Global Surgery: A 30-Year Bibliometric Analysis (1987-2017).

Area of Science:

• Global Health
• Surgical Research
• Bibliometrics

Background:

• Growing interest in addressing surgical disease burden in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
• Assessing global surgery research is crucial for identifying knowledge gaps and directing future efforts.
• Understanding research trends aids in prioritizing unaddressed surgical issues.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify publication trends in global surgical research over the past 30 years (1987-2017).
• To analyze the volume and characteristics of global surgery publications.
• To map the landscape of global surgical research activity.

Main Methods:

• Bibliometric analysis of publications from Scopus® (1987-2017).
• Data extraction included article details, author affiliations, and publication type.
• Descriptive statistics used to identify trends, supplemented by World Bank data.

Main Results:

• 1623 articles identified, with a significant increase in publications from 14 (1987) to 149 (2017).
• Authors from LMICs were more prevalent (71.5%) than those from high-income countries (HICs).
• Obstetrics/gynecology, general surgery, and pediatric surgery were the most common specialties; observational studies dominated (88.7%).

Conclusions:

• Global surgery research output has substantially increased over three decades.
• Authors from LMICs are highly active in addressing the global surgical disease burden.
• Increased funding for interventional studies is recommended to enhance evidence quality and patient impact in LMICs.