The Top 50 Most-Cited Articles on Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy

Cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) occurs due to chronic degenerative changes in the cervical spine causing compression of the spinal cord. CSM has been studied for decades, and numerous articles have been published on the topic. We sought to identify the top 50 most-cited articles on CSM.

The top 50 most-cited articles were retrieved from the Scopus database using the search criteria "cervical spondylosis with myelopathy" OR "cervical spondylotic myelopathy." Levels of evidence were also calculated and descriptive and statistical analyses were carried out.

The total number of citations of the top 50 most-cited papers was 7072. The paper with the highest number of citations had 287. All articles were published between 1966 and 2010, with most published between 1990 and 1999 (n = 22). The most prolific country in terms of the total number of publications was United States, with 25 publications, followed by Japan. The majority of the articles were level IV.

There is a deficiency of high-level articles in the top 50 most-cited list. This study provides an important overview of historical development of treatment methods, as well as publication trends related to this pathology. Regardless, this comprehensive list of the top 50 most-cited articles can serve as a resource for future trainees and surgeons to draw on to build their knowledge base.