Global Publication Outcomes in Retrograde Intrarenal Surgery and Turkiye's Effectiveness: A Bibliometric Analysis between 1980 and 2019.

Objective: Urinary system stone disease is a very common health problem that affects 2 to 3% of people and causes serious complications when it is not treated. The prevalence of renal stones has been increasing worldwide and surgical methods have changed over time. However, there is no comprehensive bibliometric analysis of the retrograde intrarenal surgery (RIRS) method in the literature. This study aimed to conduct a bibliometric analysis of all articles regarding RIRS published between 1980 and 2019. Materials and Methods: The literature search was performed using only the following keywords: "RIRS" and "flexible ureterorenoscopy/flexible ureteroscopy", in the "title" part of the search. Using this search method, all the articles published between 1980 and 2019 on this topic were accessed and downloaded from the Web of Science database, and the articles were analyzed using bibliometric methods. Results: Totally, 1378 publications were found as a result of the literature search, of which 619 were articles. We noted that there has been a rapid increase in the number of publications, especially from the year 2011. Turkiye was found to be the most productive country with regard to RIRS. The journals that contributed most to the literature were: Journal of Endourology, Urology, Journal of Urology, Urolithiasis, and World Journal of Urology. Conclusion: One of the notable findings of this study is that Turkiye is among the world countries that produced the highest number of publications with regard to this topic and that the hospitals where this technique is used the most are located in Turkiye. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]