Bibliometric analysis of herpes zoster neuralgia treatment based on the Web of Science database

Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) seriously affects the physical and mental health and quality of life of patients. Over the years, there have been many treatments for PHN, which need to be managed. Bibliometric analysis was used to visualise the current literature data on PHN treatment and to investigate the development of this research field. All PHN treatment-related research literature in the Web of Science core database was used. Data visualisation analysis was performed on the retrieved research literature. A total of 1,066 research articles on PHN treatment were screened. The earliest related research was published in 2009. After 2009, the number of related articles published showed a fluctuating increase with a high level of volatility. Among the related journals, PAIN ranked first with 3,154 local citations. From 2009 to 2024, the cumulative publication volume of journals gradually increased. A total of 998 institutions and a total of 4,220 authors have contributed to this field. The top three authors were Baron, Yao and Dworkin. Most of the authors are from China, followed by the United States and the United Kingdom. Among the articles published by these authors, the top three high-frequency words were 'postherpetic neuralgia' (251 times, 8%), followed by 'neuropathic pain' (241 times, 8%) and 'herpes-zoster' (226 times, 7%). The research interest of PHN treatment is increasing year by year. The most authoritative author in the field of PHN treatment research is Baron, and the most published journal is Pain Physician.