Regional Anesthesia (2012–2021): A Comprehensive Examination Based on Bibliometric Analyses of Hotpots, Knowledge Structure and Intellectual Dynamics

Abstract

In the last decade, there has been a significant advancement in the area of regional anesthesia (RA). Continuous evaluation of research in any developing field using modern technologies and available software is critical to identify future trends, hot spots, and intellectual dynamics. The current study was designed to bibliometrically evaluate the global research in RA using VOSviewer, MS Excel, and CVS-Scopus bibliographic data (2012–2021). Knowledge structure and intellectual dynamics were analyzed using clustering of keyword co-occurrence. Literature screening in the last decade found 6092 original articles (96.1%) and conference papers (3.9%). The top four countries producing articles were the United States (n = 30.57%), India (7.51), the United Kingdom (7.22%), and Canada (6.06%). A significant positive correlation was found in global publication productivity (R2 = 0.9161). The most productive organizations were Harvard University, the University of Toronto, and the Hospital for Special Surgery – New York. A tremendous collaboration was spotted nationally and internationally, especially in pediatric RA. This comprehensive study, which summarizes and evaluates 6902 original research materials on regional anesthesia, may serve as a resource for anesthesiologists, physicians, researchers, and students.