Unveiling the landscape of vancomycin in periprosthetic joint infections: a comprehensive bibliometric analysis

Periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) is a devastating adverse complication after joint replacement surgery. Vancomycin is crucial in treating PJI but presents unique challenges. Despite extensive research, a comprehensive bibliometric analysis is missing. This study aims to identify key contributors, evaluate current research, and highlight major scientific issues.

We retrieved studies on vancomycin and PJI from the Web of Science Core Collection database, gathering data on publications, authors, citations, publication year, H-index, references, country/region, journal, and keywords. Bibliometric and visual analyses were conducted using R-bibliometrix, VOSviewer, and CiteSpace.

The analysis included 451 publications from 725 institutions in 43 countries/regions from 2010 to 2025, showing a clear growth trend in annual publications. The United States contributed the most (172, 39.2%), with the Mayo Clinic leading in studies (28, 6.21%). Cao L had the highest number of publications, while Parvizi J received the most citations. The Journal of Arthroplasty was the leading journal in this field. Current research on vancomycin in PJI focuses on improving localized application and new drug delivery systems to tackle biofilm infections and antibiotic resistance. Additionally, burden management has emerged as a significant research area.

This study summarizes publications characteristics and identifies influential countries, institutions, authors, journals, and trends related to vancomycin use in PJI. The findings offer researchers valuable insights and help clinicians improve diagnostic and therapeutic services.