Global characteristics and trends in research on Candida auris

Qihui Wang; Shitong Cheng; Yinling Wang; Fushun Li; Jingjing Chen; Wei Du; Hui Kang; Zhongqing Wang

doi:10.3389/fmicb.2023.1287003

Global characteristics and trends in research on Candida auris

Front Microbiol. 2023 Dec 6:14:1287003. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1287003. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Qihui Wang^#¹, Shitong Cheng^#¹, Yinling Wang^#¹, Fushun Li¹, Jingjing Chen¹, Wei Du², Hui Kang¹, Zhongqing Wang³

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory of Microbiology, Department of Clinical Laboratory, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China.
² National Clinical Research Center for Laboratory Medicine, Department of Clinical Laboratory, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China.
³ Department of Information Centre, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Introduction: Candida auris, a fungal pathogen first reported in 2009, has shown strong resistance to azole antifungal drugs and has caused severe nosocomial outbreaks. It can also form biofilms, which can colonize patients' skin and transmit to others. Despite numerous reports of C. auris isolation in various countries, many studies have reported contradictory results.

Method: A bibliometric analysis was conducted using VOSviewer to summarize research trends and provide guidance for future research on controlling C. auris infection. The analysis revealed that the United States and the US CDC were the most influential countries and research institutions, respectively. For the researchers, Jacques F. Meis published the highest amount of related articles, and Anastasia P. Litvintseva's articles with the highest average citation rate. The most cited publications focused on clade classification, accurate identification technologies, nosocomial outbreaks, drug resistance, and biofilm formation. Keyword co-occurrence analysis revealed that the top five highest frequencies were for 'drug resistance,' 'antifungal susceptibility test,' 'infection,' 'Candida auris,' and 'identification.' The high-frequency keywords clustered into four groups: rapid and precise identification, drug resistance research, pathogenicity, and nosocomial transmission epidemiology studies. These clusters represent different study fields and current research hotspots of C. auris.

Conclusion: The bibliometric analysis identified the most influential country, research institution, and researcher, indicating current research trends and hotspots for controlling C. auris.

Keywords: Candida auris; bibliometric analysis; drug resistance; nosocomial outbreaks; research trends.

Publication types

Systematic Review

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This study was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2021YFC2300402 to QW).