Scientometrics
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Virol. Jun 25, 2025; 14(2): 102668
Published online Jun 25, 2025. doi: 10.5501/wjv.v14.i2.102668
Bibliometric analysis of research on spinal tuberculosis in last 5 years
Monalisa Mohanty, Mantu Jain, Sujit Kumar Tripathy, Manisha Tripathy, Preetam Kumar Kar, Baijayantimala Mishra, Prasanta Raghab Mohapatra
Monalisa Mohanty, Department of Microbiology, Dr B C Roy Multispeciality Medical Research Centre, IIT, Kharagpur, Kharagpur 721302, West Bengal, India
Mantu Jain, Sujit Kumar Tripathy, Department of Orthopaedics, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneswar 751019, Odisha, India
Manisha Tripathy, Baijayantimala Mishra, Department of Microbiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneswar 751019, India
Preetam Kumar Kar, Department of Community Medicine, SCB Medical College, Cuttack 753001, Odisha, India
Prasanta Raghab Mohapatra, Pulmonary Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneswar 751019, India
Author contributions: Mohanty M contributed to the acquisition, data analysis and interpretation, and literature search, and drafted the initial version of the manuscript; Jain M contributed to the study conception, literature search, and data analysis and interpretation, and performed critical review of the data; Tripathy SK contributed to the study conception and design; data analysis and interpretation, literature search, and performed critical review of the data; Tripathy M contributed to acquisition, data analysis and interpretation, literature search, and gave the final approval for the manuscript to be published; Kar PK contributed to the data analysis and interpretation, literature search, and performed critical review of the data; Mishra B and Mohapatra PR performed a critical review of the work for important intellectual content and gave the final approval for the manuscript to be published.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
PRISMA 2009 Checklist statement: The authors have read the PRISMA 2009 Checklist, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the PRISMA 2009 Checklist.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Sujit Kumar Tripathy, Professor, Department of Orthopaedics, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Sijua, Patrapada, Bhubaneswar 751019, Odisha, India. ortho_sujit@aiimsbhubaneswar.edu.in
Received: October 25, 2024
Revised: January 21, 2025
Accepted: February 14, 2025
Published online: June 25, 2025
Processing time: 241 Days and 15.2 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Spinal tuberculosis (TB), also known as Pott’s spine, remains a significant global health issue, particularly in regions with a high TB burden. The disease presents complex challenges in diagnosis, management, and treatment, prompting a growing interest in research over recent years. The advancements in imaging, diagnostics, and treatment strategies have driven an increased focus on publishing clinical outcomes, review articles, and case series related to spinal TB (STB).

AIM

To perform a bibliometric analysis of STB research published over the last 5 years (2019-2023) to identify trends in publication volume, contributions by country, and the nature of the research being conducted.

METHODS

A comprehensive bibliometric analysis was conducted using the PubMed database, focusing on research articles published between 2019 and 2023. Keywords such as “spine tuberculosis,” “spinal TB,” “TB spine,” and “Pott’s spine” were utilized to capture relevant publications. Articles were analyzed based on the type of research (e.g., case reports, review articles, cohort studies, randomized controlled trials [RCTs]), number of citations, and country of origin based on the corresponding author's details. Further subgroup analysis was performed according to the TB burden in various countries to assess research trends in high-burden regions.

RESULTS

A total of 528 articles met the inclusion criteria for this bibliometric analysis. The majority of articles were published between 2020 and 2023 (440/528; 83.3%), while the lowest number was published in 2019 (88/528; 16.7%). India led the global contributions with 25.8% of the total publications, followed by China (19.9%) and the United States (10.4%). Combined, African countries contributed 6.8% of the research on STB. Regarding the type of articles, case reports and case series dominated the literature (353/528; 66.9%), followed by review articles (120/528; 22.7%) and cohort studies (45/528; 8.5%). Only 1.9% (10/528) of the studies were RCTs. Countries such as the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Japan have pioneered the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the diagnostic processes for STB, while India, China, South Africa, and other countries have been pivotal in conducting clinical trials and improving clinical management strategies.

CONCLUSION

This bibliometric analysis revealed a significant increase in STB research over the last 5 years, with India and China being the leading contributors. However, most publications are case reports or case series, with a limited number of RCTs. The results highlighted the need for more high-quality research, especially in terms of RCTs and innovations in diagnostic technologies. Additionally, the application of AI to STB diagnostics shows promise in developed countries, while high-burden countries are focusing on clinical trials and management strategies.

Keywords: Spinal Tuberculosis; Pott’s spine; Research trends; Artificial intelligence diagnostics; Bibliometric analysis

Core Tip: This bibliometric analysis provides an overview of global research trends in spinal tuberculosis (STB) from 2019 to 2023, highlighting a significant increase in publications, with Asia leading research contributions. Despite the high global burden of STB, there is a disparity in research output between high-burden, low-income countries and more developed regions, where advanced diagnostic tools like artificial intelligence are being explored. Case reports and case series dominate the literature, while randomized controlled trials remain scarce. These findings emphasize the need for more collaborative efforts, especially in resource-limited settings, to bridge the research gap and advance global strategies for TB elimination.