Global status and trends of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis: A bibliometric study

Abstract

While previous studies have investigated the pathophysiology, epidemiology, and risk factors of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA), research trends and hotspots on this topic remain relatively unexplored. This study aims to develop a visual knowledge map using bibliometric analysis to identify research hotspots and predict future trends in IPA research. A systematic search was conducted on the Web of Science Core Collection for articles published between January 1, 2000, and March 31, 2024. Tools such as CiteSpace and VOSviewer were used to analyze annual publication trends, contributions by countries, institutions, journals, authors, and references, as well as key research areas to identify current hotspots and future directions. A total of 4058 articles were included, representing contributions from 3409 institutions across 749 journals and 214 countries or regions. The United States published the most articles (1312) and emerged as the most influential country in this field. Medical Mycology published the highest number of articles (206), while Clinical Infectious Diseases was the most cited journal (27,450 citations). Keyword clustering revealed 4 major themes: diagnostics (e.g., galactomannan assays), clinical management (e.g., antifungal therapy), at-risk populations (e.g., transplant recipients), and emerging trends (e.g., COVID-19-associated IPA). Temporal analysis identified 3 distinct research phases: early phase (2000-2007): focus on bone marrow transplantation and diagnostic methods. mid-phase (2008-2018): emphasis on clinical guidelines and epidemiological studies. Recent phase (2019-2024): shift toward COVID-19-associated IPA and its impacts. By applying bibliometric methods to analyze IPA research, this study identifies key authors, countries, institutions, and journals in terms of collaboration and influence. It enhances the understanding of research hotspots in the field and provides insights into potential future collaborations and research directions.

Keywords: CiteSpace; VOSviewer; Web of Science Core Collection; bibliometric; invasive pulmonary aspergillosis; research hotspots.

Figure 1.

Observed trends in articles published per year.

Figure 2.

Visual maps of countries/regions and institutions generated by VOSviewer. (A, B) Countries/regions (number of articles issued by countries/institutions ≥ 10); (C, D) institutions (number of articles issued by institutions ≥ 30).

Figure 3.

Visual maps of journals and co-cited journals generated by VOSviewer. (A, B) Journals (number of journal articles ≥ 10); (C, D) co-cited journals (co-cited journals ≥ 500 citations).

Figure 4.

Dual map of CiteSpace generated journals showing the thematic distribution of journals. Citing journals are located on the left-hand side of the map, while cited journals are located on the right-hand side of the map. The labels represent the disciplines covered by the journals.

Figure 5.

Visual maps of Authors and co-cited authors generated by VOSviewer. (A, B) Authors (author has more than 20 articles published.); (C, D) co-cited authors (co-cited authors are cited ≥ 300 times).

Figure 6.

Visual maps of keywords generated by VOSviewer and Key burst words generated by CiteSpace. (A, B) Keywords (number of keyword occurrences ≥ 100 times); (B) Key burst words.

Figure 7.

Timeline chart of the top 11 keyword clusters produced by CiteSpace.

Figure 8.

Visual maps of highly cited studies generated by VOSviewer and Key burst words generated by CiteSpace. (A, B) Highly cited studies (highly cited studies cited ≥ 100 times); (C) outbreak references.