Background: Large vessel occlusions (LVO) are a common etiology of morbidity and mortality. The current literature lacks a synthesis of the landscape and trends in research.
Objective: We aimed to conduct a bibliometric analysis of the 100 most cited original articles on LVOs to assess the current state of research.
Methods: Scopus database was queried from inception to December 2022 to identify the most cited original articles from 4506 retrieved records on LVOs. Publication year, country of origin, total and average annual citation count, and type of study were collected for each article. The journal impact factor (JIF) was obtained from the Journal Citation Reports database.
Results: The articles were published between 1994 and 2021, with most (n = 82) published during the 2011-2020 decade. The median total citation count was 108.5, with an interquartile range (IQR) of 81-149.5. The median (IQR) average annual citation count was 15.9 (11.5-22.9). Half of the articles were published in Stroke (n = 35) and Journal of NeuroInterventional Surgery (n = 15), with JIFs ranging from 1.8 to 202.7. The USA was the leading country in contributing to LVO research (n = 45). Most studies focused on the treatment (n = 63) and diagnosis (n = 22) of LVOs.
Conclusions: Most articles were published during the past decade, highlighting the impact of the clinical trials of endovascular treatment on the discipline. With several ongoing clinical trials on the horizon, continued growth of the field is anticipated in the upcoming decades.
Keywords: Endovascular; large arterial occlusion; large artery occlusion; large vessel occlusion; stroke; thrombectomy.