ReviewBrain & spine2026
Global research landscape and citation dynamics of oblique lumbar interbody fusion (OLIF): A bibliometric analysis of the 100 most influential articles.
Review in Brain & spine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Introduction: Oblique lumbar interbody fusion (OLIF) is increasingly used as a minimally invasive anterolateral approach that enables interbody fusion, restoration of segmental alignment, and indirect neural decompression while avoiding limitations of posterior and transpsoas techniques. As OLIF-related publications have expanded rapidly, identifying the studies and research themes that have influenced the field is important. Methods: The Web of Science Core Collection was searched for OLIF-related publications. Records were screened and ranked by citation count following a PRISMA-based selection process. The 100 most cited articles published between 2003 and 2024 were included. Data regarding citation counts, publication year, journals, authors, institutions, countries, and keywords were extracted and analyzed using the Bibliometrix package in R. Core journals were determined using Bradford's law, and keyword relationships, thematic trends, and international collaboration networks were evaluated. Results: Publication activity was limited before 2013 but increased markedly thereafter, with influential studies appearing between 2017 and 2021. The included articles averaged approximately 78 citations per paper. Spine-focused journals, particularly World Neurosurgery and Spine, accounted for a substantial proportion of publications. Authors and institutions from Japan, China, and South Korea produced the greatest output, with collaboration involving the United States. Common research topics included indirect decompression, cage subsidence, fixation strategies, perioperative complications, and comparisons with TLIF and LLIF techniques. Conclusion: OLIF research has progressed from early feasibility reports toward studies addressing patient selection, surgical technique, and complication prevention. Future investigations should emphasize comparative study designs, standardized outcome reporting, multicenter collaboration, and longer clinical follow-up to strengthen evidence base.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.