The rising bibliometric profile of global neurosurgery

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.

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.

Our analysis included 569 articles, demonstrating a marked increase in publications over time, from 0.8 % in 2010-2014 to 1.1 % in 2015-2019 (p < 0.01), and 2.1 % in 2020-2024 (p < 0.001). The majority were published in World Neurosurgery (85.7 %), followed by Neurosurgery (7.6 %), and JNS (6.7 %). Peak publication years were 2024, 2022, and 2021. Authorship trends revealed that 52.4 % of first authors and 53.6 % of senior authors were from high-income countries (HICs), while 47.6 % 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 (36.3 %), health advocacy (16.1 %), and clinical outcomes and guideline (15.7 %).

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.