Level of evidence of clinical neurosurgery research in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
| Feature | Articles numbers | Level of evidence (LOE), n (%) | LOE mean | Mean difference (95% confidence interval) | P-value (significance) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | II | III | IV | |||||
| Year | ||||||||
| 1990-2000 | 204 | 0 | 0 | 12 (5.9) | 192 (94.1) | 3.94 | 0.0900 (0.0208 – 0.1592) | 0.0110 (Sig) |
| 2001-2013 | 173 | 1 (0.6) | 2 (1.2) | 19 (11.0) | 151 (78.3) | 3.85 | ||
| International Collaboration | ||||||||
| Yes | 41 | 0 | 2 (4.9) | 5 (12.2) | 34 (82.9) | 3.78 | -0.1300 (-0.2402 – -0.0198) | 0.0209 (Sig) |
| No | 336 | 1 (0.3) | 0 | 26 (7.7) | 309 (92.0) | 3.91 | ||
| Journal | ||||||||
| Neuroscience* | 247 | 1 (0.4) | 2 (0.8) | 16 (6.5) | 228 (92.3) | 3.91 | 0.0300 (-0.0424 – 0.1024) | 0.4160 (NS) |
| Other medical | 130 | 0 | 0 | 15 (11.5) | 115 (88.5) | 3.88 | ||
| Journal’s IF | ||||||||
| IF ≥1 | 243 | 1 (0.4) | 1 (0.4) | 20 (8.2) | 221 (90.9) | 3.90 | 0.000 (-0.0719 – 0.0719) | 1.000 (NS) |
| IF <1 | 134 | 0 | 1 (0.7) | 11 (8.2) | 122 (91.0) | 3.90 | ||
| Research topic | ||||||||
| Neurosurgery | 316 | 1 (0.3) | 2 (0.6) | 19 (6.0) | 294 (93.0) | 3.92 | 0.1200 (0.0259 – 0.2141) | 0.0126 (Sig) |
| Other neuroscience† | 61 | 0 | 0 | 12 (19.7) | 49 (80.0) | 3.80 | ||
| Article citation numbers | ||||||||
| Citations ≥10 | 140 | 0 | 2 (1.4) | 15 (10.7%) | 123 (87.9) | 3.86 | -0.0600 (-0.1320 – 0.0120) | 0.1021 (NS) |
| Citations <10 | 237 | 1 (0.4) | 0 | 16 (6.8%) | 220 (92.8) | 3.92 | ||
| Comparison with literature | ||||||||
| Current Study | 377 | 1 (0.3) | 2 (0.5) | 31 (8.2) | 343 (91.0) | 3.90 | ||
| Makhdom et al1 2013 (Ortho-KSA) | 159 | 4 (2.5) | 9 (5.7) | 8 (5.0) | 138 (86.8) | 3.76 | 0.1400 (0.0540 – 0.2260) | 0.0015 (Sig) |
| Samargandi et al2 2013 (Plastic-KSA) | 246 | 0 | 6 (2.4) | 14 (5.7) | 226 (91.9) | 3.89 | 0.0100 (-0.0474 – 0.0674) | 0.7322 (NS) |
| Amiri et al3 2013 (Spine-USA/Europe) | 703 | 33 (4.7) | 163 (23.2) | 88 (12.5) | 419 (59.6) | 3.27 | 0.6300 (0.5286 – 0.7314) | 0.0001 (Sig) |
| Rothoerl et al4 2003 (Neuro-USA/Europe) | 441 | 28 (6.3) | 138 (31.3) | 39 (8.8) | 236 (53.5) | 3.10 | 0.8000 (0.6891 – 0.9109) | 0.0001 (Sig) |
| Alimi et al5 2013 (Neuro-Iran) | 1178‡ | 74 (6.3) | 71 (6.0) | 57 (4.8) | 279 (23.7) | 3.12 | 0.7800 (0.6597 – 0.9003) | 0.0001(Sig) |