Promotion of a neurosurgical academic journal on social media: a 1-year experience

BACKGROUND Social media (SoMe) use, in all of its forms, has seen massively increased throughout the past two decades, including academic publishing. Many journals have established a SoMe presence, yet the influence of promotion of scientific publications on their visibility and impact remains poorly studied. The European Journal of Neurosurgery «Acta Neurochirurgica» has established its SoMe presence in form of a Twitter account that regularly promotes its publications. We aim to analyze the impact of this initial SoMe campaign on various alternative metrics (altmetrics). METHODS A retrospective analysis of all articles published in the journal Acta Neurochirurgica between May 1st, 2018, and April 30th, 2020, was performed. These articles were divided into a historical control group - containing the articles published between May 1st, 2018, and April 30th, 2019, when the SoMe campaign was not yet established - and into an intervention group. Several altmetrics were analyzed, along with website visits and PDF downloads per month. RESULTS In total, 784 articles published during the study period, 128 (16.3%) were promoted via Twitter. During the promotion period, 29.7% of published articles were promoted. Overall, the published articles reached a mean of 31.3 ± 50.5 website visits and 17.5 ± 31.25 PDF downloads per month. Comparing the two study periods, no statistically significant differences in website visits (26.91 ± 32.87 vs. 34.90 ± 61.08, p = 0.189) and PDF downloads (17.52 ± 31.25 vs. 15.33 ± 16.07, p = 0.276) were detected. However, overall compared to non-promoted articles, promoted articles were visited (48.9 ± 95.0 vs. 29.0 ± 37.0, p = 0.005) and downloaded significantly more (25.7 ± 66.7 vs. 16.6 ± 18.0, p = 0.045) when compared to those who were not promoted during the promotion period. CONCLUSIONS We report a 1-year initial experience with promotion of a general neurosurgical journal on Twitter. Our data suggest a clear benefit of promotion on article site visits and article downloads, although no single responsible element could be determined in terms of altmetrics. The impact of SoMe promotion on other metrics, including traditional bibliometrics such as citations and journal impact factor, remains to be determined

Intracranial Arachnoid Cysts. Epidemiology, Morphology and Surgical Outcome

Background: Intracranial arachnoid cysts (AC) are malformations of the arachnoid membrane. They may cause symptoms, either by obstruction of the CSF flow or by compression of adjacent neural tissues. The aim of this thesis was to study the prevalence of AC and its relationship with the most common symptoms and signs, the morphology of AC, and the outcome after surgical treatment in children and adults. Patients and methods: The prevalence of AC and its relationship with the most common symptoms ascribed to it were examined in a population of 1235 individuals. For each case, ten age-matched controls were chosen from the same cohort for comparison of symptoms. The clinical studies comprised two prospective studies: one in adults and one in children. Twenty-seven children and 125 adults were consecutively included. Of these, 22 children and 53 adults underwent surgery. Adults were investigated with a neuropsychological, clinical and physiotherapeutic test battery. Surgically treated adults underwent neuropsychological and balance tests five months postoperatively. Children were followed up both three months and 8.6 years (7-10.5 years) postoperatively. Volumetric measurements were performed for all included patients. AC morphology was investigated in tissue samples by light and electron microscopy in 24 consecutive patients included in/operated on in Study II and III. Results: The prevalence of AC in the general population was 2.3 % with no difference between men and women. No relationship with the most common symptoms ascribed to AC was detected. In surgically treated children, 59 % reported improvement after three months and 77 % after the long-term follow-up. Fifty-nine per cent still experienced remaining symptoms. In adults, 77 % reported improvement after the short-term follow-up; however, no improvement in the test results was seen postoperatively. No correlation was found between the reduction in AC volume and improvement, neither in adults, nor in children. ACs could be divided into three groups, based on their diverse morphology. Conclusion: ACs are a common finding in the general population. The diverse morphology in AC suggests more than one pathophysiological origin of these cysts. The results after surgical treatment, together with the difficulties to link what has been considered characteristic symptoms in the presence of AC, suggest that a restrictive approach should be taken with regard to surgical treatment of AC in the absence of hydrocephalus

Promotion of a neurosurgical academic journal on social media: a 1-year experience

Acknowledgements: The authors sincerely thank Diana Epstein for her enduring support, and Bianca Battilana for her aid in preparing the dataset.Funder: University of ZurichBackground: Social media (SoMe) use, in all of its forms, has seen massively increased throughout the past two decades, including academic publishing. Many journals have established a SoMe presence, yet the influence of promotion of scientific publications on their visibility and impact remains poorly studied. The European Journal of Neurosurgery «Acta Neurochirurgica» has established its SoMe presence in form of a Twitter account that regularly promotes its publications. We aim to analyze the impact of this initial SoMe campaign on various alternative metrics (altmetrics). Methods: A retrospective analysis of all articles published in the journal Acta Neurochirurgica between May 1st, 2018, and April 30th, 2020, was performed. These articles were divided into a historical control group — containing the articles published between May 1st, 2018, and April 30th, 2019, when the SoMe campaign was not yet established — and into an intervention group. Several altmetrics were analyzed, along with website visits and PDF downloads per month. Results: In total, 784 articles published during the study period, 128 (16.3%) were promoted via Twitter. During the promotion period, 29.7% of published articles were promoted. Overall, the published articles reached a mean of 31.3 ± 50.5 website visits and 17.5 ± 31.25 PDF downloads per month. Comparing the two study periods, no statistically significant differences in website visits (26.91 ± 32.87 vs. 34.90 ± 61.08, p = 0.189) and PDF downloads (17.52 ± 31.25 vs. 15.33 ± 16.07, p = 0.276) were detected. However, overall compared to non-promoted articles, promoted articles were visited (48.9 ± 95.0 vs. 29.0 ± 37.0, p = 0.005) and downloaded significantly more (25.7 ± 66.7 vs. 16.6 ± 18.0, p = 0.045) when compared to those who were not promoted during the promotion period. Conclusions: We report a 1-year initial experience with promotion of a general neurosurgical journal on Twitter. Our data suggest a clear benefit of promotion on article site visits and article downloads, although no single responsible element could be determined in terms of altmetrics. The impact of SoMe promotion on other metrics, including traditional bibliometrics such as citations and journal impact factor, remains to be determined

Promotion of a neurosurgical academic journal on social media: a 1-year experience.

Acknowledgements: The authors sincerely thank Diana Epstein for her enduring support, and Bianca Battilana for her aid in preparing the dataset.Funder: University of ZurichBACKGROUND: Social media (SoMe) use, in all of its forms, has seen massively increased throughout the past two decades, including academic publishing. Many journals have established a SoMe presence, yet the influence of promotion of scientific publications on their visibility and impact remains poorly studied. The European Journal of Neurosurgery «Acta Neurochirurgica» has established its SoMe presence in form of a Twitter account that regularly promotes its publications. We aim to analyze the impact of this initial SoMe campaign on various alternative metrics (altmetrics). METHODS: A retrospective analysis of all articles published in the journal Acta Neurochirurgica between May 1st, 2018, and April 30th, 2020, was performed. These articles were divided into a historical control group - containing the articles published between May 1st, 2018, and April 30th, 2019, when the SoMe campaign was not yet established - and into an intervention group. Several altmetrics were analyzed, along with website visits and PDF downloads per month. RESULTS: In total, 784 articles published during the study period, 128 (16.3%) were promoted via Twitter. During the promotion period, 29.7% of published articles were promoted. Overall, the published articles reached a mean of 31.3 ± 50.5 website visits and 17.5 ± 31.25 PDF downloads per month. Comparing the two study periods, no statistically significant differences in website visits (26.91 ± 32.87 vs. 34.90 ± 61.08, p = 0.189) and PDF downloads (17.52 ± 31.25 vs. 15.33 ± 16.07, p = 0.276) were detected. However, overall compared to non-promoted articles, promoted articles were visited (48.9 ± 95.0 vs. 29.0 ± 37.0, p = 0.005) and downloaded significantly more (25.7 ± 66.7 vs. 16.6 ± 18.0, p = 0.045) when compared to those who were not promoted during the promotion period. CONCLUSIONS: We report a 1-year initial experience with promotion of a general neurosurgical journal on Twitter. Our data suggest a clear benefit of promotion on article site visits and article downloads, although no single responsible element could be determined in terms of altmetrics. The impact of SoMe promotion on other metrics, including traditional bibliometrics such as citations and journal impact factor, remains to be determined

Current state of global neurosurgery activity amongst European neurosurgeons

BACKGROUND: The expanding field of global neurosurgery calls for a committed neurosurgical community to advocate for universal access to timely, safe, and affordable neurosurgical care for everyone, everywhere. This study aims to (i) assess the current state of global neurosurgery activity amongst European neurosurgeons and (ii) identify barriers to involvement in global neurosurgery initiatives. METHODS: Cross-sectional study through dissemination of a web-based survey, from September 2019 to January 2020, to collect data from European neurosurgeons at various career stages. Descriptive analysis was conducted on respondent data. RESULTS: Three hundred and ten neurosurgeons from 40 European countries responded. 53.5% regularly follow global neurosurgery developments. 29.4% had travelled abroad with a global neurosurgery collaborative, with 23.2% planning a future trip. Respondents from high income European countries predominantly travelled to Africa (41.6%) or Asia (34.4%), whereas, respondents from middle income European countries frequently traversed Europe (63.2%) and North America (47.4). Cost implications (66.5%) were the most common barrier to global neurosurgery activity, followed by interference with current practice (45.8%), family duties (35.2%), difficulties obtaining humanitarian leave (27.7%) and lack of international partners (27.4%). 86.8% would incorporate a global neurosurgery period within training programmes. CONCLUSIONS: European neurosurgeons are interested in engaging in global neurosurgery partnerships, and several sustainable programmes focused on local capacity building, education and research have been established over the last decade. However, individual and system barriers to engagement persist. We provide insight into these to allow development of tailored mechanisms to overcome such barriers, enabling European neurosurgeons to advocate for the Global Surgery 2030 goals

European women in neurosurgery: I - A chronology of trailblazers

Neurosurgery as a distinct speciality has been around for 100 years. Some of the earliest women neurosurgeons were European, emerging from the 1920's onwards. Here we detail the rise of women in neurosurgery across Europe with a decade by decade account of big events and firsts across the continent. The emerging themes are seen in stories of pioneers with enormous resilience, camaraderie, trailblazing and triumphing in a system with great obstacles and challenges. Our journey through this chronology brings us to the modern day, where most European countries have or have had a woman neurosurgeon and the future for women in neurosurgery in the continent is very bright

European women in neurosurgery: II - Historical characters and living legends

A collaborative global working group of women neurosurgeons in multiple countries at different stages of their neurosurgical careers undertook the task of researching the history of European women in neurosurgery. While doing so, we happened upon many remarkable female neurosurgeons who overcame great adversity, made tremendous contributions to society and institutional neurosurgery, and displayed numerous talents beyond the operating room. In the first part of this paper, we recounted a chronology of female neurosurgeons in Europe, highlighting the most remarkable achievements of women in every decade, from the 1920's to 2020. In this paper, we honor fascinating women in European neurosurgery, both historical characters and living legends. These women have overcome great adversity and have also excelled in a huge variety of pursuits. While some were themselves refugees, we also have uncovered noteworthy examples of women who immersed themselves in humanitarian missions and who tried to better the world through political action. There are stories of women beating the odds, taking on biased institutions and proving their worth, in spite of the prevailing system. Most inspirational, we have discovered through our comprehensive research on the history of women in European neurosurgery that the future is increasingly female