Top 100 Most-Cited Papers in Herpes Zoster from 2000 to 2022: A Bibliometric Study

Abstract

Background

In recent years, the incidence of herpes zoster has risen steeply, the exact pathogenesis of the acute pain and the transformation into postherpetic neuralgia are still obscure, and the absence of effective management remains a major therapeutic challenge. The purpose of this study was to perform a qualitative and quantitative bibliometric analysis of the 100 most cited papers on herpes zoster.

Materials and methods

Related literature were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection. Excel and VOSviewer software were applied to quantitatively analyze, and construct the bibliometric network charts.

Results

The Top 100 most-cited papers published between 2000 and 2018 showed a fluctuating downward trend. The most studies were published in the year of 2000 (n = 12). The article entitled “A vaccine to prevent herpes zoster and postherpetic neuralgia in older adults” from Oxman MN, was the most-cited publication. The United States was the most contributing country, followed by the United Kingdom, and Italy. Finland occupied the highest citations per publication (CPP). The University of Colorado topped the list of institutions with the most publications with 18 articles and also had the most citations (average citations: 281.78 per article). Myron J Levin from the University of Colorado School of Medicine is the most published and most cited researcher overall, whereas Duke University’s John W Gnann tops the list in terms of average CPP.

Conclusion

In terms of the quantity of T100 articles, researchers, and organizations, the US is the predominant country. The most T100 papers were published in the special journal Clinical Infectious Diseases. The most academic focus remain the remedies for postherpetic neuralgia and vaccine development for individualized groups.

Keywords:

• herpes zoster
• bibliometric study
• top-cited
• citation
• VOSviewer

Abbreviations

ACY, average citations per year; CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; CMI, T-cell-mediated immunity; CPP, number of citations per publication; HZ, herps zoster; IF, impact factor; NIH, National Institutes of Health; PHN, postherpetic neuralgia; RCTs, randomized controlled trials; RZV, recombinant zoster vaccine; SCIE, Science Citation Index Expanded; T100 papers, top 100 most-cited papers; TC,

total citations; TLS, total link strength; TP, total publications; UK, United Kingdom; US, United States; VARIZIG, varicella zoster immune globulin; VZIG, varicella zoster immunoglobulin; VZV, varicella-zoster virus; WOSCC, web of science core collection; ZVL, live-attenuated zoster vaccine.

Data Sharing Statement

Data is available upon reasonable request.

Acknowledgments

The authors appreciate the publications included in this study.

Author Contributions

All authors made substantial contributions to conception and design, acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data; took part in drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content; agreed to submit to the current journal; gave final approval of the version to be published; and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Disclosure

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by Beijing Traditional Chinese Medicine Science and Technology Development Fund (Grant No. J-2020-71); Science and Technology Innovation Project of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences (Grant No. CI2021A02306). The funding agency had no role in the design or conduct of the study.