A Debatable Top Ten Papers in Geriatric Medicine List

Abstract

A personal top ten list of literature about aging and the prac­tice of geriatrics is offered. This is primarily directed at those completing their training in the care of older patients. While acknowledging the limitations of any such exercise, it is hoped that it will engender interest in prior work by and about older persons and their care. Those at the start of their careers in geriatrics are encouraged to read these and other primary contributions, make their own list of essential literature, and incorporate the lessons learned and the examples of prior practitioners into their professional practice.

The Beers Criteria then and now

“…Further, from a citation perspective, according to the Web of Science (June 15, 2023), the original version of the Beers criteria has now been cited almost a thousand times, with the fifth version cited more than 2000 times, and cumulatively more than 8450 citations. When we look at North American publications that identify landmark articles in the practice of geriatric medicine, the 2014 publication of the top 27 articles in the field include the Fick version of the Beers criteria, 22 the 2022 version of this list includes the 2019 version of the criteria 23 and the top 10 papers of all times in geriatric medicine, includes the original first version of the Beers criteria 24 . Clinical tools that bring the criteria to the bedside can be purchased and are listed as the “most popular content” on http://geriatricscareonline.org.…”

“…When we look at North American publications that identify landmark articles in the practice of geriatric medicine, the 2014 publication of the top 27 articles in the field include the Fick version of the Beers criteria, 22 the 2022 version of this list includes the 2019 version of the criteria 23 and the top 10 papers of all times in geriatric medicine, includes the original first version of the Beers criteria. 24 Clinical tools that bring the criteria to the bedside can be purchased and are listed as the "most popular content" on GeriatricsCareOnline.org. The criteria have longevity and have name recognition.…”

Updating the landmark literature for the practice of geriatrics: Notable articles from 2012–2019

“…While a recent paper highlighting important articles in geriatrics did not employ bibliometric analysis, 6 we used bibliometric methods similar to those recently used in other medical specialties to identify impactful articles. [7][8][9][10] In Vaughan et al's study, concerns were noted about the role that journal impact factor played in the weighting of the articles.…”