Trends in Clinical Prediction Models of Stroke Outcomes Research: A Bibliometric Analysis

Abstract

Stroke is one of the leading causes of death and disability globally. Clinical models have been reported to predict stroke outcomes and could potentially guide clinical decisions. This study aimed to describe the global trends of research activities in clinical prediction models of stroke outcomes. Bibliographic data of publications on clinical prediction models of stroke outcomes were extracted from the Scopus database from 2010 to 2019. The studies were quantitatively analysed and visualised using VOSviewer software. A total of 6,364 (48.8%) eligible original publications were included in the final analysis. The number of articles published (n) and citations received (c) had increased steadily since 2010. The most productive journals were "Stroke" (n=679, c=20,385), "Journal of Stroke and Cerebrovascular Diseases" (n=586, c=4968) and PLOS One (n=210, c=2897). The top most cited articles were authored by Lip et al. (2010), Berkhemer et al. (2015) and Sanna et al. (2014). The United States (US), China and the United Kingdom (UK) contributed most to publications in the field. Our study showed steady increasing research activities in prediction models of stroke outcomes since 2010, with saturation in recent years. The articles were published in high-quality stroke-related journals and by high-income countries, suggesting the need to reinforce research capacities through collaborative networks