Visual Bibliometric Analysis of Acupuncture Research in Stroke Treatment: A 20-Year Overview

Objectives: This study aimed to characterize research trends in acupuncture for stroke over the past 20 years.Methods: Studies on acupuncture for stroke published between 2003 and 2022 were retrieved from the Web of Science database.Annual publication counts, research fields, countries, institutions, authors, journals, co-cited references, and keywords were analyzed, and the results were visualized using VOSviewer software.Results: A total of 1,328 studies were included.Annual publication output increased steadily over the past 20 years, and the most active research field was Integrative and Complementary Medicine.Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine published the largest number of papers, and China was the leading country in publication volume, followed by the United States of America.Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine and Chen Lidian were the most productive institution and author, respectively.Keyword analysis identified three major clusters: mechanism-focused research, clinical research, and research focusing on cognitive impairment.Conclusion: This study summarized global research trends in acupuncture for stroke by analyzing and visualizing bibliometric data using VOSviewer software.Further development requires continuous international collaboration among authors, countries, and institutions, together with efforts to conduct higher-quality research.