Research Trends of Ocular Tuberculosis: A Bibliometric Analysis.

Purpose: Ocular tuberculosis (OTB), an extrapulmonary manifestation of tuberculosis (TB), significantly impacts vision acuity and presents challenges in diagnosis and treatment. With ongoing research efforts, new insights into its pathogenesis and treatment have emerged. This study employed bibliometric methods to investigate key research areas and emerging trends, aiming to provide a comprehensive overview of the field.

Methods: The documents about OTB from January 1, 2003 to December 31, 2023, were retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC). VOSviewer, CiteSpace, R package bibliometrix, and GraphPad were utilized to analyze the data and visualize the network of the country, organization, author, journal, and keyword related to the field of OTB.

Results: 300 articles in the past 21 years were included in this research. The overall number of annual publications exhibits an upward trend. The most productive country, institution, author, and journal were India, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education & Research (PGIMER), Gupta Vishali, and Ocular Immunology and Inflammation. The main keywords focused on ocular tuberculosis, intraocular tuberculosis, and uveitis. The time trend of keyword occurrences indicated that "T cells" and "aqueous humor" have become new hotspots. Burst detection analysis of keywords shows that "pattern" and "standardization" have emerged as new focal points.

Conclusions: This study represents the first bibliometric analysis on OTB, offering insights into hot topics and emerging trends within this field. T cells and aqueous humor are identified as novel directions for ongoing research endeavors. The latest research focus is on the standardization of OTB in diagnosis, treatment, and other aspects.