Bibliometric and visual analyses of sepsis and gut microbial therapy

Abstract:

[Background] The role of gut microbiota in the occurrence and development of sepsis has been extensively reported. Considering the important role of gut microbiota in sepsis, it may be a new way to treat sepsis by regulating the structure or products of gut microbiota. However, the safety issue has been a main factor limiting the large-scale application of the microbial therapy. China has a number of sepsis patients, while the research on the microbial therapy for sepsis starts late. Reviewing the international studies about sepsis and gut microbial therapy is of great significance for promoting China’s research in this field. [Objective] To analyze the research status, hotspots, and frontiers of sepsis and gut microbial therapy. [Methods] We retrieved the articles about gut microbial therapy and sepsis from Web of Science (WOS) core collection and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) with the time interval from January 2001 to November 2023. CiteSpace was used to perform visual analysis of the number of publications, publishing countries, publishing institutions, authors, journals, and keywords and establish the visual diagrams. [Results] After data retrieval and screening, 807 articles from WOS and 49 articles from CNKI were included for analysis. Within the global range, the country with the largest number of publications about sepsis and gut microbial therapy was the United States, and the country with the highest centrality was Sweden; the most prolific institution was the University of Western Australia, while the institution with the highest centrality was the University of London; the highly productive authors included PATOLES, RAOS, ATHALYEJAPE G, and FANG H; the high-frequency keywords included necrotizing enterocolitis, sepsis, double blind, preterm infants, and gut microbiota; the main clusters were #0 necrotizing enterocolitis, #1 enteral nutrition, #2 preterm infants, #3 fecal microbiota transplantion, #4 critical care, #5 Escherichia coli, #6 sepsis, #7 acute pancreatitis, etc. In China, the main research institutions in this field included Southern Medical University, Zhengzhou University, and Hebei Medical University; the keywords included sepsis, probiotics, gut microbiota, and enteral nutrition; the main clusters were #0 immune function, #1 gut microbiota, #2 enteral nutrition, #3 sepsis, #4 infection, #5 fecal microbiota transplantation, etc. [Conclusion] CiteSpace was used to conduct bibliometric and visual analyses of the research on gut microbial therapy and sepsis. The research in this field continued to attract the attention of research institutions and researchers around the world. Sepsis and necrotizing enterocolitis represent the hot words in the research of gut microbial therapy and sepsis in China and the world, respectively. The research in this field is evolving from basic exploration to clinical application.