Research hotspots for pediatric fractures from 2017 to 2022: A bibliometric and visual analysis via Citespace.

OBJECTIVE: This review provides guidance and ideas for researchers through a comprehensive and comparative analysis of the present state, trends, and hotspots in the pediatric fracture literature over the past 6 years.

METHODS: We used Citespace 6.1.R6 software to explore the country/region distribution, institutions, journals, keyword analysis, and co-cited references of the literature from Web of Science core database.

RESULTS: There are 6472 pieces of pediatric fracture-related literature, including 2962 from 2017 to 2019 and 3510 from 2020 to 2022. The country with the most papers is the United States, and US institutions and journals also have a pivotal position in this field. Research hotspots for pediatric fractures in 2017-2019: The topic with the most attention is bone mineral density leading to related bone diseases. Treatment for pediatric fractures, including supracondylar humeral fractures, Monteggia fractures, forearm fractures, knee fractures, and ankle fractures in children, is another topic of greater interest. Brain injuries and dental injuries in children due to abuse and trauma are also concerning issues. Research hotspots for pediatric fractures in 2020-2022: comparison with 2017-2019 revealed a relative decrease regarding ankle-related epiphyseal injuries, but there is a higher focus on the epidemiology of fractures in children, risk factors, and reasons for childhood trauma. We have confirmed through literature co-citations that the literature of high interest is also in these aspects.

CONCLUSION: Researchers and clinicians can quickly learn about topics of interest through authoritative journals and highly cited literature and rapidly master the current status and frontiers of the field through study, providing ideas for future work.