Minimally Invasive Orthopedic Interventions: A Search Trend Analysis​

Over the past few decades, minimally invasive orthopedic techniques have emerged as an effective alternative to conservative and more invasive surgical treatments, offering reduced pain and an increased quality of life to patients. However, the perception of these procedures within the public domain remains unclear. Therefore, our primary objective was to investigate the temporal trends in interventional orthopedic procedures using Google Trends data.

Materials and Methods: Using search terms "Geniculate artery embolization" (GAE), "Knee arthroplasty," "Kyphoplasty," "Vertebroplasty," and "Spinal Fusion," we employed Google Trends data to analyze the Relative Search Volume (RSV) from 2004 to 2022. Our analysis incorporated statistical methods such as the Portmanteau white noise test, simple linear regression, and Augmented Dickey Fuller test to assess trends both in the United States and globally.

Results: There was a decreasing trend in RSV for GAE (p = 0.02), non-stochastic decreasing trend for kyphoplasty (p = 0.004), and stochastic decreasing trend for vertebroplasty (p < 0.001). However, knee arthroplasty and spinal fusion exhibited non-stochastic increasing trends (P< .001). Thus, both globally and in the US, minimally-invasive orthopedic techniques are generally associated with decreasing search volume trends while the search volume of invasive orthopedic procedures has either witnessed a decrease or remained relatively stable over time.

Conclusion:

Our findings shed light on the evolving landscape of interventional radiology in orthopedic procedures. It is imperative to focus on education efforts directed towards patients and fellow physicians regarding the options that interventional radiologists can offer to enhance the utilization of these procedures.