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Hbot Neuropathy - Medi-102-E34053
Hbot Neuropathy - Medi-102-E34053
Abstract
Purpose: To take a systematic bibliometric analysis and generate the knowledge mapping of diabetic foot research, basing on
big data from Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) database.
Methods: Two authors retrieved the WoSCC independently, to obtain publications in field of diabetic foot. CiteSpace was used
to detect the co-occurrence relationships of authors, keywords, institutions, and countries/regions, co-citation relationships of
authors, references, and journals, and distribution of WoS category.
Results: A total of 10,822 documents were included, with 39,541 authors contributed to this field. “Armstrong DG,” “Lavery LA,”
and “Lipsky BA” are the top 3 productive authors, and “Armstrong DG,” “Boulton AJM,” and “Lavery LA” were most commonly
cited. The United States, England and China are the most productive countries, and Univ Washington, Univ Manchester and
Harvard Univ published the largest quantity of articles. “Diabetes Care,” “Diabetic Med,” and “Diabetologia” are the most
frequently cited journals, providing the greatest knowledge base. Clustering analysis of keywords co-occurrence map presented
the following hotspots: #1 diabetic wound healing, #2 diabetic polyneuropathy, #3 plantar pressure, #4 diabetic foot infection, #5
endovascular treatment, and #6 hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
Conclusion: This study performed a global overview of diabetic foot research using bibliometric and visualization methods,
which would provide helpful references for researchers focusing on this area to capture the future trend.
Abbreviations: DFU = diabetic foot ulcer, DM = diabetes mellitus, WoSCC = web of science core collection.
Keywords: bibliometric analysis, CiteSpace, diabetic foot, web of science
This work was supported by the Key Research and Development Program Copyright © 2023 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.
Guidance Project of Cangzhou City (213106005). This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative
The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose. Commons Attribution-Non Commercial License 4.0 (CCBY-NC), where it is
permissible to download, share, remix, transform, and buildup the work provided
The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are it is properly cited. The work cannot be used commercially without permission
available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. from the journal.
Supplemental Digital Content is available for this article. How to cite this article: Zhao X-P, Li D, Li C-L, Zhang Y-N, Zhao N-R, Xu J-X.
a
Department II of Endocrine & Diabetes, Cangzhou Central Hospital, Cangzhou Knowledge mapping of diabetic foot research based on Web of Science
City, Hebei Province, China. database: A bibliometric analysis. Medicine 2023;102:26(e34053).
*Correspondence: Xiao-Peng Zhao, Department II of Endocrine & Diabetes, Received: 6 April 2023 / Received in final form: 30 May 2023 / Accepted: 31 May
Cangzhou Central Hospital, No. 201, Xinhua Middle Road, Yunhe District, 2023
Cangzhou City, 061000, Hebei Province, China (e-mail: xiaopengzhao2022@ http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/MD.0000000000034053
yeah.net).
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Zhao et al. • Medicine (2023) 102:26Medicine
research hotspots. Traditional reviews, however, are limited Austria). CiteSpace version 5.7.R5 was used to detect the co-oc-
on completely and systematically displaying the knowledge currence relationships of authors, keywords, institutions, and
mapping of the topic. Another big data processing technique, countries/regions, co-citation relationships of authors, refer-
that is, bibliometric analysis, provides a novel tool for ana- ences, and journals, and distribution of WoS category. The
lyzing the published scientific literature.[26] Bibliometrics can CiteSpace settings were as follows: time span (1998–2021),
be used not only for quantitatively and qualitatively analyz- years per slice (1 year), pruning (Minimum Spanning Tree and
ing the contribution and cooperation of the authors, journals, Pruning Sliced Networks), selection criteria (Top N = 50), and
institutions, and countries, but also for identifying the devel- others followed the default. Clustering analyses were performed
opment trends and hotspots in a special topic.[27] Thus, the for co-occurrence relationships of authors and keywords, and
current study was designed to take a systematic bibliometric co-citation relationships of authors and references. Additionally,
analysis and generate the knowledge mapping of diabetic foot the timeline plot was generated to display the evolution of each
research, utilizing the CiteSpace software developed by Prof cluster and interactions among various clusters. The top 25 key-
Chaomei Chen.[28] words and top 25 references with the strongest citation bursts
were explored and graphically displayed. The dual-map over-
lay of journals was generated to depict the citation relationship
2. Methods between citing journals and cited journals. Finally, the annual
citation volume of journal “Diabetes Care” was also analyzed
2.1. Data source and retrieving process and displayed with line-chart. All of the plots were colored with
As the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) database a same palette, which consisted of different gradations of grays
could provide more comprehensive citation information and for years of 1998 to 2011 and 10 chromatic colors for the latest
mainly accepts high-quality research around the world, it has 10 years (2012–2021).
been widely selected in previous bibliometric studies.[27,29,30] In
our study, 2 individual authors searched the WoSCC database
independently, with the following searching strategy: “TOPIC: 2.4. Ethics and dissemination
Diabetic Foot” OR “TOPIC: Foot, Diabetic” OR “TOPIC: Ethical approval was not essential as all included data were
Diabetic Feet” OR “TOPIC: Feet, Diabetic” OR “TOPIC: obtained from published articles.
Foot Ulcer, Diabetic” OR “TOPIC: Diabetic Foot Ulcer” OR
“TOPIC: DFU.” The database was retrieved on June 20th, 2021,
with timespan from the inception date to the retrieving date. 2.5. Patient and public involvement
The publication language was restricted in English.
This bibliometric analysis was performed using previously pub-
lished data, thus no patient and public content was included in
2.2. Records screening this study.
The records retrieved in WoSCC were exported with the record
content of “Full Record and Cited References” and the file format 3. Results
of “Plain Text.” Five hundred records were exported and saved
each time, and the files were renamed as “download_*.txt” to fit 3.1. Study retrieving and annual distribution of publications
the recognition of CiteSpace software. Then, the saved files were A total of 13,111 research documents were initially identified
imported into CiteSpace to automatically screen the records. through database searching, and no duplicate document was
Duplicates would be checked out and removed, and only the arti- screened out. Then, 10,822 articles (n = 9354) or reviews (n =
cle types of “Article” and “Review” were eligible for inclusion. 1468) were remained for analyses, while the other 2289 docu-
The screening process was conducted by 2 individual authors, ments (51 correction; 383 editorial material; 280 letter; 1532
and disagreements were resolved by the third senior author. meeting abstract; 35 news item; 8 reprint) were discarded.
The flowchart of study searching and screening is shown in
Figure 1A.
2.3. Data analysis and visualization
The annual distribution of publications is available in
The annual publication trend was depicted with barplot using Figure 1B. The annual publication volume is steadily increas-
R version 4.0.3 (Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, ing, with an average annual output of 447 articles between
Figure 1. The flowchart of study searching and screening (A), and the global annual distribution of publications.
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1998 and 2020. The yearly output at 2020 is more than 5 times include “David G Armstrong” (Freq = 131), “Lawrence A
than that at 1998. Due to the retrieving date was June 20th, Lavery” (n = 81) and “Benjamin A Lipsky” (n = 79). Their
2021, the annual publication volume in 2021 is significantly first publications were all accepted by WoSCC at 2006, and
decreased. most of their outputs were published at the recent 10 years
(growth rings with chromatic colors). The clustering plot and
the timeline plot for each cluster for the author co-concur-
3.2. Co-occurrence and co-citation relationships of authors rence relationship is available in Figure 2B and C. Generally,
A total of 39,541 authors participated in the topic of “dia- the clusters of “#diabetic foot ulcer,” “#guidelines,” “#periph-
betic foot” according to the intrinsic function of WoSCC. eral arterial disease” and “#ultrasound indentation” are
The merged network of authors co-occurrence is available in the hotspots in recent years, while few articles in areas of
Figure 2A. The authors with occurrence frequency of more “#smooth muscle cell,” “#home monitoring,” “#deformity,”
than 20 times are listed in Supplementary Table S1, http://links. and “#sudomotor dysfunction” have been published in recent
lww.com/MD/J167. As a result, the top 3 productive authors 5 years.
Figure 2. The merged network plot (A), clustering plot (B), and timeline plot of each cluster (C) for author co-occurrence relationship, and the merged network
plot (D), clustering plot (E), and timeline plot of each cluster (F) for author co-citation relationship. Each node represents a contribution author or a co-cited
author, and the node size and width of growth ring indicate the accumulated amount and annual amount of articles published by the author or co-cited for the
author respectively. The link between 2 nodes represents the cooperation or co-citation, and the thickness of the link indicate the degree of cooperation or
co-citation between authors. A total of 16 major clusters within the network of author co-occurrence were figured out (B&C), with the following cluster labels:
diabetic foot ulcer; guidelines; smooth muscle cell; peripheral arterial disease; ultrasound indentation; wound healing; peripheral arterial occlusive disease;
wound; diabetic neuropathy; home monitoring; instrumentation; minor amputation; deformity; evidence-based care; sudomotor dysfunction; michigan neuropa-
thy screening instrument. In the network of author co-citation (E&F), a total of 11 major clusters were figured out, including: wound healing; diabetic foot; diabetic
foot infection; plantar pressure; peripheral arterial disease; diabetic neuropathy; charcot foot; negative pressure wound therapy; biofilm formation; complicated
skin; and diabetic nephropathy.
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The network for author co-citation relationship is available NEJMra1615439) and Singh N et al (Journal: JAMA; Freq: 309;
in Figure 2D, and Supplementary Table S2, http://links.lww. DOI: 10.1001/jama.293.2.217) (Supplementary Table S4, http://
com/MD/J168 lists the authors cited for more than 500 times. links.lww.com/MD/J171). A total of 11 clusters were detected
As a result, the top 3 most frequently cited authors include through clustering analysis (Fig. 3B). A timeline plot showing the
“Armstrong DG” (Freq = 2072), “Boulton AJM” (Freq = 2059) historical evolving of each cluster is shown in Figure 3C, demon-
and “Boulton AJM” (Freq = 1536). A total of 11 major clus- strating that clusters of #peripheral artery disease, #osteomyelitis,
ters were figured out (Fig. 2E). Generally, apart from the last #plantar pressure, #wound healing, #humans, and #critical limb
3 clusters, all of the other 8 areas were continuously cited and ischemia are the hotspots that have been frequently cited in recent
discussed in the diabetic foot related research, according to the ten years. After that, we figured out the top 25 references with the
timeline plot in Figure 2F. Simultaneously, there were very fre- strongest citation bursts, as that are listed in Figure 3D.
quent co-citations across various clusters.
Figure 3. The merged network plot (A), clustering plot (B), timeline plot of each cluster (C), and for burst test plot (D) for reference co-citation relationship. The
node size and link thickness represent the citation frequency of references and co-citation strength between references, respectively. A total of 11 clusters were
detected through clustering analysis, including: #diabetic neuropathy; #peripheral arterial disease; #osteomyelitis; #plantar pressure; #wound healing; #foot
infection; #humans; #critical limb ischemia; #wound healing; #multicentre; and #three dimensional.
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Figure 4. The merged cooperation network plots among different countries/regions (A) and institutions (B), the network plot for co-citation relationships of
journals (C), the annual evolving trend of citation for journal “Diabetes Care” (D), and the dual-map overlay of journals displaying the relationships between citing
and cited journals (E). In parts A&B, node size and link thickness represent the outputs volume and co-operation strength of countries/regions or institutions,
respectively, while in part C, node size and link thickness represent the citation frequency and co-citation strength of journals, respectively. In part E, the citing
journals were located on the left while the cited journals were on the right, and the colored paths indicated the citation relationships.
times in this area. As a result, “Diabetes Care” (Freq = 7095), published in Molecular/Biology/Genetics journals and Health/
“Diabetic Med” (Freq = 4475), and “Diabetologia” (Freq = Nursing/Medicine journals.
3558) are the top-3 most frequently cited journals. Figure 4D
depicts the annual evolving trend of citation for journal
“Diabetes Care,” showing an stable rising on the annual cita-
tion volume. The dual-map overlay of journals displaying the 3.7. Co-occurrence relationships of WoS categories
relationships between citing and cited journals is presented The network plot for co-occurrence relationships of WoS cate-
in Figure 4E. Four primary citation paths colored orange gories is available in Supplementary Figure S2, http://links.lww.
and green were identified, showing that studies published com/MD/J174. A total of 77 WoS categories were figured out,
in Molecular/Biology/Immunology journals and Medicine/ and the WoS categories with more than 100 articles are listed
Medical/Clinical journals were both mainly cited by the studies in Supplementary Table S8, http://links.lww.com/MD/J175. In
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the research area of diabetic foot, “Surgery,” “Endocrinology & Co-citation relationships could reflect the knowledge base
Metabolism,” and “Dermatology” were the top-3 main domains. of a special field.[29] In 2012, Lipsky et al[34] published the
most co-cited (Freq = 433) article, that is, the 2012 Infectious
Diseases Society of America guideline, in Clin Infect Dis. This
4. Discussion guideline, providing classification system for diabetic foot infec-
tions, could help determine which patients should be hospital-
4.1. Summary ized, which may require special imaging procedures or surgical
Global burden of diabetes has increased along with the sharp interventions, and which will require amputation, along with a
increasing on the number and expanding of the life expectancy detailed assessing on vessels. In New Engl J Med, Armstrong et
of DM patients.[1–4] DFUs are associated with additional mor- al[5] published the article with the highest burst index (171.47)
bidity for the DM patients, with high risks of infection and and annual citation frequency (average: 101.5 times per year),
major amputation, and increased mortality.[31] Thus, early iden- in 2017. The authors reviewed and summarized the risk factors
tification and attentive care of DFUs are critical for improving of recurrence of DFUs after primary healing, and the strategies
the outcomes, and nearly half of the amputations could be pre- to maximize ulcer-free days for patients with a history of DFU,
vented.[24,25] This study demonstrated obvious growth on the in this study. The third most co-cited study (Freq = 309) is pub-
yearly output in this area, with more than 5 folds of publica- lished in JAMA in 2005 by Singh N et al,[35] which systematically
tions in 2020 compared to that in 1998. The bursting of studies reviewed the evidence on the efficacy of methods advocated for
in this field started at 1998, with only 160 publications before preventing DUFs in the primary care setting, and concluded that
1998. We conducted a bibliometric analysis based on big data all patients with diabetes should be screened to identify those
in the area of diabetic foot from WoSCC database, and provided at risk for foot ulceration as these patients might benefit from
a knowledge mapping of the development history and emerging certain prophylactic interventions, including patient education,
trends. prescription footwear, intensive podiatric care, and evaluation
for surgical interventions. Clustering analysis on these co-cited
references also found several major domains that have provide
knowledge base for the diabetic foot research, such as # periph-
4.2. Knowledge mapping and research hotspots
eral artery disease, # osteomyelitis, # plantar pressure, # wound
In this study, we figured out the most productive authors, insti- healing, and # critical limb ischemia.
tutions and countries/regions, and revealed the cooperation The co-cited journal analysis showed that journal “Diabetes
network among them. Highlighting the most productive con- Care” contributed the greatest knowledge base for this field, with
tributors can help scholars move along the road and provide fur- a total of 7095 accumulated citations and continuously increas-
ther directions and guidelines.[32] In our results (Supplementary ing annual citations (Fig. 4C and D). In Supplementary Table S7,
Table S1, http://links.lww.com/MD/J167&S2, http://links.lww. http://links.lww.com/MD/J173, we listed the journals co-cited
com/MD/J168), we surprisingly found that the top 5 produc- for more than 1000 times. The dual-map overlay of journals
tive authors (AJMB, DGA, AV, LAL, and BAL) were part of the stands for the topic distribution of academic journals (Chen C
top 10 co-cited authors simultaneously. The United States and & Leydesdorff, 2001[36]). Four major citation paths were identi-
England contributed mostly in this field with very early begin- fied between the citing and cited journals. Generally, both basic
ning period (see the gray rings of the node in Fig. 4A), indicat- research (citing journals in “Molecular, Biology, Immunology”
ing that they are the major pioneer countries focusing on the topic and cited journals in “Molecular, Biology, Genetics” topic)
diabetic foot research. Chinese authors started to make signif- and translational clinical research (citing journals in “Medicine,
icant contribution in this field latter but has emerged as one of Medical, Clinical” topic and cited journals in “Health, Nursing,
the most productive contributors in recent ten years (see the Medicine” topic) in this field have been highly developed.
chromatically colored rings), with an accumulated output just The pathogenesis of DFUs is quite complex, with multiple
following USA and England. Thus, as shown in Supplementary factors contributing to the formation of ulceration, including
Table S5, http://links.lww.com/MD/J172, China presented with poor glycemic control, peripheral neuropathy, peripheral artery
the highest burst, while USA and England presented with the disease.[37–39] The application of multidisciplinary health care is
highest centrality. crucial in maintaining and treatment for patients with DFUs[40];
In Supplementary Table S3, http://links.lww.com/MD/J170, Musuuza et al, 2000).[41] In the systematic review of Musuuza
we listed the keywords most frequently arising in articles, J et al (2000),[41] it was found that in 94% of the reported
which could reflect the major domains that have been primarily instances the application of multidisciplinary care team signifi-
researched. By clustering analysis and timeline analysis, several cantly reduced the overall DFU-related amputations. In this study,
hotspots were identified, such as # diabetic wound healing, # many different disciplines were demonstrated in the diabetic foot
diabetic polyneuropathy, # plantar pressure, # diabetic foot filed, according to the co-occurrence of WoS categories. We found
infection, # endovascular treatment, and # hyperbaric oxy- that “Surgery,” “Endocrinology & metabolism,” “Dermatology,”
gen therapy. These hotspots, indeed, have been continuously “Orthopedics,” and “General & internal medicine” are the top 5
and widely focused on by various research groups around the specialties focusing on this field. With the combination of these
world.[16–20,22,23,33] The International Working Group on the various disciplines, patients might obtain the maximal benefit.
Diabetic Foot has published a series of guidelines focusing on
various aspects of DFU, covering almost all clusters we figured
out, since 1999, and finally updated them in 2019.[33] They pro- 4.3. Limitations
vided thorough clinical practical guidelines, regarding to the This study also comes with several inherent limitations.
prevention and management of diabetic foot disease,[13] preven- Firstly, data were retrieved only in the WoSCC database, while
tion of foot ulcers,[15] classification of DFUs,[12] wound healing some studies in the related field would not be included in this
interventions,[14] diagnosis and treatment of foot infection,[11] database. However, as the WoSCC database could provide
offloading,[10] and diagnosis, prognosis, and management of more professional and comprehensive citation information
peripheral artery disease.[9] According to the clustering analysis and only accepts high-quality research, it has become the most
of co-occurrence network of authors, several hot topics were commonly applied database for bibliometric analysis.[27,29,42]
also detected, such as # diabetic foot ulcer, # guidelines, # periph- Secondly, due to the big data produced in this field, the
eral arterial disease, # ultrasound indentation, # wound healing, retrieved records were automatically screened by CiteSpace
and # diabetic neuropathy, being similar with the focused topics software, which may inevitably causes potential bias on the
in the guidelines. result.
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