Percutaneous versus surgical tracheostomy in mechanically ventilated ICU patients: a bibliometric review and visual analysis (1990–2024)

Tracheostomy is a frequently performed procedure for critically ill patients requiring prolonged mechanical ventilation. This study aims to analyze the literature comparing percutaneous and surgical tracheostomy techniques using bibliometric methods to explore trends in research, key contributors, and clinical outcomes. A bibliometric analysis was conducted on publications comparing percutaneous and surgical tracheostomy using the Scopus database. Data on publication trends, authorship, citations, and co-occurrence of keywords were analyzed using VOSviewer software. A total of 51 articles were included, focusing on the safety, efficacy, and outcomes of the two techniques. The analysis revealed a steady increase in publications over the past two decades, with recent studies expanding to compare patient quality of life and healthcare resource utilization. Key authors such as Dulguerov et al. and institutions like the University of Geneva and University of Zurich were identified as significant contributors. The most cited paper was "Percutaneous or surgical tracheostomy: A meta-analysis" by Dulguerov et al. (Critical Care Medicine, 1999). Critical Care Medicine emerged as the most active and cited journal. The paper titled "Comparative clinical trial of standard operative tracheostomy with percutaneous tracheostomy" by Hazard et al., published in Critical Care Medicine in 1991, was the most cited reference. The bibliometric analysis of publications comparing percutaneous and surgical tracheostomy, although limited to a single database search, provides a fairly comprehensive overview of the available literature on the topic.