Global trends in platelet-rich plasma research: A bibliometric review with hotspot visualization

BACKGROUND: Platelet-rich plasma is a hot topic in medicine and has received increasing attention in related research areas. we use VOSviewer software to visualize and analyze the research field of platelet-rich plasma at home and abroad in the past 5 years, and use the visual network map generated by the software to analyze and explore the current research status in this field. METHODS: Taking Web of Science core set database and China National Knowledge Infrastructure database as the literature source, we searched the relevant literature published in 2020 to 2024, used VOSviewer software to carry out visual analysis, used the knowledge map generated by the software to visualize the research hotspots of platelet-rich plasma at home and abroad, analyzed and discussed the number of annual publications, the distribution of countries, and the main research directions. We also analyzed and discussed the annual publication volume, country distribution, and main research directions. This study is a visual analysis and does not require ethical review. RESULTS: From 2020 to 2024, the output of scientific research papers in the field of platelet-rich plasma increases year by year, and the hot keywords mainly cover growth factors, stem cells, pain, osteoarthritis, etc. The country with the largest number of publications is the United States, in recent years, the hotness of the field of platelet-rich plasma at home and abroad increases year by year, and it has been applied more widely in the field of orthopedics and tissue engineering, while the emerging field mainly focuses on the field of platelet-rich plasma. In recent years, the field of platelet-rich plasma has been increasing year by year at home and abroad, it is more widely used in the fields of orthopedics and tissue engineering, the emerging fields are mainly concentrated in the fields of chronic wound healing, neurogenic pain, dermatology, androgenetic alopecia, and reproductive medicine. CONCLUSION: The United States and China are the main research areas in this field; ligament, cartilage, and joint repair are the research hot spots of platelet-rich plasma; neurogenic pain, androgenetic alopecia, reproductive medicine, and regenerative medicine have become the future research trends of platelet-rich plasma.