Global trends of tranexamic acid in cardiac surgery: a bibliometric and visualized analysis via CiteSpace

This study sought to systematically and visually map the research landscape of tranexamic acid (TXA) in cardiac surgery, including its current status, evolutionary trends, key research hotspots, and emerging frontiers, through bibliometric analysis. On April 8, 2025, all publications related to TXA application in cardiac surgery were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection (WOSCC) database. Using the CiteSpace tool, we conducted a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of key metrics, including annual publication output, contributing countries and institutions, core author collaboration networks, and keyword co-occurrence patterns. A total of 272 eligible documents were included in the final analysis. Wang Yang and Yuan Su were identified as core leading scholars in this field, while the United States and Harvard University emerged as the most productive country and institution, respectively. Keyword co-occurrence analysis revealed that primary research hotspots centered on cardiopulmonary bypass, aprotinin, perioperative blood loss, double-blind controlled trials, allogeneic transfusion, fibrinolysis inhibition, ε-aminocaproic acid, and risk assessment. Meanwhile, emerging research frontiers were found to focus on TXA-associated seizures, pharmacokinetic profiles in cardiac surgery populations, and optimized clinical management strategies. This bibliometric analysis provides a systematic overview of the research status, evolutionary trends, key hotspots, and emerging frontiers of TXA in cardiac surgery. The findings can assist clinicians, researchers, and policymakers in prioritizing research agendas, identifying collaborative opportunities, and exploring innovative directions to advance the safe and effective use of TXA in cardiac surgical settings.