Mapping Research on Chronic Pulmonary Aspergillosis: A Bibliometric Analysis from 1992 to 2024

Background: Aspergillus is an environmental fungus that causes chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA), a chronic lung infection that frequently affects people with underlying lung conditions like bronchiectasis, COPD, and tuberculosis. Significant morbidity is caused by CPA, which increases the risk of complications and makes early diagnosis challenging due to its frequently nonspecific symptoms. This disease has a worldwide burden, particularly in nations where tuberculosis is highly prevalent. More research is required to create easier diagnostic techniques and efficient treatment strategies to enhance clinical outcomes and lessen the impact on public health due to the growing azole resistance and the scarcity of available therapeutic options. Aims: This research aims to map the research landscape on chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA) and identify trends, key contributors, research gaps, and emerging topics. Study design: A bibliometric analysis Methodology: 778 Scopus documents on chronic pulmonary aspergillosis were retrieved. After applying exclusion criteria, 531 documents remained. The data were extracted in CSV format and analyzed using Biblioshiny and VOSviewer 1.6.19. Results: There was a growth of publications on CPA despite decline citations, with Denning DW and the United Kingdom as the most frequent authors and the leading country on chronic pulmonary aspergillosis publications, respectively. Mycoses was a journal with the highest number of publications on chronic pulmonary aspergillosis. The most frequent keyword was chronic pulmonary aspergillosis itself, though the trend topic was Aspergillus nodule. The most frequent keyword based on co-occurrence keyword analysis was chronic pulmonary aspergillosis. Conclusion: For the first time, this study provides an overview of the growth in chronic pulmonary aspergillosis publications through bibliometric analysis. We recommend further research on Aspergillus nodule, the epidemiology of chronic pulmonary aspergillosis, particularly in countries with high tuberculosis cases, and treatment to address azole resistance. We hope there will be easier diagnostic methods for chronic pulmonary aspergillosis and more appropriate treatment.