Natural language processing reveals research trends and topics in The Spine Journal over two decades: a topic modeling study

BACKGROUND CONTEXT: The field of spine research is rapidly evolving, with new research topics continually emerging. Analyzing topics and trends in the literature can provide insights into the shifting research landscape. PURPOSE: This study aimed to elucidate prevalent and emerging research topics and trends within The Spine Journal using a natural language processing technique called topic modeling. METHODS: We utilized BERTopic, a topic modeling technique rooted in natural language processing (NLP), to examine articles from The Spine Journal. Through this approach, we discerned topics from distinct keyword clusters and representative documents that represented the main concepts of each topic. We then used linear regression models on these topic likelihoods to trace trends over time, pinpointing both "hot" (growing in prominence) and "cold" (decreasing in prominence) topics. Additionally, we conducted an in-depth review of the trending topics in the present decade. RESULTS: Our analysis led to the categorization of 3358 documents into 30 distinct topics. These topics spanned a wide range of themes, with the most commonly identified topics being “Outcome Measures,” “Scoliosis,” and “Intradural Lesions.” Throughout the history of the journal, the three hottest topics were “Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy,” “Osteoporosis,” and "Opioid Use.” Conversely, the coldest topics were “Intradural Lesions,” “Extradural Tumors,” and “Vertebral Augmentation.” Within the current decade, the hottest topics were “Screw Biomechanics,” “Paraspinal Muscles,” and “Biologics for Fusion,” whereas the cold topics were “Intraoperative Blood Loss,” “Construct Biomechanics,” and “Material Science.” CONCLUSIONS: This study accentuates the dynamic nature of spine research and the changing focus within the field. The insights gleaned from our analysis can steer future research directions, inform policy decisions, and spotlight emerging areas of interest. The implementation of NLP to synthesize and analyze vast amounts of academic literature exhibits the potential of advanced analytical techniques in comprehending the research landscape, setting a precedent for similar analyses across other medical disciplines.