Rising focus on neuropsychiatric risks: A half-century bibliometric analysis of sevoflurane literature

Background: An increasing number of articles have been published on sevoflurane. However, a quantitative evaluation of sevoflurane-related publications that are frequently cited has not been performed. This study aimed to determine how interest in sevoflurane has changed among the authors of academic journals over the past 50 years. Methods: Sevoflurane-related studies were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection. The 100 most frequently cited original studies were identified via manual screening and analyzed. Document metrology software programs were used to perform visual analysis. Results: The citation frequency of the 10 most frequently cited articles ranged from 293 to 576, with an average citation frequency of 379.2. Five of the 10 most cited articles involved studies of sevoflurane-related neuropsychiatric complications. Among the 10 articles, the first three were related to neuropsychiatric complications. Only two articles on the effects of general anesthesia with sevoflurane were included. These articles originated from 17 countries, with more than half being from the United States and Japan. Harvard University was the most cited university. The three core journals were Anesthesiology, Anaesthesia and Analgesia, and the British Journal of Anaesthesia. Anesthesiology is the academic journal that publishes the most sevoflurane-related research. Fifteen of the 55 articles focused on neuropsychiatric complications, and 10 focused on the mechanisms of sevoflurane anesthesia. Conclusion: This study shows that the research focus has shifted from the anesthetic mechanisms of sevoflurane to its neuropsychiatric complications, highlighting the need for clinicians to carefully weigh its benefits against potential neurological risks, particularly in pediatric and elderly populations.