Bibliometric analysis of the acupoint sticking application in clinical practice

Abstract

Objective To explore the application of acupoint sticking in clinical practice by bibliometric analysis. Methods Based on CNKI and Wanfang databases, searching the literature related to the clinical nursing application of acupoint sticking published from 2000 to 2014. Analysing the annual amount of published papers, journal distribution, places and units of the author, the cooperation rate, citation frequency, fund situation, and disease distribution. Results A total of 906 pieces of work were included in our study. The amount of the literature had a significant growth since 2006. The first author was from 30 regions of China. The top 4 productive provinces included Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Hubei, where contributed to 46.8% (424/906) published papers. 69.0% authors worked in TCM hospitals; 55.8% (506/906) were co-author; 11.3% (102/906) were cited more than nine times; 9.1% (82/906) had fund support, and most of them were from Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Guangxi. The acupoint sticking was mostly applied to asthma, postoperative care, and cancer therapy. Conclusions The acupoint sticking is mainly used in asthma, postoperative care, and cancer treatment. Despite an increasing amount of the literature, the published papers tend to have low impact factors, limited fund support, and insufficient cooperation. Key words: Bibliometrics; Acupoint sticking; Traditional Chinese medicine nursing technique