Recent Global Trends and Hotspots in Occipitocervical Fusion: A Bibliometric Analysis and Visualization Study

Abstract

Background: Occipitocervical arthrodesis has a variety of indications to treat craniocervical and atlantoaxial pathologies for which a selective cervical fusion would not provide sufficient stability. Over time, the indications for occipitocervical fusions (OCFs) have evolved, as new technologies and surgical techniques were developed. In this bibliometric analysis, we aim to explore the progression of OCF literature over time, analyzing the trends in publications and citations, publishing countries and authors, keywords, and topics.

Methods: The Web of Science database was used for data retrieval on July 3, 2024, with the search "occipitocervical fusion" OR "occipito-cervical fusion" OR "occipitocervical arthrodesis" OR "occipital cervical fusion" OR "occipital cervical arthrodesis" OR ("OCF" AND "spine surgery"). Excel was used to create the citation analysis and publication trend figures, along with the publishing countries and author analysis. The bibliometric software VosViewer was used to generate the keyword co-occurrence network visualizations.

Results: Overall, 762 articles were extracted. The number of pertinent publications and citations increased until 2020 before beginning to decrease. We found that Ehlers Danlos syndrome has become a more prevalent topic, as the association between Ehlers Danlos syndrome and craniocervical instability has received further scrutiny. "Dysphagia" continues to be a commonly cited topic, while, conversely, rheumatoid arthritis has decreased in publication frequency, possibly related to advances in medical management and surgical techniques. Overall, the United States, China, and Japan are the top publishing countries.

Conclusions: This analysis of OCF literature provides a helpful overview of emerging trends and clinician concerns, especially as seen through the perspective of time.

Keywords: Bibliometric analysis; Cervical spine fusion; Craniocervical instability; Craniocervical junction; Occipitocervical fusion; Spine surgery.