Knowledge Mapping of Global Status and Trends for Thromboangiitis Obliterans: A Bibliometrics and Visual Analysis

Abstract

Objective

Thromboangiitis obliterans (TAO) is a segmental nonatherosclerotic inflammatory vascular disease characterized by recurrent progressive inflammatory reactions and thrombosis in the small and medium-sized arteries and veins of the extremities. However, there are few bibliometric studies on TAO. Therefore, this study was employed to generalize the research status, hotspots and development trends of TAO-related research.

Methods

The data from 1999 to 2022 were collected from the Web of Science core collection database, and analyzed through bibliometrics software. VOSviewer was utilized to carry out academic collaboration between different countries/regions, institutions, and authors, visualization map of co-cited authors, journals, reference, and co-occurring keywords. CiteSpace was used to analyze the dual-map of journals, keyword bursts, and timeline of keywords. Bar and pie charts in this study were statistically analyzed and graphed through Microsoft Excel 2021. Scimago Graphica was applied to map the academic collaboration between different countries/regions.

Results

A total of 553 literatures were involved in this study. Japan at the leading global position not only in the number of publications, but also total citations, average citations and H-index. Institution with the major contribution to TAO research is Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, and Nagoya University. Annals of Vascular Surgery, Angiology, Journal of Vascular Surgery are the main publication channel for articles related to TAO. Fazeli, B., Iwai, T., and Kihara, Y. are major contributors in this field. The studies on TAO keywords could be grouped into four clusters: Etiology, Mechanism, Cell therapy and Clinical therapy.

Conclusion

Although the number of TAO publications has fluctuated over the past 20 years, it has generally shown a steady upward trend. Etiology and treatment research on TAO and some keywords such as trail, therapy, outcome, management, stem cells, angioplasty, and activation will become a hot spot in the future.

Keywords:

• thromboangiitis obliterans
• Buerger’s disease
• bibliometrics analysis
• visual analysis
• web of science
• CiteSpace
• VOSviewer
• scimago graphica

Data Sharing Statement

The data is accessible from the Web of Science repository, and the corresponding author can also be contacted for further information.

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (82102581, 82270930), National Postdoctoral Science Foundation of China (2021M693562), Provincial Natural Science Foundation of Hunan (2019JJ40517, 2022JJ40843), Provincial Outstanding Postdoctoral Innovative Talents Program of Hunan (2021RC2020), Young Investigator Grant of Xiangya Hospital, Central South University (2020Q14), FuQing Postdoc Program of Xiangya Hospital, Central South University (176) and Fund of Reform and Practice of Ideological and Political in Xiangya Hospital, Central South University (36, 40).