Dynamics of Acute Postsurgical Pain over the Last Decade: A Bibliometric Analysis

OBJECTIVE: Minimizing acute postsurgical pain (APSP) remains a challenge, despite extensive research about it. This study comprehensively analyzed the literature on APSP to assess how the field has developed and where it may go in the future. METHODS: Studies on APSP indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection and published from 2012 to 2021 were assessed for eligibility. Data from included studies were analyzed using CiteSpace, Python, and Microsoft. RESULTS: Analysis of 5,236 publications on APSP showed that the number of articles per year has increased linearly. The United States leads other countries in terms of the number and centrality of publications. Cocitation analysis suggests that the field focused earlier on the incidence and risk factors of APSP, shifting later to a focus on the reduction and management of adverse outcomes due to APSP. The top-ranked keyword cluster during the study period was “short-term outcomes” (#0), followed by “risk factors” (#1). The strongest burst occurred for the keyword “combination,” followed by “multimodal analgesia.” The most recent burst occurred for the keywords “regional analgesia,” “opioid use,” “erector spinae plane block,” and “infiltration.” CONCLUSIONS: Hotspots in APSP research since 2012 have been incidence, risk factors, and control of negative outcomes. Future research is likely to concentrate on the use of opioids and technological innovations in regional anesthesia. Our findings may help APSP researchers and clinicians understand their field, optimize clinical practice, and plan future research.