Analysis of the Top Articles and Authors of the Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma and Bibliometric Comparison of Impact Factors of Orthopaedic Surgery Journals

To determine the top 100 cited authors and the top 20 articles in the Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma (JOT) and compare its impact factor to orthopaedic and non-orthopaedic surgery literature. Review. The Web of Science database was used to determine the top 100 cited authors and top 20 cited articles that originated in JOT from 1995 to the present. The total number of citations for each article and author in first, last, and any author position for publications in JOT, and the location of training and current place of work for each author were gathered. Each author's total number of citations as first author was tallied to determine the top 100 JOT first authors. The Journal Citation Reports database was searched to determine the impact factor (IF) of multiple orthopaedic and non-orthopaedic journals from 1997 to 2023. Yearly IF and yearly IF percent growth were calculated. The number of citations for the top 20 cited articles in JOT ranged from 302 to 787. Of the top 100 JOT first authors by citation number, 93 were orthopaedic surgeons. 65% of these completed a residency in the United States, 61% worked in the United States, and of the authors that work in the United States, 70.5% practice in an academic setting. From 1997 to 2023, JOT's mean yearly IF was 1.6, and the mean yearly IF percent growth was 6.1%. The mean IF for included comparison orthopaedic subspecialty journals was 2.3, with 5.6% mean yearly IF percent growth. JOT's median IF was 1.8 and was second to Injury (IF 1.9) within orthopaedic trauma journals evaluated. This bibliometric analysis shows that JOT's most cited authors are primarily U.S.-trained orthopaedic surgeons in academic environments. JOT has consistently experienced annual growth in its impact factor throughout its almost 30-year history and has one of the highest impact factors of measured orthopaedic trauma journals. IV.