Surgery for Lumbar Spinal Stenosis in Patients With Mild Leg Pain Levels Is Associated With Unsatisfactory Outcome

Global Trends and Hotspots of Minimally Invasive Surgery in Lumbar Spinal Stenosis: A Bibliometric Analysis

Objective

The popularity of minimally invasive surgery for lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) has been steadily increasing worldwide. This study aims to conduct a comprehensive bibliometric analysis to identify global trends and hotspots in the research related to this surgical approach.

Methods

Select articles related to the field that were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) between January 1, 1993 and December 31, 2022. Visualization of networks and in-depth bibliometric analyses, including the number of publications, countries/regions, institutions, journals, authors, keywords, and references, were conducted using VOSviewer and CiteSpace software.

Results

A total of 1197 papers were identified over a three-decade period, with the highest production year being 2022, which saw 171 papers published. The most prolific countries/regions were the United States (279) and Harvard Medical School (59). Among journals, Spine (3289 citations) was the most cited, while World Neurosurgery (98 publications) had the highest number of publications. Lewandrowski, Kai-Uwe (29 publications) wrote the most articles, and Ahn, Y (239 citations) ranked first among cited authors. The most frequently used keyword was "discectomy", but recent years have shown a strong emergence of keywords such as "microendoscopic decompressive laminotomy", "foraminotomy" and "classification".

Conclusion

The United States and China have emerged as leaders in the field of minimally invasive surgery for LSS. Endoscopic spinal surgery is recognized as a critical approach, with ongoing research focused on indications, potential complications, minimally invasive anatomical approaches, and outcomes. Furthermore, there is a strong emphasis on optimizing the surgical process, which has become a trending and hot spot in current research. The improvement of surgical techniques is at the forefront of advancements in this field.

Research Tendency in Lumbar Spinal Stenosis over the Past Decade: A Bibliometric Analysis

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this bibliometric analysis was to identify trends and hot topics in research on lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) over the past decade, for helping researchers explore new directions for future research in that area.

METHODS

All research articles on LSS, written in English and indexed in the Web of Science database (WoS) between 2010 and 2020, were used. The visualization of network and in-depth bibliometric analysis including the number of publications, countries, institutions, journals, authors, cited references, and key words was carried out with the help of CiteSpace.

RESULTS

A total of 4033 papers (3577 original articles and 476 reviews) were identified and included in the study. The most productive year was in 2019. The Spine was the journal that published the highest number of articles and received the most citations. The most productive country and institutions in this field were the United States and Seoul National University, respectively. Kim HJ was the most prolific author, and Deyo RA ranked the first in the cited authors. The most cited article was published in 2010 by Deyo et al. and described the complications and charges index for LSS. From the coword cluster analysis, there were 3 frontiers in lumbar spinal stenosis: intervention, outcomes, and pathogenesis.

CONCLUSIONS

We have summarized the literature on LSS in the past decade including publication information, country, institution, authors, and journal. Research on minimally invasive surgery, outcomes, and gene therapies in LSS will be hot topics in the future.