Global research trends in postoperative ileus from 2011 to 2023: A scientometric study

Yan Zhou; Zi-Han Yin; Ming-Sheng Sun; Yang-Yang Wang; Chen Yang; Shu-Hao Li; Fan-Rong Liang; Fang Liu

doi:10.4240/wjgs.v16.i9.3020

Global research trends in postoperative ileus from 2011 to 2023: A scientometric study

World J Gastrointest Surg. 2024 Sep 27;16(9):3020-3031. doi: 10.4240/wjgs.v16.i9.3020.

Authors

Yan Zhou¹, Zi-Han Yin¹, Ming-Sheng Sun¹, Yang-Yang Wang¹, Chen Yang¹, Shu-Hao Li¹, Fan-Rong Liang¹, Fang Liu²

Affiliations

¹ Acupuncture and Tuina School, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu 610075, Sichuan Province, China.
² Department of Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine, Sichuan Clinical Research Center for Cancer, Sichuan Cancer Hospital & Institute, Sichuan Cancer Center, Affiliated Cancer Hospital of University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610041, Sichuan Province, China. liufang@scszlyy.org.cn.

Abstract

Background: Postoperative ileus (POI) is a common complication after abdominal surgery with high morbidity, which hinders patient recovery, prolongs hospitalization, and increases healthcare costs. Therefore, POI has become a global public health challenge. POI triggering is multifactorial. Autonomic and hormonal mechanisms are generally involved in POI pathogenesis. Recent studies have shown that beta adrenergic signaling of enteric glia is a POI trigger. Currently, the status quo, trends, and frontiers of global research on POI remain unclear.

Aim: To explore the current status, trends, and frontiers of POI research from 2011 to the present based on bibliometric analysis.

Methods: Publications published on POI research from 2011 to 2023 were retrieved on June 1, 2023, from the Web of Science Core Collection. CiteSpace 6.2.R2 and VOSviewer were used to conduct bibliometric visualization.

Results: In total, 778 POI records published from 2011 to 2023 were retrieved. Over the past few decades, the annual cumulative number of related articles has linearly increased, with China and the United States of America contributing prominently. All publications were from 59 countries and territories. China and the University of Bonn were the top contributing country and institution, respectively. Neurogastroenterology & Motility was the most prolific journal. The Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery had the highest number of citations. Wehner Sven was the most productive author. Burst keywords (e.g., colon, prolonged ileus, acupuncture, paralytic ileus, pathophysiology, rectal cancer, gastrointestinal function, risk) and a series of reference citation bursts provided evidence for the research frontiers in recent years.

Conclusion: This study demonstrates trends in the published literature on POI and provides new insights for researchers. It emphasizes the importance of multidisciplinary cooperation in the development of this field.

Keywords: CiteSpace; Postoperative ileus; Scientometric analysis; Trends; VOSviewer; Visualization.