Development trends of intra-articular injection in arthroscopic treatment: A bibliometric visualization study from 2000 to 2024

Background： Bibliometric analysis and visualization tools were used to determine the development trend of intra-articular injection in arthroscopic treatment in the past 20 years, so as to guide researchers to explore new directions and hotspots in the field in the future. Method： In the Web of Science Core Collection, all articles about the application of intra-articular injection in arthroscopic treatment from 2000 to 2024 were searched. The qualitative and quantitative analysis was performed based on Web of Science, Vosviewer and Citespace software. Result： After excluding non-article articles such as review and letter and non-English language articles, 1007 articles were finally included. Over the past 2 decades, the number of publications on the application of intra-articular injection in arthroscopic treatment increased. Among them, the United States, China, the United Kingdom and Italy have made significant contributions in this field. The most productive institution was Rush University. The Journal of Arthroscopic and Related Surgery published the largest number of publications. The journal with the highest citation frequency also was The Journal of Arthroscopic and Related Surgery. The authors with the highest output and the highest citation frequency on average were Cole, Brian J and Choi, Yun-Jin, respectively. “arthroscopy”, “osteoarthritis” and “cartilage” were the top three keywords that appeared. From the keyword analysis, the current research trend indicates that the primary research hotspots of intra-articular injection in arthroscopic treatment are the arthroscopy, osteoarthritis and cartilage. The frontiers of this field are the Pain Management, osteoarthritis and Cartilage repair and regeneration. Conclusion： Over the past 23 years, the application of intra-articular injection in arthroscopic treatment has received increasing attention. Our bibliometric analysis results provide valuable information and research trends for researchers in the field to understand the basic knowledge of the field, identify current research hotspots, potential collaborators, and future research frontiers.