Global Trends in Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Support for Circulatory Failure: A Bibliometric Analysis

This study utilized bibliometric and visualization analyses to explore global research trends and identify research hotspots in extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for circulatory support to provide references and guidance for future research.

This study was based on data from the Web of Science Core Collection, covering the period from 1945 to 1 August 2024. Bibliometric tools, such as VOSviewer and CiteSpace, were used to visualize the analysis of countries/regions, institutions, journals, co-cited references, and keywords in the relevant literature.

A total of 14,804 valid papers were included in the study. The research interest in ECMO support for circulatory failure has increased annually, with the United States being the most active in this field. The U.S. occupies most of the top journals and institutions, leading in both the volume of publications and the intensity of international collaboration. Although China has a relatively high number of publications, it lags significantly in international collaboration and representation in top journals. Keyword and citation burst analysis indicates that research on cardiac arrest, post-cardiac surgery circulatory failure, left ventricular unloading, and prognostic factors have been the focus of recent studies and are prevalent in highly impactful literature.

The research interest in ECMO support for circulatory failure continues to rise, particularly in cardiac arrest, post-cardiac surgery circulatory failure, left ventricular unloading, and prognostic factors. Future research should investigate these key areas and optimize techniques to enhance the clinical outcomes.