Treatment of diabetic macular edema: Bibliometric analysis

Abstract Purpose To comprehensively analyze and discuss the publications about treatment of diabetic macular edema (DME) following a bibliometric approach. Methods The publications on treatment of diabetic macular edema from 2014 to 2023 were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) database. We analyzed the publication and citation trend over time and identified highly-cited articles, productive countries, institutions, journals and the most relevant research domains. VOSviewer was used to visualize the mainstream research topics and keywords. Results By analyzing a total of 1081 relevant publications, the number of annual publications showed an increasing trend over the last ten years, with the average growth rate of 15.15%. USA (290/1081), Italy (119/1081), China (110/1081) and Japan (99/1081) were the most productive countries. Retina-The Journal of Retinal and Vitreous Diseases was the most productive journal in this field. Johns Hopkins University (USA, 53/1047), Harvard University (USA, 34/1047), JAEB Center For Health Research (USA, 33/1047) and Assistance Publique Hopitaux Paris (France, 31/1047) were the most productive institutions. The analysis of keywords showed that “diabetic macular edema”, “ranibizumab”, “retinopathy”, “bevacizumab” and “endothelial growth-factor” were the most frequent keywords throughout the entire period. Conclusion This study summarized the recent advances in the treatment on diabetic macular edema. Most studies have focused on the therapeutic effects of anti-VEGF agents on DME. With the deepening of technology and research, more and more reasonable treatment methods will emerge.