Global trends and knowledge mapping of steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome research: a bibliometric analysis

Steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome (SRNS) is a major cause of kidney failure and remains a clinical challenge. Bibliometric analysis offers a quantitative approach to reveal research patterns and hotspots, yet, to our knowledge, no bibliometric analysis has focused specifically on SRNS. To summarize global research trends and future directions in SRNS. Publications related to SRNS from 1 January 1999 to 14 June 2026 were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) database. Bibliometric analyses were performed using VOSviewer, CiteSpace, and RStudio. A total of 1,720 eligible articles and reviews from 91 countries were included. Annual publication output increased overall, although the 2026 data represented an incomplete year. The United States ranked first in both publications and citations; the University of Michigan, Friedhelm Hildebrandt, and Pediatric Nephrology were the most productive institution, author, and journal, respectively. Keyword analysis showed a transition from podocyte proteins and gene mutations toward multicenter cohorts, genetic testing, kidney transplantation, variants, and chronic kidney disease. The three most frequently co-cited references were Sadowski et al. (2015), Boute et al. (2000), and Ruf et al. (2004). This study maps the global SRNS literature and identifies major research trends and emerging themes, providing a reference for investigations into the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of SRNS.