The Top 50 Cited Articles in Pediatric Neurology: A Bibliometric Analysis

Objectives: To identify and analyze the most influential articles within the field of pediatric neurology through a bibliometric lens. As pediatric neurology continues to expand across subspecialties, identifying landmark studies is critical for understanding clinical and research priorities. Bibliometric analysis enables the evaluation of citation trends to highlight impactful contributions that have shaped the field. Method: A bibliometric analysis of the 50 most-cited pediatric neurology articles was conducted. Articles were assessed by citation metrics, study design, subspecialty, journal impact factor (JIF), and funding status. Correlation and regression analyses evaluated associations between variables. Results: Citation counts ranged from 185 to 1,440 (median: 332). Epilepsy accounted for the largest proportion of studies (26%) but showed lower citation density (31.5 cites/year) compared with subspecialties such as neuroimmunology (45 cites/year). International collaboration was the strongest predictor of citation impact; each additional collaborating country increased total citations (β = 48.9, p = 0.002) and citation density (β = 5.3, p < 0.001), resulting in a 42% higher citation density than single-nation studies. While publication year negatively affected total citations (β = –22.4, p < 0.001), newer studies demonstrated faster citation accrual. Funding modestly increased citation count (β = 135.3, p = 0.026), whereas JIF showed no significant effect (p = 0.846). Neurodevelopmental topics had the highest mean citations, and open-access articles exhibited 38% greater citation density than paywalled publications. Conclusion: The most influential studies were collaborative, funded, and open access. Recent works, especially in neurogenetics and neurocritical care, are gaining rapid traction. International collaboration and topic selection drive scholarly impact. Future research should focus on high-impact and underrepresented specialties.