Identification of research trends concerning application of stent implantation in the treatment of pancreatic diseases by quantitative and biclustering analysis: a bibliometric analysis.

Chang Liu,Xing Niu,Xuan Zhu,Lijie Chen,Tao Li,Guang Tan

doi:10.7717/peerj.7674

Abstract

ObjectivesIn recent years, with the development of biological materials, the types and clinical applications of stents have been increasing in pancreatic diseases. However, relevant problems are also constantly emerging. Our purpose was to summarize current hotspots and explore potential topics in the fields of the application of stent implantation in the treatment of pancreatic diseases for future scientific research.MethodsPublications on the application of stents in pancreatic diseases were retrieved from PubMed without language limits. High-frequency Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms were identified through Bibliographic Item Co-Occurrence Matrix Builder (BICOMB). Biclustering analysis results were visualized utilizing the gCLUTO software. Finally, we plotted a strategic diagram.ResultsA total of 4,087 relevant publications were obtained from PubMed until May 15th, 2018. Eighty-three high-frequency MeSH terms were identified. Biclustering analysis revealed that these high-frequency MeSH terms were classified into eight clusters. After calculating the density and concentricity of each cluster, strategy diagram was presented. The cluster 5 “complications such as pancreatitis associated with stent implantation” was located at the fourth quadrant with high centricity and low density.ConclusionsIn our study, we found eight topics concerning the application of stent implantation in the treatment of pancreatic diseases. How to reduce the incidence of postoperative complications and improve the prognosis of patients with pancreatic diseases by stent implantation could become potential hotspots in the future research.

Highlights

In recent years, stents play an increasingly essential part in pancreatic diseases such as plastic stents, self-expanding metal stents, biodegradable stents, radioactive particle stents and so on
It has been reported that percutaneous insertion of short metal stents supplies for a secure treatment, which is beneficial for patients in resectable pancreatic head cancer with jaundice (Briggs et al, 2010)
Based on GoPubMed, we obtained the literature information according to the search strategy: stents [Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)] and pancreas [MeSH] or ‘‘pancreatic diseases’’ [MeSH]

Summary

Introduction

Stents play an increasingly essential part in pancreatic diseases such as plastic stents, self-expanding metal stents, biodegradable stents, radioactive particle stents and so on. The covered metal stents reduce the incidence of complications of biliary obstruction caused by pancreatic cancer. It has been reported that percutaneous insertion of short metal stents supplies for a secure treatment, which is beneficial for patients in resectable pancreatic head cancer with jaundice (Briggs et al, 2010). With in-depth research, an irradiation pancreatic stent may provide longer patency and better patient survival (Zhu et al, 2018). Endoscopic application significantly improves the therapeutic effect of pancreatic stent (Baron, 2014). Multiple plastic stents or covered self-expandable metallic stent could relief bile duct stricture caused by chronic pancreatitis (Haapamäki et al, 2015)

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