Bibliometric and visual analysis of research on nutcracker syndrome from 1974 to 2021: A systematic review

BACKGROUND: At present, researchers have obtained fruitful results in the study of nutcracker syndrome (NCS), but there is still a lack of systematic research on the overall status of this disease. This article aims to describe the past and current status of research into NCS, and predict future research trends and popular research topics. METHODS: Using bibliometric and visualization methods, 552 articles related to NCS collected from the Scopus database from 1974 to 2021 were analyzed from multiple perspectives. RESULTS: Overall, the amount of literature related to NCS is on the rise every year, and the number of citations is the turning point in 2006. The United States has the largest number of publications and has the most extensive cooperation with other countries. The main contents of the co-authored study focused on the symptoms, surgical procedures, and concomitant diseases of NCS. Keywords such as peak velocity, ultrasonography, orthostatic proteinuria, etc appeared earlier, whereas diagnosis, chronic pelvic pain, endovascular stents, etc appeared later. CONCLUSIONS: The literature utilization rate of NCS is relatively insufficient. The pathogenesis and pathological mechanisms need to be further studied, and the diagnostic criteria and surgical methods will continue to be favored by clinicians.