The top 100 most influential articles in olfactory disorder: a bibliometric analysis

Introduction: Studies on olfactory disorder have varied considerably in content and field over the past four decades. Influential publications of olfactory disorder have not been analyzed quantitatively. This study aimed to analyze the top 100 most influential articles in olfactory disorder through bibliometrics.

Methods: The researchers searched the Web of Science Core Collection for publications from 1980 to August 31, 2021. The top 100 highly cited articles were screened in accordance with the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The journal impact factor and the SCImago Journal Rank indicator were searched for the journal in which the top-cited articles were published. The researchers analyzed the data via Microsoft Excel and SPSS 24.0 and used VOSviewer software for data visualization.

Results: The total citations of the top 100 articles have increased exponentially, especially in the past 2 years. The journal LARYNGOSCOPE contributed the most influential papers (n=6). The United States published the most top 100 articles (n=52), followed by Germany and the United Kingdom. The University of Pennsylvania published the most influential studies, with a total of 3,852 citations. Richard L. Doty and Thomas Hummel contributed the most influential literature, and the top 100 studies also cited their research frequently. The most important articles in the field of OD mainly focused on COVID-19, Parkinson's disease and olfactory tests.

Conclusion: Neurodegenerative diseases and COVID-19-related olfactory disorders have been considered main topics over the past 40 years. This study identified the most influential articles for olfactory disorder researchers, providing guidance for their research.