Research hotspots and trends of hyperbaric oxygen therapy in stroke: bibliometrics and visual analysis

JOURNAL/mgres/04.03/01612956-202612000-00010/figure1/v/2026-07-23T200825Z/r/image-tiff As a non-invasive and drug-free treatment method, hyperbaric oxygen therapy has been applied in cerebrovascular accidents to improve cerebral hypoxia, reduce ischemia-reperfusion injury following stroke and promote neural repair. However, its clinical efficacy remains controversial. This work aims to analyze the progress of research on the role of hyperbaric oxygen in stroke through bibliometric methods and takes relevant literature from the Web of Science core database from 2007 to December 31, 2024. The results showed that from 2007 to the present, the annual number of English publications in this field has shown a fluctuating but gradual upward trend, with the peak in publication volume occurring in 2015. China is in a leading position in this field, but there is still a lack of international cooperation and high-impact journal articles from Chinese institutions and researchers. The top five keywords were "hyperbaric oxygen" (84 occurrences), "stroke" (46 occurrences), "hyperbaric oxygen therapy" (45 occurrences), "focal cerebral ischemia" (27 occurrences), and "cerebral ischemia" (26 occurrences). A total of 13 major research areas were identified, including #0 stem cells, #1 hyperbaric oxygen, #2 perfusion, #3 EPR oximetry, #4 tPA, #5 rehabilitation, #6 acute stroke, #7 TBI, #8 stroke medicine, #9 hyperbaric oxygen preconditioning, #10 preconditioning, #11 ischemia-reperfusion injury, and #12 hyperbaric. At present, there are relatively few clinical trials registered on hyperbaric oxygen therapy for the treatment of stroke. Due to the fact that the effectiveness of hyperbaric oxygen therapy depends on the type and timing of stroke, there is currently no unified standard for the optimal timing and duration of hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Overall, hyperbaric oxygen therapy is safe and reliable, with most adverse reactions being mild and reversible. In summary, hyperbaric oxygen therapy has significant neuroprotective and functional recovery potential in stroke patients.