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. 2022 Sep 30;101(39):e30850. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000030850

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

Shuxi Ye a, Qin Chen a, Ning Liu a, Rongchun Chen a, Yaohong Wu a,*
PMCID: PMC9524940  PMID: 36181008

Abstract

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.

Keywords: citation analysis, publication, Whiplash injury

1. Introduction

Whiplash injury is a common trauma caused by rapid acceleration–deceleration movements of the head and neck.[1,2] The annual incidence of whiplash injury is estimated to be 328 to 677 per 100.000 inhabitants.[1–3] It most commonly occurs in road traffic accidents, involving more than 80% of persons in motor vehicles collision.[1] Whiplash-associated disorders are used to describe neck pain and clusters of physical and psychological symptoms experienced after a whiplash injury.[4] Approximately 50% of individuals suffer from persistent pain 1 year after whiplash injury, and as many as 25% of them develop a long-term complex pain related disability.[2,5,6] Whiplash injury represents an important and growing burden.[4,6–8] The annual economic cost of whiplash injury is estimated to be $3.9 billion in the United States.[6,7]

A large number of papers on whiplash injury have been published in the journals to share new knowledge in this filed.[2–4,6–8] Among the numerous papers, some important publications may play a vital role in the progress of whiplash injury research. [2,4,8] However, there is a lack of studies to identify these most influential publications in the field of whiplash injury.

The number of citations is an important indicator for the academic impact of the publications.[9] Citation analysis has been widely performed in multiple disciplines to quantitatively and qualitatively analyze important information of certain topic.[10–27] Citation analysis of the most influential publications have been carried out in many filed.[10–27] However, there have been few studies regarding the most cited publications on whiplash injury. The purpose of the present study was to determine the 100 most cited publications on whiplash injury and analyze their characteristics.

2. Methods

Ethical approval was not required because this work did not contain any studies with patients or animals. The Web of Science database was used for this citation analysis.[10–27] The keywords included “whiplash,” “whiplash injury,” whiplash injuries,” “whiplash-associated disorder,” and “whiplash-associated disorders.” [4,8] The literature search was carried out on January 6th, 2022. No limitation was used in the publication time or article type. The searching results ranked by the citation count of the publications. Two authors independently reviewed the publications for their relevance to whiplash injury. Disagreements were resolved by discussion. A third author was invited to make a final decision when necessary. The top 100 cited publications on whiplash injury were included in this study.

Data extractions were conducted by 2 independent authors. Disagreements between authors were resolved by consensus. The following information was extracted and analyzed: title, year of publication, citation, authorship, journal, country, institution, and topic. The study topic contained etiology, treatment, risk factors, measurement, epidemiology and general to whiplash injury. The countries were classified into high-income, middle-income and low-income countries in terms of the World Bank income criteria (www.worldbank.org).[28] Citation density (citation count/ the number of years since the paper was published) and the average citation were also analyzed.[19,20]

3. Results

Citation count of the top 100 cited publications ranged from 82 to 777 with a mean number of 155. The most cited paper was published in the journal Spine in 1995, and had the highest number of citation density (31.08). The main information of these publications was listed in Table 1. The oldest and most recent publications were published in 1953 and 2013, respectively. All publications in the top 100 list were written in English.

Table 1.

The 100 most cited publications on whiplash injury.

Rank Author (first) Yr Article Journal Citation number Citation density
1 Spitzer WO 1995 Scientific monograph of the Quebec Task Force on Whiplash-Associated Disorders: redefining “whiplash” and its management Spine 777 31.08
2 Cassidy JD 2000 Effect of eliminating compensation for pain and suffering on the outcome of insurance claims for whiplash injury NEJM 445 22.25
3 Caffey J 1974 The whiplash shaken infant syndrome: manual shaking by the extremities with whiplash-induced intracranial and intraocular bleedings, linked with residual permanent brain damage and mental retardation Pediatrics 412 8.96
4 Lord SM 1996 Percutaneous radio-frequency neurotomy for chronic cervical zygapophyseal-joint pain NEJM 408 17.00
5 Barnsley L 1994 Whiplash injury Pain 325 12.50
6 Sterling M 2003 Sensory hypersensitivity occurs soon after whiplash injury and is associated with poor recovery Pain 315 18.53
7 Lord SM 1996 Chronic cervical zygapophysial joint pain after whiplash. A placebo-controlled prevalence study Spine 298 12.42
8 Banic B 2004 Evidence for spinal cord hypersensitivity in chronic pain after whiplash injury and in fibromyalgia Pain 295 18.44
9 Barnsley L 1995 The prevalence of chronic cervical zygapophysial joint pain after whiplash Spine 287 11.48
10 Scholten-Peeters 2003 Prognostic factors of whiplash-associated disorders: a systematic review of prospective cohort studies Pain 287 16.88
11 Schrader H 1996 Natural evolution of late whiplash syndrome outside the medicolegal context Lancet 270 11.25
12 Carroll LJ 2008 Course and prognostic factors for neck pain in whiplash-associated disorders (WAD): results of the Bone and Joint Decade 2000-2010 Task Force on Neck Pain and Its Associated Disorders Spine 261 21.75
13 Guthkelch AN 1971 Infantile subdural hematoma and its relationship to whiplash injuries BMJ 245 5.00
14 Radanov BP 1995 Long-term outcome after whiplash injury. A 2-year follow-up considering features of injury mechanism and somatic, radiologic, and psychosocial findings Medicine 243 9.72
15 Jull G 2004 Impairment in the cervical flexors: a comparison of whiplash and insidious onset neck pain patients Man Ther 239 14.94
16 Treleaven J 2003 Dizziness and unsteadiness following whiplash injury: characteristic features and relationship with cervical joint position error J Rehabil Med 227 13.35
17 Sterling M 2005 Physical and psychological factors predict outcome following whiplash injury Pain 226 15.07
18 Curatolo M 2001 Central hypersensitivity in chronic pain after whiplash injury Clin J Pain 214 11.26
19 Obelieniene D 1999 Pain after whiplash: a prospective controlled inception cohort study J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 208 9.90
20 Sterling M 2003 Development of motor system dysfunction following whiplash injury Pain 197 11.59
21 Ommaya AK 1968 Whiplash injury and brain damage: an experimental study JAMA 184 3.54
22 Scott D 2005 Widespread sensory hypersensitivity is a feature of chronic whiplash-associated disorder but not chronic idiopathic neck pain Clin J Pain 178 11.87
23 Sterling M 2006 Physical and psychological factors maintain long-term predictive capacity post-whiplash injury Pain 177 12.64
24 Kamper SJ 2008 Course and prognostic factors of whiplash: a systematic review and meta-analysis Pain 176 14.67
25 Hadley MN 1989 The infant whiplash-shake injury syndrome: a clinical and pathological study Neurosurgery 174 5.61
26 Gonzalez-Iglesias J 2009 Short-term effects of cervical kinesio taping on pain and cervical range of motion in patients with acute whiplash injury: a randomized clinical trial J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 168 15.27
27 Koelbaek Johansen M 1999 Generalised muscular hyperalgesia in chronic whiplash syndrome Pain 166 7.90
28 McLean SA 2005 The development of persistent pain and psychological morbidity after motor vehicle collision: integrating the potential role of stress response systems into a biopsychosocial model Psychosom Med 165 11.00
29 Ommaya AK 1971 Tolerances for cerebral concussion from head impact and whiplash in primates J Biomech 162 3.31
30 Dall’Alba PT 2001 Cervical range of motion discriminates between asymptomatic persons and those with whiplash Spine 161 8.47
31 Radanov BP 1991 Role of psychosocial stress in recovery from common whiplash [see comment] Lancet 158 5.45
32 Sullivan MJ 2006 A psychosocial risk factor--targeted intervention for the prevention of chronic pain and disability following whiplash injury Phys Ther 155 11.07
33 Lord SM 1995 The utility of comparative local anesthetic blocks versus placebo-controlled blocks for the diagnosis of cervical zygapophysial joint pain Clin J Pain 152 6.08
34 Holm LW 2008 The burden and determinants of neck pain in whiplash-associated disorders after traffic collisions: results of the Bone and Joint Decade 2000-2010 Task Force on Neck Pain and Its Associated Disorders Spine 152 12.67
35 Kaneoka K 1999 Motion analysis of cervical vertebrae during whiplash loading Spine 150 7.14
36 Jull G 2007 Does the presence of sensory hypersensitivity influence outcomes of physical rehabilitation for chronic whiplash?--A preliminary RCT Pain 144 11.08
37 Heikkilä H 1998 Cervicocephalic kinesthetic sensibility, active range of cervical motion, and oculomotor function in patients with whiplash injury Arch Phys Med Rehabil 144 6.55
38 Nederhand MJ 2004 Predictive value of fear avoidance in developing chronic neck pain disability: consequences for clinical decision making Arch Phys Med Rehabil 142 8.88
39 Gay JR 1953 Common whiplash injuries of the neck JAMA 140 2.09
40 Borchgrevink GE 1998 Acute treatment of whiplash neck sprain injuries. A randomized trial of treatment during the first 14 days after a car accident Spine 140 6.36
41 Davis SJ 1991 Cervical spine hyperextension injuries: MR findings Radiology 139 4.79
42 Mealy K 1986 Early mobilization of acute whiplash injuries BMJ 138 4.06
43 Loudon JK 1997 Ability to reproduce head position after whiplash injury Spine 138 6.00
44 Elliott J 2006 Fatty infiltration in the cervical extensor muscles in persistent whiplash-associated disorders: a magnetic resonance imaging analysis Spine 137 9.79
45 Grauer JN 1997 Whiplash produces an S-shaped curvature of the neck with hyperextension at lower levels Spine 136 5.91
46 Sterling M 2003 The development of psychological changes following whiplash injury Pain 135 7.94
47 Pearson AM 2004 Facet joint kinematics and injury mechanisms during simulated whiplash Spine 132 8.25
48 Barnsley L 1994 Lack of effect of intraarticular corticosteroids for chronic pain in the cervical zygapophyseal joints NEJM 130 5.00
49 Jull G 2000 Deep Cervical Flexor Muscle Dysfunction in Whiplash J Musculoskelet Pain 127 6.35
50 Wallis BJ 1997 Resolution of psychological distress of whiplash patients following treatment by radiofrequency neurotomy: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial Pain 126 5.48
51 Winkelstein BA 2000 The cervical facet capsule and its role in whiplash injury: a biomechanical investigation Spine 122 6.10
52 Nederhand MJ 2000 Cervical muscle dysfunction in the chronic whiplash associated disorder grade II (WAD-II) Spine 114 5.70
53 Kasch H 2005 Reduced cold pressor pain tolerance in non-recovered whiplash patients: a 1-year prospective study Eur J Pain 112 7.47
54 Heikkilä H 1996 Cervicocephalic kinesthetic sensibility in patients with whiplash injury Scand J Rehabil Med 112 4.67
55 Hoving JL 2003 Validity of the neck disability index, Northwick Park neck pain questionnaire, and problem elicitation technique for measuring disability associated with whiplash-associated disorders Pain 110 6.47
56 Hendriks EJ 2005 Prognostic factors for poor recovery in acute whiplash patients Pain 110 7.33
57 Radanov BP 1994 Relationship between early somatic, radiological, cognitive and psychosocial findings and outcome during a 1-year follow-up in 117 patients suffering from common whiplash Br J Rheumatol 109 4.19
58 Schmand B 1998 Cognitive complaints in patients after whiplash injury: the impact of malingering J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 108 4.91
59 Sturzenegger M 1994 Presenting symptoms and signs after whiplash injury: the influence of accident mechanisms Neurology 107 4.12
60 Maimaris C 1988 “Whiplash injuries” of the neck: a retrospective study Injury 106 3.31
61 Evans RW 1992 Some observations on whiplash injuries Neurol Clin 106 3.79
62 Ronnen HR 1996 Acute whiplash injury: is there a role for MR imaging?--a prospective study of 100 patients Radiology 104 4.33
63 Van Oosterwijck J 2013 Evidence for central sensitization in chronic whiplash: a systematic literature review Eur J Pain 103 14.71
64 Treleaven J 2006 The relationship of cervical joint position error to balance and eye movement disturbances in persistent whiplash Man Ther 103 7.36
65 Sterling M 2004 Characterization of acute whiplash-associated disorders Spine 102 6.38
66 Ettlin TM 1992 Cerebral symptoms after whiplash injury of the neck: a prospective clinical and neuropsychological study of whiplash injury J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 102 3.64
67 Stewart MJ 2007 Randomized controlled trial of exercise for chronic whiplash-associated disorders Pain 101 7.77
68 Rosenfeld M 2000 Early intervention in whiplash-associated disorders: a comparison of 2 treatment protocols Spine 101 5.05
69 Herren-Gerber R 2004 Modulation of central hypersensitivity by nociceptive input in chronic pain after whiplash injury Pain Med 101 6.31
70 Gotten N 1956 Survey of 100 cases of whiplash injury after settlement of litigation JAMA 101 1.58
71 Jonsson H Jr 1994 Findings and outcome in whiplash-type neck distortions Spine 99 3.81
72 Passatore M 2006 Influence of sympathetic nervous system on sensorimotor function: whiplash associated disorders (WAD) as a model Eur J Appl Physiol 97 6.93
73 Siegmund GP 2001 Mechanical evidence of cervical facet capsule injury during whiplash: a cadaveric study using combined shear, compression, and extension loading Spine 96 5.05
74 Brault JR 2000 Cervical muscle response during whiplash: evidence of a lengthening muscle contraction Clin Biomech 96 4.80
75 Woodhouse A 2008 Altered motor control patterns in whiplash and chronic neck pain BMC Musculoskelet Disord 95 7.92
76 Sullivan MJ 2009 Pain, perceived injustice and the persistence of post-traumatic stress symptoms during the course of rehabilitation for whiplash injuries Pain 95 8.64
77 Panjabi MM 1998 Simulation of whiplash trauma using whole cervical spine specimens Spine 95 4.32
78 Holm LW 2008 Expectations for recovery important in the prognosis of whiplash injuries PLoS Med 95 7.92
79 Cote P 2001 The association between neck pain intensity, physical functioning, depressive symptomatology and time-to-claim-closure after whiplash J Clin Epidemiol 95 5.00
80 Walton DM 2009 Risk factors for persistent problems following whiplash injury: results of a systematic review and meta-analysis J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 94 8.55
81 Pearce JM 1989 Whiplash injury: a reappraisal J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 94 3.03
82 Freeman MD 1999 A review and methodologic critique of the literature refuting whiplash syndrome Spine 92 4.38
83 Van Oosterwijck J 2011 Pain neurophysiology education improves cognitions, pain thresholds, and movement performance in people with chronic whiplash: a pilot study J Rehabil Res Dev 91 10.11
84 Kasch H 2001 Handicap after acute whiplash injury: a 1-year prospective study of risk factors Neurology 91 4.79
85 Soderlund A 2000 Acute whiplash-associated disorders (WAD): the effects of early mobilization and prognostic factors in long-term symptomatology Clin Rehabil 90 4.50
86 Sterling M 2010 Compensation claim lodgement and health outcome developmental trajectories following whiplash injury: A prospective study Pain 89 8.90
87 Carroll LJ 2006 The role of pain coping strategies in prognosis after whiplash injury: passive coping predicts slowed recovery Pain 89 6.36
88 Woltring HJ 1994 Instantaneous helical axis estimation from 3-D video data in neck kinematics for whiplash diagnostics J Biomech 88 3.38
89 Rubin AM 1995 Postural stability following mild head or whiplash injuries Am J Otol 88 3.52
90 Krakenes J 2002 MRI assessment of the alar ligaments in the late stage of whiplash injury--a study of structural abnormalities and observer agreement Neuroradiology 88 4.89
91 Rosenfeld M 2003 Active intervention in patients with whiplash-associated disorders improves long-term prognosis: a randomized controlled clinical trial Spine 87 5.12
92 Walton DM 2013 Risk factors for persistent problems following acute whiplash injury: update of a systematic review and meta-analysis J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 86 12.29
93 Treleaven J 2005 Smooth pursuit neck torsion test in whiplash-associated disorders: relationship to self-reports of neck pain and disability, dizziness and anxiety J Rehabil Med 86 5.73
94 Harder S 1998 The effect of socio-demographic and crash-related factors on the prognosis of whiplash J Clin Epidemiol 86 3.91
95 Brault JR 1998 Clinical response of human subjects to rear-end automobile collisions Arch Phys Med Rehabil 84 3.82
96 Bonnier C 1995 Outcome and prognosis of whiplash shaken infant syndrome; late consequences after a symptom-free interval Dev Med Child Neurol 84 3.36
97 Panjabi MM 1998 Mechanism of whiplash injury Clin Biomech 83 3.77
98 Hartling L 2001 Prognostic value of the Quebec Classification of Whiplash-Associated Disorders Spine 83 4.37
99 Cusick JF 2001 Whiplash syndrome: kinematic factors influencing pain patterns Spine 83 4.37
100 Mayou R 1996 Outcome of “whiplash” neck injury Injury 82 3.42
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BMJ = British Medical Journal, JAMA = Journal of the American Medical Association, NEJM = The New England Journal of Medicine.

The number of publications per decade was summarized in Figure 1. Half (50) of the total publications were published in the 2000s, followed by the 1990s (36). The publications in the 1970s had the highest number of average citations (273.00), followed by 1960s (184.00).

Figure 1.

Figure 1.

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The number of publications per decade on whiplash injury.

Thirty-seven journals contributed the top 100 publications. These journals included the general medical journals, such as The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), Lancet, Journal of the American Medical Association, and British Medical Journal, and subspecialty spine and pain journals. There were 19 journals published more than 1 paper, which was listed in Table 2. The journal Spine published far more papers (23) than other journals, followed by Pain (18). The NEJM with the highest impact factor (70.670) had the highest average citation (327.67), followed by Lancet (214.00).

Table 2.

Journals with more than one publication on whiplash injury.

Journal Number of articles Total citation Average citation Impact factors
Spine 23 3843 167.09 2.903
Pain 18 3163 175.72 6.029
Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry 4 512 128.00 8.272
NEJM 3 983 327.67 70.670
Clinical Journal of Pain 3 544 181.33 2.893
JAMA 3 425 141.67 51.273
Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 3 370 123.33 2.697
Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy 3 348 116.00 3.058
Lancet 2 428 214.00 59.102
BMJ 2 383 191.50 27.604
Manual Therapy 2 342 171.00 2.622
Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine 2 313 156.50 1.907
Journal of Biomechanics 2 250 125.00 2.576
Radiology 2 243 121.50 7.608
European Journal of Pain 2 215 107.50 3.188
Neurology 2 198 99.00 8.689
Injury 2 188 94.00 1.834
Journal of Clinical Epidemiology 2 181 90.50 4.650
Clinical Biomechanics 2 179 89.50 1.977
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BMJ = British Medical Journal, JAMA = Journal of the American Medical Association, NEJM = The New England Journal of Medicine.

There were 15 countries producing the top 100 publications. All the countries were high-income countries. These countries were shown in Table 3. Australia was the leader according to the number of publications (26), followed by the United States (21), and Canada (12). With respect to continental distribution, the majority of the 100 publications were from Europe (40), North America (33) and Oceania (26). Only one publication was from Asia. No publications were from South America or Africa.

Table 3.

Countries of origin of publications on whiplash injury.

Country Number of articles Total citations Average citations
Australia 26 4756 182.92
United States 21 2820 134.29
Canada 12 2362 196.83
Switzerland 8 1329 166.13
Sweden 8 880 110.00
Netherlands 6 865 144.17
Norway 4 593 148.25
United Kingdom 4 527 131.75
Denmark 3 369 123.00
Belgium 3 278 92.67
Lithuania 1 208 208.00
Spain 1 168 168.00
Japan 1 150 150.00
Ireland 1 138 138.00
Italy 1 97 97.00
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A total of 53 institutions contributed the 100 publications. There were 19 institutions producing at least 2 publications. These institutions were depicted in Table 4. The University of Queensland had the leading publication record (16), followed by University of Newcastle (6). When considering the average citations, McGill University (319.33) ranked first, followed by University of Newcastle (266.67), and University of Alberta (265.00).

Table 4.

Institutions with more than one publication on whiplash injury.

Institution Number of articles Total citations Average citations
The University of Queensland 16 2643 165.19
University of Newcastle 6 1600 266.67
University of Berne 4 617 154.25
Yale University School of Medicine 4 446 111.50
McGill University 3 958 319.33
University of Alberta 3 795 265.00
University Hospital of Bern 3 610 203.33
University Hospital Trondheim 2 410 205.00
National Institutes of Health 2 346 173.00
Hull Royal Infirmary 2 339 169.50
University of Sydney 2 277 138.50
Roessingh, Research and Development 2 256 128.00
University Hospital of Northern Sweden 2 256 128.00
Karolinska Institutet 2 247 123.50
Aarhus University 2 203 101.50
Vrije Universiteit Brussel 2 194 97.00
University of Gothenburg 2 188 94.00
Biomechanics Research & Consulting, Inc 2 180 90.00
Western University 2 180 90.00
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Some first authors were shown more than 1 time in the 100 most influential publications. These authors were summarized in Table 5. Sterling M with 7 publications was the leader in the list. When ranked by average citations, Lord SM (268.00) topped the list, followed by Barnsley L (247.33), and Sterling M (177.29).

Table 5.

Authors with more than one publication on whiplash injury.

Author (First) Number of articles Total citations Average citations
Sterling M 7 1241 177.29
Lord SM 3 858 286.00
Barnsley L 3 742 247.33
Jull G 3 510 170.00
Radanov BP 3 510 170.00
Treleaven J 3 416 138.67
Carroll LJ 2 350 175.00
Ommaya AK 2 346 173.00
Heikkilä H 2 256 128.00
Nederhand MJ 2 256 128.00
Sullivan MJ 2 250 125.00
Holm LW 2 247 123.50
Kasch H 2 203 101.50
Van Oosterwijck J 2 194 97.00
Brault JR 2 180 90.00
Walton DM 2 180 90.00
Panjabi MM 2 178 89.00
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With respect to the topics, there were 27 publications centered on the treatment of whiplash injury, followed by etiology with 24 publications, and risk factors with 21 publications (Fig. 2).

Figure 2.

Figure 2.

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Topics of the 100 most cited publications on whiplash injury.

4. Discussion

Whiplash injury is a commonly diagnosed trauma, which causes pain, functional limitations, and even prolonged disability with considerable economic burden.[1,4,7,8] The present study, determining and characterizing the top 100 cited publications on whiplash injury, aimed to give a general insight into the most influential publications, and to help future studies in this filed. Such analysis had been performed in a large number of fields.[10–27] To our knowledge, the current study is the first citation analysis on the top 100 cited publications in the field of whiplash injury.

The citation count of the top 100 influential publications may be different in different specialties.[11,12,14,16,19,20,23,24] The number of citations of the 100 most cited publications on diabetes ranged from 1121 to 10292, and that on Parkinson’s disease ranged from 669 to 6902.[11,12] The difference of the citation count may be attributed to multiple factors such as the number of researchers and the size of total publications in specific filed.[14,16,19,20,23,24]

It is believed that old papers had advantages in receiving more citations due to the long time after publication.[11,12,14,17,20,24] This was proved in many citation analyses.[10–27] The publication production on surgery by decade reached a peak in the 1970s.[25] The 1980s contributed the most publications in burns and knee research.[17,24] The largest number of the top 100 cited publications on imaging and spine were both published in the 1990s.[22,26] However, the present study demonstrated that the 2000s was the most prolific decade. The increasing number of publications and the progress of quality of publications may be important reasons for this finding.[17,19–21,26] Another explanation may be that the Quebec Task Force redefined the whiplash and its management in 1995, which may promote the development of whiplash injury research.[4]

All the top 100 papers published in English, which may prove that English was the most influential language in academic community. The journal Spine produced the majority of publications, followed by pain. This demonstrated that these journals have the greatest impact in the field of whiplash injury.[11,19,20,24–26] There may be some reasons for this finding. First, the researchers have a tendency to submit their important work to these subspecialty journals.[18–20,26] Second, the authors tend to cite publications from main journals in their specialty.[20,26] In addition, we found that 4 leading general medicine journals, including NEJM, Lancet, Journal of the American Medical Association, and British Medical Journal, produced at least 2 most influential publications on whiplash injury. This indicates some papers on whiplash injury are of high quality, and could be accepted in the highest impact general journals.[11,18,19]

A total of 15 countries produced the top 100 publications, which might suggest that the most influential publications still centered in a few countries.[20,22,23,26] These countries were classified into high-income countries. It may indicate that the economic situation of the countries plays a vital role in conducting the high impact work.[19,20,26,28] In addition, we found that no publications were from South America and Africa. This result may reflect that the quality of papers from these areas is still lag behind that from the other regions.[20,28]

It is very interesting to find that Australia was the most prolific countries on whiplash injury, and the United States ranked second. The greatest power of the United States has been proved in nearly all the medical fields.[10–27] The United States always ranks first in terms of the research contributions. It may because that the United States has the great advantages in the investigators and financial supports.[18–20,26] However, this phenomenon was not found in the field of whiplash injury. This may suggest that the some institutions and researchers in Australia are very interested in whiplash injury, and have a great priority in this field.[18–20] This study also proves this factor. We found that the Australian institutions and authors have outstanding publication record especially The University of Queensland and Sterling M, which published far more papers than other institutions and authors.

The current study had some limitations, which had been demonstrated in pervious citation analysis.[10–27] First, there were no golden indicators for assessing the impact of publications despite the number of citations were widely used in citation analysis. The influential papers with low citations may not be included in this study. Second, the recent papers had a tendency to receive lower citations, and the old publications may have an accumulated effect in the citation count. The influential publications published in recent years may not be included. Third, the effect of self-citation on the number of citations could not be eliminated in this study, which may increase the citation count. Fourth, the Web of Science database was use as the literature source. The citation count of publications may be different in other database when conducting citation analysis on the same topic.

5. Conclusion

This is the first citation analysis to identify and characterize the highest impact researches on whiplash injury. The present study provides the 100 most cited publications, and summarizes the impact journals, counties, institutions, authors with leading publication records. The list may be functioned as an archive of the influential studies on whiplash injury, and a basis for further research in this field.

Author contributions:

Conceptualization: Shuxi Ye, Yaohong Wu.

Investigation: Shuxi Ye, Qin Chen, Ning Liu.

Methodology: Rongchun Chen.

Project administration: Yahong Wu.

Supervision: Yaohong Wu.

Writing – original draft: Shuxi ye, Ning Liu, Rongchun Chen.

Writing – review & editing: Yaohong Wu, Qin Chen.

Abbreviation:

NEJM =
The New England Journal of Medicine

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

The authors have no funding and conflicts of interest to disclose.

How to cite this article: Ye S, Chen Q, Liu N, Chen R, Wu Y. Citation analysis of the most influential publications on whiplash injury: A STROBE-compliant study. Medicine 2022;101:39(e30850).

Contributor Information

Shuxi Ye, Email: 1102177665@qq.com.

Qin Chen, Email: rongchunchen@126.com.

Ning Liu, Email: liuningganzhou@163.com.

Rongchun Chen, Email: rongchunchen@126.com.

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