The Evolution of COVID-19 Publications in Pediatrics: A Bibliometric Analysis with Research Trends and Global Productivity

Abstract

Objective: Despite the increase in the number of global studies on COVID-19 that has been increasingly contagious among children, no comprehensive bibliometric studies have been found in the literature concerning COVID-19 in pediatrics. This study aimed to perform a holistic analysis of the scientific outputs about COVID-19 in pediatrics using various statistical methods. Methods: The articles published in the research area of pediatrics on COVID-19 between January 1st, 2020 and February 13th, 2022 were downloaded from the Web of Science (WoS) and analysed using various statistical methods. Spearman's correlation analysis was performed for related research. Bibliometric network visualization diagrams were generated to reveal trending topics and cross-country collaborations. Results: A total of 5315 publications were found. Among these publications, 47.7% (n=2540) were articles. The top 5 contributors to the literature were the USA (955), Italy (278), the UK (219), Turkey (148), and China (137). The top 3 most productive institutions were Harvard University (n=107), the University of California System (n=85), and the University of London (n=75). The top 3 journals with the highest number of articles were Frontiers in Pediatrics (n=163), Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal (n=121), and Pediatrics (n=106). The top 3 most effective journals based on the mean number of citations per article were Pediatria i Medycyna Rodzinna, Lancet Child Adolescent Health, and JAMA Pediatrics. Conclusion: Topics studied on COVID-19 in pediatrics in recent months were screen time, sleep, physical activity, Type 1 diabetes, obesity, vaccine, neonatology, congenital heart disease, qualitative research, school closure, and pediatric emergency medicine.