Zheping Chen,1,* Zhenxiang Zuo,2,* Xinyu Song,1 Yaqun Zuo,1 Le Zhang,1 Yuyang Ye,1 Yufeng Ma,1 Lili Pan,3 Xin Zhao,1 Yanwu Jin1 

1Department of Anesthesiology, the Second Hospital, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, 250033, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Gastroenterology, the Second Hospital, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, 250033, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Anesthesiology, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, People’s Republic of China

*These authors contributed equally to this work

Correspondence: Xin Zhao; Yanwu Jin, Department of Anesthesiology, the Second Hospital, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, 247 Bei Yuan Street, Jinan, 250033, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86-17660085551 ; +86-17660085535, Email lujnzx@sohu.com; jinyanwu_aa@163.com

Background: Dexmedetomidine, an α2-adrenergic receptor (α2-AR) agonist, is extensively used in clinical and animal studies owing to its sedative, analgesic, and anxiolytic effects. The diverse range of research domains associated with dexmedetomidine poses challenges in defining pivotal research directions. Therefore, this study aimed to conduct a qualitative and quantitative bibliometric study in the field of dexmedetomidine over the past decade to establish current research trends and emerging frontiers.
Methods: Relevant publications in the field of dexmedetomidine between 2014 and 2023 were extracted from the Web of Science Core Collection database. The bibliometric analysis, incorporating statistical and visual analyses, was conducted using CiteSpace (6.1.R6) and R (4.3.1).
Results: The present study encompassed a total of 5,482 publications, exhibiting a consistent upward trend over the past decade. The United States and its institutions had the highest centrality. Ji, Fuhai, and Ebert, Thomas J. were identified as the most productive author and the most cited author, respectively. As anticipated, the most cited journal was Anesthesiology. Moreover, cluster analysis of cited references and co-occurrence of keywords revealed that recent studies were primarily focused on sedation, delirium, and opioid-free anesthesia. Finally, a timeline view of keywords clusters and keywords burst demonstrated that primary research frontiers were stress response, neuroinflammation, delirium, opioid-free anesthesia, peripheral nerve block, and complications.
Conclusion: Current research trends and directions are focused on sedation, delirium, and opioid-free anesthesia, as evidenced by our results. The frontier of future research is anticipated to encompass basic investigations into dexmedetomidine, including stress response and neuroinflammation, as well as clinical studies focusing on delirium, opioid-free anesthesia, peripheral nerve block, and associated complications.

Keywords: dexmedetomidine, bibliometric analysis, CiteSpace, delirium, opioid-free anesthesia