Journal profile · Clinical Neurology
Spine
ISSN 0362-2436 · eISSN 1528-1159 · Lippincott Williams and Wilkins Ltd. · UNITED STATES · Semimonthly · Founded 1976
Spine: CAS Zone 2 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 3.45; JCR Q1 (journal website); hybrid open access; median 65 days to acceptance (111 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: about 62.5%; 362 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Spine is published by Lippincott Williams and Wilkins Ltd. and is in Zone 2 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Spine and Intervertebral Disc Pathology, Cervical and Thoracic Myelopathy and Spinal Fractures and Fixation Techniques, together about 53.5% of its articles. Its main subfields are Surgery. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Lippincott Williams & Wilkins is a leading international publisher of professional health information for physicians, nurses, specialized clinicians and students. For a complete listing of titles currently published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins and detailed information about print, online, and other offerings, please visit the LWW Online Store. Recognized internationally as the leading journal in its field, Spine is an international, peer-reviewed, bi-weekly periodical that considers for publication original articles in the field of Spine. It is the leading subspecialty journal for the treatment of spinal disorders. Only original papers are considered for publication with the understanding that they are contributed solely to Spine. The Journal does not publish articles reporting material that has been reported at length elsewhere.
Source: LetPub
Research area (LetPub): Clinical Neurology
Editor-in-chief Andrew J. SchoenfeldPublisher website
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Spine and Intervertebral Disc PathologyMedicine26%
- Cervical and Thoracic MyelopathyMedicine13.9%
- Spinal Fractures and Fixation TechniquesMedicine13.7%
- Scoliosis diagnosis and treatmentMedicine13%
- Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitationMedicine9.3%
- Medical Imaging and AnalysisEngineering2.8%
- Spinal Cord Injury ResearchMedicine1.8%
- Management of metastatic bone diseaseMedicine1.7%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Orthopedics | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Clinical Neurology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Clinical Neurology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Orthopedics | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Medicine Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Clinical Neurology | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Orthopedics | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
JCR / CiteScore quartiles on the journal's website
- JCR Q2 · CLINICAL NEUROLOGY · rank 85/296
- JCR Q1 · ORTHOPEDICS · rank 22/147
Publisher-reported: JCR figures are Clarivate's and CiteScore figures Scopus's to confirm; both are a different system from the CAS zones.Publisher website
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 3.45LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 3.7Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 6.1LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.41LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.72LetPub ·
- h-index
- 228LetPub ·
- h-index
- 394OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 16,407OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.77OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 10.8%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 11.28%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 276LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 23,952 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 274 | 26 | 56 |
| 2025 | 362 | 51 | 812 |
| 2024 | 335 | 43 | 1,824 |
| 2023 | 337 | 58 | 3,015 |
| 2022 | 256 | 49 | 3,754 |
| 2021 | 417 | 56 | 4,957 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
65 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 52 days – 83 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 16 days (111 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 83 days
- Sample
- 111 articles with submission and acceptance dates (709 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 6 monthsLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- 62.5%LetPub ·
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
No source has fee information yet; check the journal's website.
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Lippincott Williams and Wilkins Ltd.
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Semimonthly
- Founded
- 1976
- ISSN
- 0362-2436
- Electronic ISSN
- 1528-1159
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 51, Issue 19 (October 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Spine
What CAS zone is Spine in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Spine is in Zone 2 of Medicine, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Orthopedics / Clinical Neurology. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Spine?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 3.45; CiteScore 6.1, h-index 394.
How long does peer review take at Spine?
Based on the dates recorded on 111 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 65 days (interquartile range 52–83 days); authors report an average review time of about 6 months; the community-reported acceptance is “about 62.5%”. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What JCR quartile is Spine in?
The journal's website gives JCR Q1; by category, CLINICAL NEUROLOGY Q2 (85/296), ORTHOPEDICS Q1 (22/147). JCR quartiles are Clarivate's to confirm and a different system from the CAS zones; in the CAS ranking the journal is in Zone 2 of Medicine.
Which databases index Spine?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Spine is indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Is Spine open access, and what is the APC?
Spine is a hybrid journal. Fee information is not available yet; check the journal's website.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .