Research trends and hotspots in biologics for plaque psoriasis: A bibliometric study from 2004 to 2023

Background and objective: Biologics have revolutionized the management of plaque psoriasis and are flourishing. We aimed to construct a knowledge structure in this field through bibliometrics, analyze research trends and cutting-edge hotspots to inspire future research directions, and provide valuable references for clinical decisions.

Methods: Publications on biologics for plaque psoriasis in the Web of Science database core collection from 2004 to 2023 were searched. Bibliometric analysis and scientific knowledge mapping were performed with R, CiteSpace, and VOSviewer software.

Results: 2,672 articles written by 9,474 authors from 67 countries were included in the study. The number of annual publications has steadily increased over the last 20 years. The most prolific countries, institutions, and authors were the United States, Novartis, and Prof. Reick K., respectively. Reference analysis categorized the research base of the field into 10 main clusters. "Efficacy" and "safety" were the most frequent keywords, and cluster analysis categorized the research in this area into four groups. Burst detection captured current hot keywords including interleukin (IL)-17 inhibitors, IL-23 inhibitors, "drug survival," "discontinuation," "Covid-19," "real-world," and "clinical features."

Conclusion: Global publications on biologics research in plaque psoriasis have grown steadily and rapidly over the past two decades. Efficacy and safety are the highest topics of concern for researchers, and IL-17 inhibitors, IL-23 inhibitors, real-world studies, efficacy prediction, and retreatment after biologics failure or discontinuation are current research hotspots.