Osman Görkem MURATOĞLU, Cem YILDIRIM, Hasan CEYLAN, Gökhan GÜZEL, Ecem Esma YEĞİN, Kadir ABUL
Journal of Turkish Spinal Surgery - 2026;37(1):29-35
Objective: Endoscopic spine surgery (ESS) has emerged as a widely adopted minimally invasive technique for the treatment of spinal disorders. Over the past decade, both clinical utilization and scholarly attention toward ESS have increased. This study aimed to examine temporal trends in public and academic engagement with ESS across multiple digital platforms. Materials and Methods: Data from Google trends and YouTube searches for the terms "endoscopic spine surgery" and "endoscopic discectomy" were were collected as monthly relative search volume (RSV) series covering 1 October 2015-1 October 2025. Monthly RSVs were then aggregated to yearly values (annual arithmetic mean and annual sum) for year-level analyses. Bibliometric data were retrieved from the Scopus database for the same period. Temporal patterns were assessed using linear regression, and correlations between online search activity and publication output were examined using statistical analysis. Results: The annual number of ESS-related publications demonstrated a significant upward trend over time (adjusted R2=0.966). Public interest, as reflected by Google and YouTube search activity, showed parallel increases during the study period. A very strong positive correlation was observed between annual YouTube RSV and Scopus publication counts (Pearson's r=0.956). This relationship remained statistically significant after correction for multiple comparisons (unadjusted p=4.29x10-6, Benjamini-Hochberg adjusted p=1.72x10-5), supporting the robustness of the association. Conclusion: This tri-platform analysis demonstrates a sustained and parallel increase in both public and academic engagement with ESS over the past decade. Rather than implying causality, the observed associations highlight concurrent temporal trends and underscore the growing role of digital platforms in shaping the awareness and dissemination of surgical knowledge. These findings should be interpreted as descriptive and hypothesis-generating, emphasizing the importance of accurate, evidence-based online content to support clinical education and informed engagement.
