Drug-Induced Cardiotoxicity in Children During the Past 30 Years: A Bibliometric Study and Visualization Analysis

BACKGROUND: Drug-induced cardiotoxicity (DICT) is one of the most serious adverse drug reactions, which is an important safety issue in drug development and clinical practice. This study aimed to summarize the knowledge structure and to detect emerging trends, and provide ideas for future research on DICT in children using bibliometric methods. MATERIAL/METHODS: All publications on DICT in children were retrieved through the Web of Science Core Collection up to April 20, 2022. The document type was restricted to articles with the language set to English. CiteSpace and VOSviewer were used to conduct this bibliometric analysis. RESULTS: A total of 298 articles were included, and the annual publications decreased since 2021. The United States was the leading country with the most publications (117), the highest centrality (0.39), and total citations (4055). The most influential institution was the University of British Columbia, while Carleton BC and Rassekh SR, both from Canada, were the most productive authors, but there was no leader in this field. The keywords with both high frequency and high centrality after excluding “cardiotoxicity” and “children” were acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Freq=43, Central=0.15), childhood cancer (Freq=42, Central=0.13), toxicity (Freq=33, Central=0.16), and breast cancer (Freq=29, Central=0.19). “Adriamycin cardiotoxicity” was the first burst keyword, while “childhood cancer”, “oxidative stress”, and “cardiac dysfunction” were emerging research hotspots. CONCLUSIONS: Attention to DICT in children was insufficient. This study serves as a breakthrough point, providing a comprehensive overview of the knowledge structure, development landscape, and future opportunities in this field.