50 years of methylprednisolone application in spinal cord injury: a bibliometric analysis

Methylprednisolone (MP) is a synthetic glucocorticoid known for its anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive effects, yet its application in global spinal cord injury (SCI) research has not been thoroughly summarized. This study aims to assess the current status and trends of methylprednisolone research in SCI, providing insights for future scholarly work.

Articles on methylprednisolone in SCI published from 1975 to 2023 were retrieved from the Web of Science database. Metrics such as publication counts, H-index values, and data on countries, institutions, authors, and journals were analyzed. Co-citation, collaboration, and co-occurrence analyses of keywords were performed using CiteSpace.

A total of 1,651 articles were identified, and publication numbers showed a consistent annual increase. The United States and Canada led in publication counts, H-index values, and citations, with the University of Toronto and the Veterans Health Administration being significant contributors. Bracken M.B. was the leading author. The most frequent keywords included 'trauma,' 'lipid peroxidation,' 'dose response,' 'ischemia,' and 'methylprednisolone.' A co-occurrence analysis classified 225 keywords into three clusters, highlighting key research areas in SCI.

These findings offer valuable insights into authors, countries, institutions, keywords, and research hotspots in SCI over the past 50 years, guiding future research directions in this field.