The top 100 most cited articles in rosacea: a bibliometric analysis

Background Many articles in rosacea have been published. Bibliometric analysis is helpful to determine the most influential studies in a specific field. Objective To identify the top 100 most cited articles in rosacea using the bibliometric analysis method. Methods We searched in the Web of Science database on 20 November 2019. Articles were listed in descending order by their total citations. The top 100 most cited articles in rosacea were identified and analysed. Results The top 100 most cited articles were published between 1971 and 2015. The largest number of articles was published in a single interval in 2011-2015. The average annual citations were constantly ascending, and the total citations were positively correlated with annual citations. The 100 articles were classified into different research focuses: treatment (35%), pathogenesis (27%), clinical features and diagnosis (14%), pathophysiology (6%), associated diseases (4%), epidemiology (3%) and others (11%). A total of 19 articles were randomized controlled trials (RCT), 14 focused on the association between rosacea and Demodex, and five focused on the association between rosacea and Helicobacter pylori. Twenty-five publications focused on a specific subtype of rosacea, mainly papulopustular and ocular rosacea. The 100 articles were published in 32 journals. A total of 79 different first corresponding authors were from 20 different countries, mostly in North America and Europe. Steinhoff. M from University of California published the most articles as the corresponding author. Conclusions This study identified the top 100 most cited articles in rosacea and analysed their bibliometric characteristics, which may pave the way for further research.