Past, Present and Future of Arthroscopic Research: A Scientometric Analysis of Research Frontiers in Arthroscopy

Scientometric analysis of Indian Orthopaedic Research in the last two decades

PURPOSE

This study aimed to examine India's orthopaedic research output during 2002-2021 to analyze the research characteristics and publication performances of leading organizations, authors, and cities, the core journals publishing research, broad subject areas, sub-specialties, and the classification by anatomical location, the subject areas of research using major keywords and the sources of funding and the extent of international collaboration.

METHODS

India's orthopaedic publications data was identified and downloaded from the Scopus database ( https://www.scopus.com ) using a well-defined search strategy and keywords.

RESULTS

India's 4606 publications grew at a 20.8% annual growth rate and averaged 11.3 citations per paper. The 10.4% and 16.3% share of India's papers received external funded support and were involved in international collaboration. The USA and UK (31.8% and 21.3%) represent the highest collaborative share in India's international collaborative publications. AIIMS-New Delhi and PGIMER-Chandigarh produced a larger proportion of articles (5.2% and 4.3%) among contributing organizations. In terms of authors, R. Vaishya and S. Rajasekaran are the most productive ones, contributing 1.6% and 1.1% share respectively. Clinical studies, paediatric sub-specialty, and knee & leg anatomical location accounted for the largest share of papers (32.2%, 10.8%, and 7.5%).The most frequent keywords co-occurrences were "Orthopaedic Surgery," "Hydroxyapatite," "Biocompatibility," "Orthopaedic Procedures," "Bone," "Surgical Techniques," "Biomaterials," and "Osteosynthesis."

CONCLUSION

This study revealed the characteristics and trends of research and core publications from Indian authors and organizations identified in the last two decades. This research should provide useful insights into the research hotspots of India in the present, past, and future.

Evolution of evidence in spinal surgery – past, present and future Scientometric analysis of randomized controlled trials in spinal surgery

BACKGROUND

Spine surgery is evolving and in the due course of its evolution, it is useful to have a comprehensive summary of the process to have a greater understanding to refine our future directives. With the multiple domains of research in the spine, it has become difficult for a surgeon to find the potential hotspots in research or identify the emerging research frontiers.

AIM

To analyze RCTs (1990–2019) for potential research domains along with their research networks and identify the hot topics for future research.

METHODS

A comprehensive and systematic analysis of all the RCTs published on spinal surgery from 1990 to 2019 retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection database. Scientometric and visual analysis of their characteristics, cooperation networks, keywords, and citations were made using CiteSpace software. Journal and article impact index were retrieved from Reference Citation Analysis (RCA) Database.

RESULTS

A total of 696 RCTs were published on spinal surgery from 1990 to 2019; of which, the United States (n = 263) and China (n = 71) made a significant contribution. Thomas Jefferson University (n = 16) was the leading contributor to RCTs on spinal surgery. Weinstein JN was the most cited author in the field followed by Deyo RA. Spine (n = 559) remained the top-cited journal for RCTs on spinal surgery. On literature co-citation analysis, spinal stenosis, anterior cervical discectomy and fusion, degenerative disc disease, and minimally invasive decompression were identified as the hotspots and potential research frontiers.

CONCLUSION

The identified hotspots that extending the frontiers in the management of degenerative disorders of the spine through further research holds the potential for advancement in spinal care.