Global Research Status and Trends in Venous Thromboembolism After Hip or Knee Arthroplasty From 1990 to 2021: A Bibliometric Analysis

BACKGROUND: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) after hip or knee arthroplasty has attracted increasing attention over the past few decades. However, there is no bibliometric report on the publications in this field. The purpose of this study was to analyze the global research status, hotspots, and trends in VTE after arthroplasty. METHODS: All articles about VTE research after hip or knee arthroplasty from 1990 to 2021 were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection database. The information of each article including citation, title, author, journal, country, institution, keywords, and level of evidence was extracted for bibliometric analysis. RESULTS: A total of 1,245 original articles from 53 countries and 603 institutions were retrieved. The USA contributed most with 457 articles, followed by England and Canada. McMaster University in Canada was the leading institution for publications. The journals with the highest output and citation were the Journal of Arthroplasty and the Thrombosis and Haemostasis, respectively. The median number of citations was significantly different among the levels of evidence (F = 128.957, P < 0.001). The research hotspots switched from VTE diagnosis and heparin to factor Xa inhibitors (fondaparinux, rivaroxaban, apixaban) and direct thrombin inhibitors (dabigatran etexilate, ximelagatran), and finally to aspirin, risk factor studies, which can be observed from the keyword analysis and co-cited reference cluster analysis. CONCLUSIONS: This study observed an increasing trend of research articles on VTE after arthroplasty. Publications with higher levels of evidence gained further popularity among researchers and orthopedic surgeons. Additionally, individualized VTE prevention and the development of new, safe, effective, and inexpensive oral agents would be emerging trends in the future.