Assessing the evolution and level of evidence of spine surgery research in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Objectives: To measure the impact of Saudi publications on global spine surgery literature, to evaluate the quality of these papers by measuring the level of evidence (LOE) and then to compare it with similar international studies done on the topic of spine surgery. Materials and Methods: The study design was a systematic review, where a systemic online search using PubMed, Google Scholar and Embase was carried out using search terms related to spine surgery. The impact of each article was measured by the citation number and was reviewed by Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine LOE scale. Results: We identified 128 articles that met the inclusion criteria, of which 58% were Level IV studies. The most common study design was case reports (45%). We compared our study with the similar or different methodology of international studies for spine surgery research. Conclusion: This first study, for the analysis of spine surgery literature in Saudi Arabia, shows that Saudi publications in spine surgery have little impact on the global spine surgery research. The LOE was low and that there is insignificant change throughout 25 years. A national multicentre or international collaborative research is recommended to produce high LOE research.