Worldwide research trends on bronchiolitis in pediatrics

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a significant increase in cases of bronchiolitis among children. As a result, there has been a corresponding increase in the number of publications on this topic. It is essential to examine the main areas of focus within the scientific literature to understand the current trends in research on pediatric bronchiolitis. This research aims to analyze the types of scientific advances related to pediatric bronchiolitis, the research trends being pursued, and the countries and research institutions leading these efforts. By understanding these aspects of bronchiolitis research, we can better understand the current state of knowledge and identify areas where further research is needed.

To conduct a bibliometric analysis of the scientific literature on pediatric bronchiolitis, all relevant publications were retrieved from the Scopus database. The Scopus API and the SW VosViewer software with optimized modularity functions were used. This analysis was intended to provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of research on this topic, including the types of scientific advances being developed, the research trends being pursued, and the countries and research institutions leading these efforts.

A total of 3810 publications were reviewed. We observed an increasing number of publications, particularly in recent years. Of these, 73.7% were articles, 95% were written in English, and 29.4% were from the United States. The main keywords used in these publications included: human, bronchiolitis, child, preschool, preschool child, major clinical study, controlled study, pneumonia, asthma, adolescent, hospitalization, infant, and newborn. These keywords were grouped into six clusters: outpatient management, long-term consequences, etiology, intensive care management, diagnostic methods, and the main cluster, which focused on hospital treatment and clinical studies.

The bibliometric analysis of bronchiolitis research in pediatrics reveals that there has been a significant increase in the number of publications on this topic, particularly in recent years. Most of these publications are articles written in English and published in the United States. The main keywords used in these studies relate to various aspects of bronchiolitis, including diagnosis, treatment, and long-term consequences. The results of this analysis suggest that bronchiolitis is a topic of significant interest and concern for researchers and practitioners in the field of pediatrics and that further research is needed to improve our understanding and management of this condition.