A bibliometric analysis of the 100 most-cited publications on pediatric flatfoot

Pediatric pes planovalgus (flatfoot) is a prevalent musculoskeletal condition characterized by the flattening of the medial arch of the foot. Despite its common occurrence, there is a lack of standardized diagnostic and therapeutic protocols. This study aimed to conduct a comprehensive bibliometric analysis on the 100 most-cited papers on pediatric flatfoot to identify major research trends, including publication years, countries of origin, contributing institutions, prevalent keywords, common surgical treatments, and authorship patterns. This bibliometric analysis utilized the Web of Science Core Collection database by Clarivate Analytics to identify articles related to pediatric flatfoot using keywords. The 100 most-cited articles were manually selected and analyzed using the VOSviewer software to create network visualization maps. The 100 most-cited articles were published between 1951 and 2019, with the number of citations ranging from 26 to 299. The number of influential papers published increased in the 2000s, and the majority were published in the 2010s (57%). The USA was the most productive country (31 publications), the University of South Australia was the most productive institution (eight publications), and Evans AM was the most productive author (seven publications). Calcaneal osteotomy was the most studied procedure (14 publications, 782 citations), predominantly in North America. Subtalar arthroereisis was the focus of seven publications (462 citations), mostly coming from Europe. There was a notable expansion in research on pediatric flatfoot in recent years. There were major geographic differences in the approach to treatment for calcaneal osteotomy vs. subtalar arthroereisis.