The Rising Bibliometric Profile of Global Neurosurgery

Introduction: The rising interest in global neurosurgery (GNS) is reflected in the apparent rise in related research output. This study aims to examine bibliometric trends related to the research subdiscipline of GNS within three leading neurosurgery journals, Journal of Neurosurgery (JNS), Neurosurgery, and World Neurosurgery.

Methods: We performed a bibliometric analysis on all GNS-related articles from the three journals published in the Web of Science database from 2005 to April 2024. Publication type, authorship demographics, citation counts, and research themes were extracted, with quantitative analyses performed using STATA.

Results: Our analysis included 442 articles, demonstrating a marked increase in publications over time, from 0.1% in 2005–2008 to 1.6% in 2021–2024 (p < 0.01). The majority were published in World Neurosurgery (85.8%), followed by JNS (8.6%) and Neurosurgery (5.7%). Peak publication years were 2023, 2021, and 2022. Authorship trends revealed that 55% of first authors and 55.9% of senior authors were from high-income countries (HICs), while 44.1% of the articles resulted from mixed low-to-middle-income country (LMIC)-HIC collaborations. Notably, mixed collaborations with equitable authorship roles increased, highlighting a trend towards shared research leadership. Research themes were diverse, with a significant focus on healthcare systems and capacity building (46.8%), clinical outcomes (15.4%), and disease burden (13.1%). Original research articles constituted the largest share (43.2%) of article type, indicating an emphasis on empirical studies. A moderate correlation (r=0.35, p< 0.01) between citation count and Altmetric Attention Scores suggested that articles with higher academic impact also achieved broader online engagement.

Conclusion : Bibliometric trends indicate the growing recognition and development of GNS, evidenced by increasing publication rates, diverse research themes, and significant collaborative efforts. However, challenges in equitable representation and specialty coverage remain. Continued support for LMIC researchers and global collaboration is essential to address systemic and clinical issues, ultimately advancing GNS and health equity.