Citation analysis of the most influential publications on whiplash injury: A STROBE-compliant study

Whiplash injury is a common diagnosis and causes substantial economic burden. Numerous papers have been published to provide new insights into whiplash injury. However, so far there has not been a comprehensive analysis of the most influential publications on whiplash injury. This study aimed to determine the 100 most cited publications on whiplash injury and analyze their characteristics. A keyword search was conducted using the Web of Science database. The top 100 cited publications relevant to whiplash injury were gathered. The main characteristics including title, year of publication, citation, authorship, journal, country, institution, and topic were generated. The number of citations of the top 100 cited publications ranged from 82 to 777. Fifteen countries contributed the top 100 publications. Australia had the largest number of publications (26), followed by the United States (21), and Canada (12). The majority of the publications were from Europe (40) and North America (33). A total of 19 institutions and 17 authors published more than one publication. The University of Queensland (16) and the author Sterling M (7) had the leading publication record. This is the first citation analysis to identify and characterize the highest impact researches on whiplash injury. The present analysis provides the most influential studies on whiplash injury, and reveals the leading journals, counties, institutions, and authors with special contributions in this filed. The list may serve as an archive of historical development of whiplash injury and a basis for further research.