Turkish Neurosurgery
Research activities of spinal fusion in various subspecialties by different surgeons: a bibliometric study
Weiming Chen1, Jiajun Deng2, Chaobo Feng2, Guoxin Fan2, Shisheng He2
1Zhengzhou orthopedic hospital, Orthopedic Department, Zhengzhou,
2Shanghai Tenth People’s Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Orthopedic Department, Shanghai,
DOI: 10.5137/1019-5149.JTN.23172-18.2

Aim:Significant growth has been observed in the utilization of spinal fusion in recent years. However, bibliometric studies detailing the quantity and citation number of articles in spinal fusion are lacking. This study is aimed at conducting a scientometric assessment of the research activities of spinal fusion in various subspecialties carried out by different surgeonsMaterial and Methods:All articles regarding spinal fusion research on Web of Science from the year 1994 to 2015 were identified and analyzed in the following aspects: year of publication, publication journal, number of times cited, Hirsch index (H-index), spine surgeon specialty, and country/territory.Results:A total of 15060 articles were identified. The average research productivity was 109.09±23.26 articles for cervical spine, 90.09±52.56 articles for thoracic spine, and 304.91±181.63 articles for lumbar. The productivity by neurosurgeons was 9474 articles published, while the orthopedic surgeons published 8263 articles. The average number of citations were 19.61 times for neurosurgeons, and 20.36 times for orthopedic surgeons. In most countries neurosurgoens published more articles than orthopedic surgeons or at least the same amount, but orthopedic surgeons in China and Germany published far more articles than neurosurgeons. The United States published the greatest number of articles, and had the highest total citations and H-index. Conclusion:Neurosurgeons tend to publish more articles regarding spinal fusion, but orthopedic surgeons seem to have higher citations. North America, West Europe and East Asia were the most productive regions in spinal fusion research, and the United States made the most academic contributions to this area.

Corresponding author : Shisheng He