The aim of this study was to demonstrate the state of diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) research in the past 10 years by bibliometric analysis, especially by performing document co-citation and co-word visualization analysis to reveal the research hotspots, frontiers, and core literature. The literature in connection with DFUs from 2007 to 2018 was retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection database (WoSCC). We used the WoSCC and CiteSpace to analyze publication outcomes, journals, research direction, research hotspots, and frontiers. Overall, 4580 publications on DFUs were retrieved until March 22, 2018. The number of publications from the United States accounts for approximately one third of all publications from the top 10 countries. Surgery accounted for the largest proportion of the publications we retrieved from the WoSCC in terms of research areas. Results of this analysis indicated that DFU research has been in a stable, mature stage. Developed countries pay more attention to DFU research field than do developing countries, especially the United States. The complications of DFUs, such as lower extremity amputation and diabetic foot infection, are the hotspots. Diabetic foot infection, wound management, prediction studies on DFU, and diseases related to DFU are the research frontiers that should be observed closely in the future.
Keywords: CiteSpace; co-citation; diabetes; frontiers; hotspots.
Copyright © 2018 the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.