BACKGROUND
Pulmonary rehabilitation has been widely used in patients with mechanical ventilation. However, in-depth bibliometric studies that measure and analyze scholarly publications worldwide are still rare.
OBJECTIVE
This study aims to characterize the publications in terms of countries, institutions, authors, journals, and collaboration relationships, and analyze the research trends of pulmonary rehabilitation in patients with mechanical ventilation.
METHODS
Publications regarding pulmonary rehabilitation in patients with mechanical ventilation were retrieved from the Web of Science core collection. To describe the contributions of the writers, journals, institutions, and nations, Microsoft Excel 2021 and VOSviewer were used. The trends, hot spots, and knowledge networks were analyzed by Citespace and VOSviewer.
RESULTS
A total of 968 articles and reviews between 2000 and 2022 were included. The number of annual publications grew steadily until 2019, after that, it got a dramatical increase in 2020 and 2022. The USA, Canada, and Italy were playing leading roles in this field. The top two major institutions with a larger number of publications were Queens University and the University of British Columbia. The author with the most output and citations was O'Donnell DE. The three fruitful journals were Journal of Applied Physiology, Respiratory Care, and Chest. Research hotspots have shifted over time in the following categories: the function of PR and targeted patients, which can be observed from the keyword analysis.
CONCLUSIONS
Research on pulmonary rehabilitation in patients with mechanical ventilation has progressed significantly over the past two decades. The United States, in particular, has made important contributions to this field. The research hotspot is gradually shifting in both outcomes and targeted patients of pulmonary rehabilitation.