Background: Citation classics have been published in almost all medical fields. The main objective of this study was to provide the readers with a complete updated guide using two different citation tracking sources in assessing respiratory literature published in respiratory specific or general medical journals.
Methods: Scopus Library database ( www.scopus.com ) was used to determine the 50 most cited articles regarding respiratory medicine using the subject category "respiratory system." The results from the database were sorted using the option "Times cited."
Results: The top 50 articles were published during the time period 1987-2008, with most articles (n = 22) published from 1996 to 2000.The topic that had the highest number of articles (n = 15) was chronic obstructive pulmonary disorders (COPD) followed by asthma (n = 10).
Conclusion: A periodic evaluation of the top cited articles can help researchers identify the quality of work in respiratory system and pinpoint subtopics which have not been given due consideration.
Keywords: Bibliometric; citation classic; citations; respiratory.