Top 100 Cited articles on Radiation Exposure in Medical Imaging: A Bibliometric Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Bibliometric analyses by highest number of citations can help researchers and funding agencies in determining the most influential articles in a field. The main objective of this analysis was to identify the top 100 cited articles addressing radiation exposure from medical imaging and assess their characteristics.

METHODS: Relevant articles were extracted from the Scopus database after a systematic search by researchers using an iteratively defined Boolean search string. Subsequently, exclusion criteria were applied. A list of top 100 articles was prepared, and articles were ranked according to the citations they had received. No time restriction was applied. Descriptive statistics of the data were compiled.

RESULTS: The top-cited articles were published from 1970-2013, with the most articles published in 2009 and 2010 (12 articles in each year). The citations ranged from 107-1888 with a median of 272. Manuscripts from our top-cited list originated from 20 different countries, with contributions made by 158 authors and 160 organizations. Eighty-eight percent of studies evaluated patient-related radiation exposure, 7% health care workers, and 5% both or were not specified. Thirty-two percent of studies examined adult populations, 14% pediatric, and 54% included both populations or did not specify. Seventy-two percent of studies were dedicated to Computed Tomography, 8% to radiography/fluoroscopy, 9% to interventional procedures, 4% to nuclear medicine, and 7% to a combination of 2 or more modalities.

CONCLUSION: The top 100 cited articles in medical imaging related to radiation exposure are diverse, originating from many countries with numerous contributing authors. The most common topics covered involve CT and adult patients. The recent peak in the most-highly cited articles (2010) suggests that increased attention has been devoted to this field in recent years. Based on these results, it would appear that research on radiation exposure in medical imaging is poised to continue expanding.