Trends over 40 Years of Research Output Amongst Practicing US Neurological Surgeons

Introduction: Recent studies indicate that research productivity among neurosurgery applicants and residents has increased. However, publication trends among practicing neurosurgeons over time remain unexplored. We seek to quantify the publication output of board-certified U.S. neurosurgeons and to determine whether there has been a change in publication quantity over time.

Methods: Publication data was extracted from Scopus for all neurological surgeons listed as board-certified since 1980 by the American Board of Neurological Surgery (ABNS). Distributions of publication counts were organized by either a 5-year board window or continuous board year and analyzed with one-way ANOVA followed by Bonferroni corrected pairwise t-tests or multivariate linear regression.

Results: Of 5645 listed ABNS certified surgeons, 4275 (75.7%) had Scopus profiles that included accessible publication data. For all 5-year windows since 1980, neurosurgeons board-certified in more recent years started publishing earlier and had higher pre-board publication counts than those before them (e.g., those board-certified between 1980-1985 had a median of 4 publications (IQR: [0, 8]) while those board-certified between 2015-2020 had a median of 19 (IQR: [7, 36]). One-way ANOVA (F = 34.9, df = 8, p < < 0.0001) and post-hoc corrected pairwise t-tests demonstrated statistically significant differences comparing the effect of board date on publications before board-certification date between almost all early and late groups. Finally, in both a univariate model for pre-board publication counts and a bivariate analysis controlling for time since first publication, more recent board year was associated with higher counts (β=1.23, 95%CI=1.076-1.378, p < < 0.0001 and β=0.572, 95%CI=0.422-0.722, p < < 0.0001, respectively).

Conclusion : Our study demonstrates that board-certified neurosurgeons have consistently published earlier in their careers and at increasingly higher quantities. This finding is in line with similar trends for both neurosurgery applicants and trainees, showcasing a broader trend of increasing productivity across career stages that may have important impacts on the field.