The Surgical Incidence to Publication (SIP) Index: A Novel Equation Used to Focus Future Research Efforts

BACKGROUND: With increased publication rates across all fields of medicine, some research topics become heavily weighted in the literature while other, equally important topics do not receive the same exposure. The purpose of this study is to present a simple equation which can be used to measure the current level of research interest on any particular surgical procedure or medical diagnosis.

METHODS: The SIP Index (surgical incidence/ publications) is calculated as shown below, [Formula: see text]where X can be any particular surgical procedure. The numerator, utilized as a surrogate for the actual number of a particular case performed in a given time period, was estimated by the total number of cases presented during Part-II of the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery (ABOS) certification examination from 1999-2003. The denominator was taken from a PubMed search for several of the most common orthopaedic procedures submitted to ABOS from 1999-2003.

RESULTS: Based on the SIP Index, subacromial decompression and arthroscopic knee chondroplasty were found to be significantly under-researched procedures, while rotator cuff repair and total hip and knee arthroplasty were significantly over-researched during the study period.

CONCLUSIONS: The SIP Index can be used to assess national or worldwide research efforts on any particular surgical procedure or medical diagnosis. This study provides an example of how this equation can be applied to a set of incidence data on common orthopaedic surgical procedures. When used in this way, the SIP Index can provide some insight into which procedures are relatively over- or under-researched.