Global Bibliometric Analysis of <scp>ICU</scp> Burnout and Psychological Distress: Patterns, Gaps and Insights

BACKGROUND: Burnout syndrome (BOS) and psychological distress among intensive care unit (ICU) staff are escalating global threats to workforce sustainability. AIM: To map the global research landscape, intellectual structure and emerging frontiers of ICU burnout literature (2000-2025) in order to guide future interventional studies. STUDY DESIGN: Bibliometric analysis. METHODS: 4776 English records from Web of Science Core Collection (WOSCC), PubMed, Scopus and CINAHL databases were analysed by Bibliometric, VOSviewer and CiteSpace for publication trends, collaboration nets, keyword evolution and co-citation clusters. RESULTS: Annual output rose exponentially after 2020. The USA led with 409 papers (16 862 citations), whereas China displayed the broadest international collaborations. 'Mental health' and 'conflict of interest' were identified as the latest burst keywords, signalling a paradigm shift toward systemic ethical frameworks. CONCLUSION: ICU burnout research is transitioning from descriptive surveys to holistic mental health interventions. Future work should prioritise longitudinal, multicentre controlled trials that embed organisational ethics. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: The findings provide nurse leaders and policymakers with an evidence map for designing targeted burnout-reduction programmers that go beyond individual resilience training.