Bibliometric analysis and key messages of integrating Chinese and Western Medicine for COVID-19

Area of Science:

• Bibliometrics
• Public Health
• Pharmacology

Background:

• Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine (ICWM) has been crucial for COVID-19 prevention and treatment.
• Analysis of global literature on ICWM for COVID-19 is essential to understand research landscapes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze and compare the hotspots and research fronts of ICWM for COVID-19 in China and internationally.
• To identify trends and key contributions in the field.

Main Methods:

• Bibliometric analysis of 580 English and 1727 Chinese papers published before October 31, 2022.
• Data sourced from Web of Science, PubMed, CNKI, Wanfang, VIP, and CBM databases.
• Analysis using CiteSpace and VOSviewer for keyword clustering and visualization.

Main Results:

• China, India, and the US are top publishing countries; Beijing University of Chinese Medicine leads in China.
• Chinese literature emphasizes clinical studies (syndrome analysis), while English literature focuses on mechanisms and evidence-based reviews (meta-analysis).
• Both regions show interest in network pharmacology and Qingfei Paidu Decoction, with a cornerstone paper by Huang CL in Lancet.

Conclusions:

• ICWM for COVID-19 is a global research hotspot with consistent trends towards mechanism-based research and recovery/prevention strategies.
• Despite differing content focus, international and domestic research converges on key therapeutic areas.