Trends and Frontiers in nutritional management for ICU patients with kidney dysfunction: a bibliometric and knowledge mapping study

Objective Patients with kidney dysfunction in the intensive care unit (ICU) are at high risk of metabolic disturbances and malnutrition, yet the research landscape of nutritional management in this population remains incompletely characterized. This study aimed to map the knowledge structure, research hotspots, and temporal trends in this field. Methods Publications from 2001 to 2025 were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection and analyzed using VOSviewer, CiteSpace, and bibliometrix. Scopus was used for cross-database comparison, while representative clinical studies retrieved from PubMed were descriptively summarized to provide clinical context for the bibliometric findings. Results A total of 551 publications were included, with publication output increasing overall from 2001 to 2025. Research activity was concentrated mainly in North America and Europe. Keyword analysis identified major themes related to acute kidney injury, renal replacement therapy, nutritional support, prognosis, and clinical outcomes. Temporal analyses showed that earlier research focused more on acute renal failure, RRT, and nitrogen balance, whereas nutritional risk, protein provision, and clinical outcomes became more prominent in later years. Burst analysis further identified “outcome,” “impact,” “hospitalized patients,” and “malnutrition” as active recent keywords. Conclusion This study indicates sustained research interest in nutritional management for ICU patients with kidney dysfunction. Research has broadened from RRT-related metabolic concerns to nutritional assessment, protein provision, and clinical outcomes. Protein dose and escalation timing, nutrient replacement during CRRT, and the use of nutritional risk assessment to guide treatment remain important questions for future clinical studies.