Background In 2015, The Lancet Commission on Global surgery (LCoGS) published a report highlighting the growing burden of surgical disease worldwide. The need for Global surgery research was emphasised in developing high-quality surgical care, especially in lower and middle-income countries (LMICs). We aim to assess the current state of global surgery research, illuminate trends within and discuss the impact of the report. Methods A literature search identified all clinical research in the global surgery field published between 2015 and 2019. Three databases - MEDLINE, Web of Science and the Cochrane Library were used to identify articles screened by a minimum of two independent authors against eligibility criteria, using a method adapted from the PRISMA guidelines. These articles were categorised to describe trends including number of articles published, surgical conditions, study types, and geographical author distribution. All methods utilised have adhered to an a-priori protocol. Results 1,495 from 5,272 eligible articles were analysed. The number of global surgery research articles increased from 288 in 2015 to 314 articles in 2019. 65% focused on surgical conditions treatable with basic interventions. 49% of Global surgery research articles involved authors from high income countries. Conclusion We have summarised the current state of global surgery research since publication of the LCoGS 2015 report. Though research output is still minimal from countries with greatest clinical need, the overall trend highlights progression in research made by LMICs, notably through establishing global research collaborations. Our findings demonstrate additional efforts are necessary to further improve research output in LMICs. Take-home message Research output is still minimal from countries with greatest clinical need, the overall trend highlights progression in research made by LMICs, notably through establishing global research collaborations.
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