A Scientometric Analysis and Visualization Discovery of Enhanced Recovery After Surgery

Mingjie Zhang; Xiaoxue Wang; Xueting Chen; Zixuan Song; Yuting Wang; Yangzi Zhou; Dandan Zhang

doi:10.3389/fsurg.2022.894083

A Scientometric Analysis and Visualization Discovery of Enhanced Recovery After Surgery

Front Surg. 2022 Jun 8:9:894083. doi: 10.3389/fsurg.2022.894083. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Mingjie Zhang¹, Xiaoxue Wang², Xueting Chen², Zixuan Song³, Yuting Wang³, Yangzi Zhou³, Dandan Zhang³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Surgery, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China.
² Department of Health Management, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China.
³ Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China.

Abstract

Background: Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS), a new clinical surgical concept, has been applied in many surgical disciplines with good clinical results for the past 20 years. Bibliometric analysis is an effective method to quantitatively evaluate the academic productivity. This report aimed to perform a scientometric analysis of the ERAS research status and research hotspots.

Methods: Comprehensive scientific mapping analysis of a wide range of literature metadata using the scientometric tools, including the Bibliometrix R Package, Biblioshiny, and CiteSpace. Data were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection database of original articles from 2001 to 2020. Specific indicators and maps were analyzed to show the co-authorship, co-institute, co-country, co-citation, and international cooperation. Automatic literature screening, unsupervised cluster filtering, and topic cluster identification methods were used to display the conceptual framework and thematic evolution.

Results: A total of 1,403 research projects drafted by 6,966 authors and published in 413 sources were found. There was an exponential growth in the number of publications on ERAS. There were 709 collaborations between authors from different countries, and the US, China, and the UK had the greatest number of publications. The WORLD JOURNAL OF SURGERY, located in Bradford's Law 1, had the highest number of published articles (n = 1,276; total citations = 3,193). CiteSpace network analysis revealed 15 highly correlated cluster ERAS studies, and the earliest study was on colonic surgery, and ERAS was recently applied in cardiac surgery. The etiology of ERAS is constantly evolving, with surgery and length of hospital as the main topics. Meta-analyses and perioperative care have tended to decline.

Conclusion: This is the first scientometric analysis of ERAS to provide descriptive quantitative indicators. This can provide a better understanding of how the field has evolved over the past 20 years, help identify research trends, and provide insights and research directions for academic researchers, policymakers, and medical practitioners who want to collaborate in these areas in the future.

Keywords: bibliometrics; bibliometrix; citespace; enhanced recovery after surgery; fast-track surgery.