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SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Med.
Sec. Ophthalmology
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1526116
This article is part of the Research Topic Herpesviruses: Pathogenesis and Host Interactions View all 4 articles
Global research trend of Herpes simplex keratitis: a bibliometric analysis and visualization from 1941 to 2024
Provisionally accepted- China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Ophthalmology, Beijing, China
Objective: Herpes simplex keratitis (HSK), caused by the herpes simplex virus (HSV), is a leading cause of infectious blindness worldwide. This study aims to explore the research trends, key contributors, and emerging areas of focus in HSK research through bibliometric analysis.Methods: Publications related to HSK from 1941 to 2024 were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC). Bibliometric and visual analyses were conducted using VOSviewer, CiteSpace, and R 4.3.3. Results: A total of 1,076 publications on HSK were identified. The top three contributing countries were the United States (267 papers), China (99), and Japan (64). Harvard University was the leading institution with 75 publications, while the American Journal of Ophthalmology emerged as the most influential journal, boasting an h-index of 29. Kaufman, HE, was the most cited author, with 1,988 citations. The top three keywords were "infection" (82), "stromal keratitis" (73), and "penetrating keratoplasty" (62). Burst keyword analysis indicated a growing interest in terms such as "outcome" and "ultraviolet A" since 2018.Conclusion: This bibliometric analysis underscores two primary research areas in HSK: the clinical management of stromal keratitis and infection, as well as the mechanisms of HSK recurrence, which include strategies for preventing reactivation and managing immune rejection. Future research is anticipated to focus on innovative treatments, particularly ultraviolet A therapy.
Keywords: bibliometric analysis, Herpes simplex keratitis, VOSviewer, Citespace, BIB
Received: 27 Nov 2024; Accepted: 28 Feb 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Song, Li, Liu and Kang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Zefeng Kang, China Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Ophthalmology, Beijing, China
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