Objective: Analyze the research state and development trend of photodynamic therapy for dermatology using visual knowledge graphs derived from the Web of Science Core Collection database.
Methods: The Web of Science Core Collection database was utilized as the search data source for the bibliometric analysis, and the associated articles published between January 1, 2000, and December 31, 2022, were obtained using the search terms "photodynamic therapy" and "dermatology". CiteSpace, VOSviewer, and additional tools were utilized for bibliometric analysis, and visual knowledge graphs were created.
Results: Eight hundred and thirty two articles were retrieved in total, and 747 were included following de-duplication and transformation. The country with the greatest number of publications is the United States; the primary research institution was University of Copenhagen; and the references with the highest centrality were primarily concerned with the selection of photosensitizers; High frequency keywords primarily comprised 5 aminolevulinic acid and basal cell carcinoma; and the clustering graph revealed that all keywords fell into 11 categories.
Conclusion: In numerous areas of dermatology, photodynamic treatment is commonly employed. Current research focuses on nonneoplastic skin diseases and the choice of photosensitizers. Nonetheless, its specific mechanism and other applications merit further investigation.
Keywords: CiteSpace; VOSviewer; bibliometric analysis; dermatology; photodynamic treatment.
© 2023 The Authors. Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.