Comparative study of scientific publications in orthopedics journals originating from USA, Japan and China (2000-2012)

PURPOSE: To compare orthopedics publications from USA, Japan and China. METHODS: Scientific papers belong to ''Orthopedics'' category of Science Citation Index Expanded subject categories were retrieved from the "PubMed'' and ''Web of Knowledge'' online databases. RESULTS: In the field of orthopedics, the annual number increased significantly from 2000 to 2012 in the three countries (p<0.001). The share of articles increased significantly in China, but decreased significantly in Japan and USA (p<0.05). In 2012, USA contributed 35.3% of the total world output in orthopedics field and ranked 1st...