Trends in scientific publications of Indian spine surgeons over 14 years (2000-2013).
BACKGROUND
The number and quality of scientific publications reflects the standards of scientific research in a country. However, the contribution of Indian spine surgeons toward global publications is unknown. The goal is to study the publications of Indian spine surgeons between 2000 and 2013.


METHODS
A literature search of the publications by Indian spine surgeons was performed using MEDLINE. The search terms used were India and several spine-related terminologies. The main information of the selected papers including the year of publication, scientific journal, type of pathology studied, Neurosurgical or Orthopedic Department where the study was done, type of study, and the type of article was analyzed.


RESULTS
A total of 4459 articles were identified using MEDLINE and after exclusion, 507 articles were analyzed. A growth of 440% in the number of publications was observed in the period between 2009 and 2013, during which 60.15% of the articles were published. Clinical studies (n = 492; 97.04) were the most common types of articles, followed by experimental studies and other types. The Neurosurgery department published the majority of the articles (58.2%). The three most common pathologies studied were spinal tumors (17.35%), surgical technique (15.4%), and spinal infection (15.2%).


CONCLUSIONS
The current study shows that publications in the field of spine surgery have been increasing in the last few years, although it is less. Further efforts such as research training of spine surgeons, inducing collaborations and formulation of multicenter projects and periodically allocating adequate funds are key factors to improve the scientific publications from India.
Department of Orthopaedics and Spine Surgery, Ganga Hospital, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India.
Rishi Mugesh
RM
Kanna
Department of Neurosurgery and Laboratory of Clinical Studies and Basic Models of Spinal Disorders, University of Caxias do Sul, Caxias do Sul, Brazil.
Asdrubal
A
Falavigna
Department of Members, Laboratory of Clinical Studies and Basic Models of Spinal Disorders, University of Caxias do Sul, Caxias do Sul, Brazil.
Pedro Guarise
PG
da Silva
Department of Members, Laboratory of Clinical Studies and Basic Models of Spinal Disorders, University of Caxias do Sul, Caxias do Sul, Brazil.
Francine Wurzius
FW
Quadros
Department of Members, Laboratory of Clinical Studies and Basic Models of Spinal Disorders, University of Caxias do Sul, Caxias do Sul, Brazil.
Luiz Henrique
LH
Merlin
Department of Members, Laboratory of Clinical Studies and Basic Models of Spinal Disorders, University of Caxias do Sul, Caxias do Sul, Brazil.
Lucas
L
Radaelli
Department of Orthopedics, Hospital Universitario Fundación Favaloro, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Juan Pablo
JP
Guyot
Department of Neurosurgery, The Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil RJ.
Diego
D
Dozza
Professor of Neurological Surgery, Department of Spine Surgery, Washington, Saint Louis, USA.
Daniel K
DK
Riew
Department of Orthopaedics, Paulista School of Medicine, Federal University of São Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Délio
D
Martins
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Toyama, Toyama, Japan.
Kawaguchi
K
Yoshiharu
Department of Orthopaedics and Spine Surgery, Ganga Hospital, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India.
S
S
Rajasekaran
India; MEDLINE; Serial publications; neurosurgery; orthopedics; publication; research; spine; spine surgery; surgeons