The 50 Most-cited Articles in Urethral trauma: A Bibliometric Analysis

Introduction Despite being uncommon among genitourinary injuries, urethral trauma is a major urological emergency that may result in long-term issues such as sexual and urinary dysfunction. Improving patient outcomes requires early and efficient management. While numerous studies have examined the causes, diagnosis, and treatment of urethral injuries, no bibliometric analysis has systematically assessed the most influential publications in this field. This study aimed to identify and evaluate the 50 most-cited articles on urethral trauma to highlight trends, knowledge gaps, and future research directions. Methods A thorough literature search using terms like “urethral trauma”and “urethral injury” was carried out in the Web of Science database, including only English language research on human subjects. Four independent reviewers screened titles, abstracts, and full texts using predefined criteria; conflicts were resolved by a fifth reviewer or senior author. A consistent form was used to gather data on publication details, citation metrics, study design, evidence level, and outcomes. Descriptive statistics summarized study characteristics and citation patterns. Results The results showed a heavy dependence on observational study designs, including narrative reviews and retrospective and prospective cohort studies. Only one Level 1 study was found, and most papers were classified as Level 4 or 5 evidence. Management and treatment strategies were the dominant focus, with fewer studies addressing complications, diagnosis, or specific populations. The Journal of Urology emerged as the leading source, publishing the most highly cited articles and garnering the most citations overall. Conclusion These findings emphasize the need for greater urethral trauma research, including randomized trials and multicenter investigations. To strengthen the body of evidence and support more thorough clinical guidelines, future research should also include underrepresented subjects, such as complications, long term outcomes, and patient reported parameters.