Exploring the research progression and evolutionary trends of lung ischemia-reperfusion injury: A bibliometric analysis from 1979 to 2023

BACKGROUND: Lung ischemia-reperfusion injury (LIRI) poses a significant challenge in various clinical scenarios. Despite extensive research on the pathogenesis and potential treatments of LIRI, there is a notable absence of bibliometric analysis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We summarized the results of LIRI research through two searches on the Web of Science, covering data from 1979 to 2023 with topic words "lung" and "reperfusion injury". The collected data were analyzed and visualized based on country, author(s), and keywords by bibliometric software. The keyword "programmed cell death" was further added to explore the hotspot of the LIRI research field. RESULTS: The initial analysis of 1648 research articles showed a total of 40 countries and 7031 researchers were involved in the publications, with America being the most productive country in the research field of LIRI. Keyword analysis revealed that the evolving focus of LIRI research has progressively transitioned from, lung transplantation, primary graft dysfunction, inflammation, oxidative stress, and ex vivo lung perfusion to cell death. Subsequently, 212 publications specifically addressing programmed cell death (PCD) in LIRI were identified, which clarified the recent hotspot of the LIRI field. CONCLUSION: With closer international cooperation and increasing research scale, the LIRI research focused mainly on the pathogenesis and potential therapeutic interventions for LIRI. PCD in LIRI is becoming a trending topic and will continue to be a hotspot in this field. Our study may offer valuable guidance for future research endeavors concerning LIRI.