Scientometrics
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Diabetes. Jul 15, 2024; 15(7): 1627-1644
Published online Jul 15, 2024. doi: 10.4239/wjd.v15.i7.1627
Global trends in publications regarding macrophages-related diabetic foot ulcers in the last two decades
Jian-Ping Wen, Shuan-Ji Ou, Jia-Bao Liu, Wei Zhang, Yu-Dun Qu, Jia-Xuan Li, Chang-Liang Xia, Yang Yang, Yong Qi, Chang-Peng Xu
Jian-Ping Wen, Shuan-Ji Ou, Jia-Bao Liu, Chang-Liang Xia, Yang Yang, Yong Qi, Chang-Peng Xu, Department of Orthopaedics, The Affiliated Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital of Jinan University, Guangzhou 510000, Guangdong Province, China
Wei Zhang, Yu-Dun Qu, Jia-Xuan Li, The Second School of Clinical Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou 510000, Guangdong Province, China
Co-first authors: Jian-Ping Wen and Shuan-Ji Ou.
Co-corresponding authors: Yong Qi and Chang-Peng Xu.
Author contributions: Wen JP, Ou SJ, Qi Y and Xu CP contributed to study conception and design; Zhang W and Liu JB contributed to data Collection; Wen JP, Xia CL, Li JX and Ou SJ contributed to analysis and interpretation; Wen JP, Ou SJ, Yang Y and Qu YD contributed to draft and manuscript; All Authors reviewed the results and approved the final version of the Manuscript. Wen JP and Ou SJ served as co-first authors in this study, contributing equally and significantly to data analysis, manuscript composition, and editing. Qi Y and Xu CP have assumed the roles of co-corresponding authors, sharing equal responsibility in guiding the project. Firstly, they played instrumental roles in the primary project design, thereby enhancing the overall methodological rigor of the study. Secondly, this choice aims to recognize and honor their equitable contributions, emphasizing the principles of teamwork and collaboration inherent in this research endeavor.
Supported by the Science and Technology Planning Project of Guangzhou, No. 2024A03J1132; and the Foundation of Guangdong Provincial Medical Science and Technology, No. B2024038.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
PRISMA 2009 Checklist statement: The authors have read the PRISMA 2009 Checklist, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the PRISMA 2009 Checklist.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: Https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Yong Qi, MD, Chief Physician, Surgeon, Department of Orthopaedics, The Affiliated Guangdong Second Provincial General Hospital of Jinan University, No. 1 Shiliugang Road, Guangzhou 510000, Guangdong Province, China. yongqi4040@163.com
Received: March 14, 2024
Revised: May 12, 2024
Accepted: June 12, 2024
Published online: July 15, 2024
Processing time: 115 Days and 17.5 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) are one of the most severe and popular complications of diabetes. The persistent non-healing of DFUs is the leading cause of ampu-tation, which causes significant mental and financial stress to patients and their families. Macrophages are critical cells in wound healing and perform essential roles in all phases of wound healing. However, no studies have been carried out to systematically illustrate this area from a scientometric point of view. Although there have been some bibliometric studies on diabetes, reports focusing on the investigation of macrophages in DFUs are lacking.

AIM

To perform a bibliometric analysis to systematically assess the current state of research on macrophage-related DFUs.

METHODS

The publications of macrophage-related DFUs from January 1, 2004, to December 31, 2023, were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection on January 9, 2024. Four different analytical tools: VOSviewer (v1.6.19), CiteSpace (v6.2.R4), HistCite (v12.03.07), and Excel 2021 were used for the scientometric research.

RESULTS

A total of 330 articles on macrophage-related DFUs were retrieved. The most published countries, institutions, journals, and authors in this field were China, Shanghai Jiao Tong University of China, Wound Repair and Regeneration, and Aristidis Veves. Through the analysis of keyword co-occurrence networks, historical direct citation networks, thematic maps, and trend topics maps, we synthesized the prevailing research hotspots and emerging trends in this field.

CONCLUSION

Our bibliometric analysis provides a comprehensive overview of macrophage-related DFUs research and insights into promising upcoming research.

Keywords: Diabetic foot ulcers, Macrophage, Macrophage polarization, Bibliometrics, Wound healing, Inflammation

Core Tip: In This study, we present the first bibliometric analysis of research on macrophage-related diabetic foot ulcers, providing a comprehensive overview of the field. Through keyword and research hotspots analysis, we identified three main research themes: “two main phenotypic transitions in macrophages,” “the complex roles of these phenotypes,” and “the function of exosomes in these transitions,” which are expected to become recent research hotspots in the field. This analysis aims to assist researchers in identifying new study areas and pinpointing emerging hotspots and frontiers.