The Top 100 Most-Cited Articles on Kyphoplasty and Vertebroplasty

Over the last several decades, both percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP) and percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP) have been used for pain relief in patients with osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures. The purpose of our study was to use citation analysis to identify and review the top 100 most-cited publications regarding PKP and PVP.

All databases of the Web of Science were searched using the keywords "kyphoplasty" and "vertebroplasty." All publications with >100 citations were identified and the results were ranked in descending order of citations. The 100 most-cited publications were included for analysis.

A total of 6271 publications on PKP and PVP were identified. The number of citations of the 100 most-cited studies ranged from 735 to 109, with a mean of 225.3 citations per study. The most productive period was 2001-2010, which produced 79 of the top 100 publications. Thirteen journals published these 100 studies, with Spine publishing the largest number (23) of studies. Most of the identified articles originated in the United States, with France and Switzerland found to be the next most heavily represented countries of origin of the 11 countries that produced them. Most of the studies focused on treatment of osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures, followed by pathologic fractures caused by tumors.

We identified the 100 most-cited publications on PKP and PVP and performed a bibliometric analysis characterizing distinguishing features of these studies. This list can help guide clinical decision making and future research directions as clinicians and researchers continue to explore these controversial therapeutic techniques.