The application of radiology for dilated cardiomyopathy diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis prediction: a bibliometric analysis

BACKGROUND: Radiology plays a highly crucial role in the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis prediction of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Related research has increased rapidly over the past few years, but systematic analyses are lacking. This study thus aimed to provide a reference for further research by analyzing the knowledge field, development trends, and research hotspots of radiology in DCM using bibliometric methods. METHODS: Articles on the radiology of DCM published between 2002 and 2021 in the Web of Science Core Collection database (WoSCCd) were searched and analyzed. Data were retrieved and analyzed using CiteSpace V, VOSviewer, and Scimago Graphic software, and included the name, research institution, and nationality of authors; journals of publication; and the number of citations. RESULTS: A total of 4,257 articles were identified on radiology of DCM from WoSCCd. The number of articles published in this field has grown steadily from 2002 to 2021 and is expected to reach 392 annually by 2024. According to subfields, the number of papers published in cardiac magnetic resonance field increased steadily. The authors from the United States published the most (1,364 articles, 32.04%) articles. The author with the most articles published was Bax JJ (54 articles, 1.27%) from Leiden University Medical Center. The most cited article was titled “2016 ESC Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic heart failure”, with 138 citations. Citation-based clustering showed that arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy, T1 mapping, and endomyocardial biopsy are the current hots pots for research in DCM radiology. The most frequently occurring keyword was “dilated cardiomyopathy”. The keyword-based clusters mainly included “late gadolinium enhancement”, “congestive heart failure”, “cardiovascular magnetic resonance”, “sudden cardiac death”, “ventricular arrhythmia”, and “cardiac resynchronization therapy”. CONCLUSIONS: The United States and Northern Europe are the most influential countries in research on DCM radiology, with many leading distinguished research institutions. The current research hots pots are myocardial fibrosis, risk stratification of ventricular arrhythmia, the prognosis of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) treatment, and subtype classification of DCM.