The Research Trends and Hotspots of Sepsis and Multiple Organ Failure: A Bibliometric Analysis

Sepsis, a life-threatening response to infection, frequently leads to multiple organ failure (MOF), creating a critical challenge for healthcare systems worldwide. However, a systematic bibliometric analysis is lacking to map global research efforts, identify emerging hotspots, and reveal innovative directions in this field. This study aims to analyze research trends in sepsis and MOF through a comprehensive bibliometric analysis.

A comprehensive literature search was conducted using the Web of Science Core Collection on December 31, 2024. The analysis utilized three bibliometric tools, namely VOSviewer, CiteSpace, and the R package "bibliometrix", to ensure comprehensive evaluation.

The study included a total of 4,061 articles, authored by 19,602 researchers from 4,045 institutions spanning 99 countries and regions. The USA emerged as a prominent country in this field, with the Pennsylvania Commonwealth System of Higher Education making significant contributions to this field. Chaudry IH was identified as the most influential author. The journal Critical Care Medicine distinguished itself as a leading publication. Keyword analysis identified four significant clusters: Clinical Outcomes and Patient Health, Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms in Sepsis, Immune Responses and Pathogenesis, and Physiological Processes and Experimental Models. Recent keyword bursts included "acute kidney injury", "guidelines", "risk factors", "oxidative stress", "inflammation", "mortality", "epidemiology", and "cytokine storm".

This bibliometric analysis provides novel insights into research trends and hotspots in sepsis and MOF research. Research hotspots focus on clinical outcomes, molecular mechanisms and immune responses. The findings underscore the need for future studies to prioritize epidemiological investigations, patient prognosis assessment, and the development of effective therapeutic strategies to improve clinical management.