Global research trends in biological therapy for ankylosing spondylitis: A comprehensive visualization and...

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a chronic inflammatory disease primarily affecting the spine and pelvic bones. Recently, many researchers have confirmed that biological therapy is effective for AS patients, which provides a new perspective for the treatment of AS. This study aimed to evaluate the characteristics of scientific research on AS and biological therapy worldwide and investigate research hotspots and the direction of future trends. Global literature on AS and biological therapy published from 2004 to 2023 was searched in the Web of Science, Scopus, and PubMed databases. Visualization and bibliometric analysis were carried out using the VOSviewer and CiteSpace software with the retrieved data regarding countries, institutions, journals, authors, and keywords. A total of 2,243 related articles were included, showing that the number of articles in this field has increased annually. The highest number of articles were from the USA (24.39%), followed by Italy (14.36%), England (12.19%), Germany (10.66%), and Spain (7.86%). Braun J was the most prolific author, with a h-index of 16. The institution with the most articles was Charite Universitatsmedizin Berlin, and the Rheumatology journal had the highest number of publications. "janus kinase inhibitor" and "secukinumab" displayed a notable citation burst in recent years, indicating IL-17i and JAKi are research hotspots. More and more attention has been paid to the association between AS and biological therapy in the past two decades. The USA plays a leading role, and China has made remarkable progress. This study has provided a valuable reference for future research in this field.