ReviewEuropean spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society2026
Swespine in the literature: a bibliometric analysis of trends and characteristics of publications.
Review in European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe Swedish Spine Register (Swespine) is a nationwide quality registry that prospectively collects detailed clinical and patient-reported data on spine surgery. While it has generated a substantial body of scientific literature, a systematic overview of publication trends, study characteristics, and research focus areas is lacking. This study aimed to bibliometrically characterize publication output, research trends, study designs, citation patterns, and clinical focus areas among publications using Swespine data.
methodsA bibliometric analysis was conducted. PubMed MEDLINE and EMBASE were searched from inception to March 8, 2026. Original studies utilizing Swespine data were included following independent screening by two reviewers. Descriptive statistics, trend analyses, and correlation analyses were performed.
resultsA total of 157 studies were included. Most studies were retrospective (n = 134), with fewer prospective randomized (n = 12) and prospective non-randomized studies (n = 5). Publication output increased over time, peaking in 2022 and 2025. The median of total citations per article was 12 (IQR 4-39). Publications were most commonly found in spine-focused journals. Citation counts were positively correlated with journal impact factor (r = 0.85-0.91, p < 0.001). Research predominantly focused on degenerative lumbar spine pathology (n = 74), particularly lumbar disc herniation and spinal stenosis, although a significant increase in cervical spine research was observed over time (p < 0.001). A limited number of authors contributed a disproportionate share of publications. Less common topics included deformity, trauma, and metastatic disease.
conclusionThe Swespine registry has generated a substantial and growing body of scientific literature. Its longitudinal design, patient-reported outcomes, and national coverage make it a usefiul resource for studying spine surgery in Sweden. However, its single-country setting, incomplete coverage and population-specific characteristics limit generalizability to global populations. Future research should emphasize international comparisons, and better inclusion of underrepresented groups and conditions.
Identifiers
42771026What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.