Published online Jul 15, 2024. doi: 10.4239/wjd.v15.i7.1627
Revised: May 12, 2024
Accepted: June 12, 2024
Published online: July 15, 2024
Processing time: 115 Days and 17.5 Hours
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.
To perform a bibliometric analysis to systematically assess the current state of research on macrophage-related DFUs.
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.
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.
Our bibliometric analysis provides a comprehensive overview of macrophage-related DFUs research and insights into promising upcoming research.
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.