Research Hotspots and Trends on Acupuncture for Neuropathic Pain: A Bibliometric Analysis from 2002 to 2021

PURPOSE: In this study, we aimed to systematically determine the trend, research hotspots, and directions of the future development of acupuncture for neuropathic pain (NP) by bibliometric analysis. METHODS: Based on the relevant literature on acupuncture for NP in the databases of Web of Science from January 2002 to December 2021, Citespace software and VOSviewer were used to determine the use of acupuncture for the treatment of NP. The annual publications, countries, authors, research institutions, keywords, co-cited references, and journals were analyzed to explore the research hotspot and development trends in this field. RESULTS: A total of 1462 records of acupuncture for NP from 2002 to 2021 were obtained. Chingliang Hsieh (20) is the most effective author and Han JS (585 co-citations) is the most influential author. The most productive institutions and countries are Kyung Hee UNIV (88) and China, respectively (480). UNIV Maryland of the USA has the highest centrality (0.12). Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine (89) is the most prolific journal, and Pain is the most influential journal (4200 co-citations). Ji-sheng Han (2003) is the most frequently cited article (158 co-citations). Electroacupuncture, bee-venom acupuncture, and percutaneous electrical stimulation are the most commonly studied acupuncture types. The analgesic mechanism of acupuncture and acupuncture-neuroimaging was a research hotspot over the years. The clinical evidence of acupuncture for NP should be further studied in the future. CONCLUSION: The study using bibliometric analysis methods to investigate the publications on acupuncture for NP so as to provide potential research directions in the future.