Research hotspots and trends of spinal cord stimulation for neuropathic pain: a bibliometric analysis from 2004 to 2023

TL;DR

This study analyzes trends in spinal cord stimulation research for neuropathic pain from 2004 to 2023, identifying growth, key contributors, and future directions.

Contribution

The study provides a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of spinal cord stimulation for neuropathic pain, highlighting emerging trends and research hotspots.

Findings

Spinal cord stimulation research has seen significant growth, with 42% of publications occurring in the last five years.

The United States and the UK are leading contributors, with Pain being the most cited journal in the field.

High-frequency and burst spinal cord stimulation are identified as future research directions.

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to systematically analyze the development trend, research hotspots, and future development direction on the treatment of neuropathic pain (NP) with spinal cord stimulation through bibliometric method. We extracted the literature related to the treatment of NP with spinal cord stimulation from January 2004 to December 2023 from the Web of Science database. As a result, a total of 264 articles were retrieved. By analyzing the annual published articles, authors, countries, institutions, journals, co-cited literature, and keywords, we found that the count of publication in this field has been experiencing an overall growth, and the publications within the past 5 years accounted for 42% of the total output. Experts from the United States and the UK have made significant contributions in this field and established a stable collaborative team, initially establishing an international cooperation network. Pain is the frequently cited journal in this field. The study on spinal cord stimulation therapy for NP especially the study on spinal cord stimulation therapy for back surgery failure syndrome (FBSS) and its potential mechanisms are the research hotspots in this field, while the study on novel paradigms such as high-frequency spinal cord stimulation and spinal cord burst stimulation represents the future development directions. In short, spinal cord stimulation has been an effective treatment method for NP. The novel paradigms of spinal cord stimulation are the key point of future research in this field.

Figures