Assessment and Trends of the Methodological Quality of the Top 50 Most Cited Articles on Patellar Instability

Avinesh Agarwalla; Kaisen Yao; Christon Darden; Anirudh K Gowd; Seth L Sherman; Jack Farr; Beth Ellen Shubin Stein; Nirav H Amin; Joseph N Liu

doi:10.1177/2325967120972016

Assessment and Trends of the Methodological Quality of the Top 50 Most Cited Articles on Patellar Instability

Orthop J Sports Med. 2021 Jan 29;9(1):2325967120972016. doi: 10.1177/2325967120972016. eCollection 2021 Jan.

Authors

Avinesh Agarwalla¹, Kaisen Yao², Christon Darden³, Anirudh K Gowd⁴, Seth L Sherman⁵, Jack Farr⁶, Beth Ellen Shubin Stein⁷, Nirav H Amin⁸, Joseph N Liu⁸

Affiliations

¹ Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Westchester Medical Center, Valhalla, New York, USA.
² Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Lenox Hill Hospital, New York, New York, USA.
³ Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Mount Sinai Hospital, New York, New York, USA.
⁴ Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.
⁵ Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Stanford University, Redwood City, California, USA.
⁶ Cartilage Restoration Center, OrthoIndy, Greenwood, Indiana, USA.
⁷ Sports Medicine Institute, Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, New York, USA.
⁸ Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Loma Linda University Medical Center, Loma Linda, CA, USA.

Abstract

Background: Studies with a low level of evidence (LOE) have dominated the top cited research in many areas of orthopaedics. The wide range of treatment options for patellar instability necessitates an investigation to determine the types of studies that drive clinical practice.

Purpose: To determine (1) the top 50 most cited articles on patellar instability and (2) the correlation between the number of citations and LOE or methodological quality.

Study design: Cross-sectional study.

Methods: The Scopus and Web of Science databases were assessed to determine the top 50 most cited articles on patellar instability between 1985 and 2019. Bibliographic information, number of citations, and LOE were collected. Methodological quality was calculated using the Modified Coleman Methodology Score (MCMS) and the Methodological Index for Non-Randomized Studies (MINORS). Mean citations and mean citation density (citations per year) were correlated with LOE, MCMS, and MINORS scores.

Results: Most studies were cadaveric (n = 10; 20.0%), published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine (n = 13; 26.0%), published between 2000 and 2009 (n = 41; 82.0%), and conducted in the United States (n = 17; 34.0%). The mean number of citations and the citation density were 158.61 ± 59.53 (range, 95.5-400.5) and 12.74 ± 5.12, respectively. The mean MCMS and MINORS scores were 59.62 ± 12.58 and 16.24 ± 3.72, respectively. No correlation was seen between mean number of citations or citation density versus LOE. A significant difference was found in the mean LOE of articles published between 1990 and 1999 (5.0 ± 0) versus those published between 2000 and 2009 (3.12 ± 1.38; P = .03) and between 2010 and 2019 (3.00 ± 1.10; P = .01).

Conclusion: There was a shift in research from anatomy toward outcomes in patellar instability; however, these articles demonstrated low LOE and methodological quality. Higher quality studies are necessary to establish informed standards of management of patellar instability.

Keywords: citations; level of evidence; medial patellofemoral ligament; methodological quality; patellar dislocation; patellar instability; trochleoplasty.