review types of work published, and observe research trends. Methods The Web of Sciences Sci-Expanded Index was used to conduct a search for urethralreconstruction. References were assessed for relevance to urethralreconstruction by two independent reviewers and a final list of the top 100 articles ranked by citation count was obtained. For each article, citation count, publication date, corresponding author, origin institution, origin country, topic area, studydesign, level of evidence, and origin journal were collected. Results The mean citation count per publication was 108 (median= 94.5; range= 69-366, SD=43) with a total of 10,874 citations for all papers since 1970. The top 100 articles were published between 1973 and 2011, came from 19 different countries and 16 different journals. Nearly half were case seriesand most studies were Level III evidence or lower. The United States was the largest contributor to the top 100 with 56 publications, followed by Italy (14), England (12) and Egypt (7). “Outcomes of surgical treatment for urethral stricturedisease (USD)” was the most prevalent topic area comprising 55 articles in the top 100, with most articles including descriptions or outcomes of novel surgical techniques. Conclusions In this study, we discovered that the most cited literature in the field of urethralreconstruction is singularly focused and lacking in high levels of evidence. The top 100 cited articles originate primarily from the United States, focus on short-term outcomes after surgical treatment for USD, and are predominantly case series.