Trends and hotspots in gut microbiota and neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis: a bibliometric analysis.

BACKGROUND

Neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is one of the most life-threatening gastrointestinal emergencies in preterm infants. Accumulating evidence has identified gut microbiota dysbiosis as a key driver of NEC pathogenesis. Probiotics/prebiotics and bioactive components in breast milk can reduce NEC risk by modulating microbiota balance. With microbial intervention strategies becoming a research hotspot, publications in this field have surged over the past 5 years. However, no studies have yet systematically mapped its knowledge evolution and collaboration networks.

OBJECTIVE

This study pioneers the use of bibliometric methods to systematically analyze global research trends, core contributors (countries, institutions, authors), and emerging frontiers in gut microbiota and NEC research from 2005 to 2024, aiming to provide strategic guidance for future translational studies.

METHODS

A total of 1,011 English-language articles were screened from the Web of Science Core Collection. Software tools, including VOSviewer, CiteSpace, and Pajek, were employed to analyze publication trends, country/region and institution collaboration networks, journal co-citations, keyword clustering, and keyword bursts.

RESULTS

Annual publications increased from 5 in 2005 to a peak of 120 in 2023, with cumulative citations reaching 52,330 and an h-index of 115. The United States led in output (424 publications, 41.9%) and total citations (30,446). China ranked second in publications (158 articles) but exhibited lower average citations per article (22.65). The University of California System (65 publications) and the State University System of Florida (51 publications) were the most productive institutions. Mark A. Underwood (31 publications) focused on multi-omics mechanisms, while Josef Neu achieved the highest average citations per article (107.88) for his work on microbe-host interactions. "Nutrients" published the most articles (49), while "Microbiome" (impact factor 12.7) demonstrated the highest influence. Research hotspots evolved from early-stage microbiota composition analysis to mid-phase mechanism exploration and probiotic intervention evidence synthesis, shifting recently toward clinical translation, intestinal barrier repair, and stem cell therapy.

CONCLUSION

Research on gut microbiota and NEC shows sustained growth, with trends shifting from microbiota structure description to multi-omics mechanistic exploration and accelerating clinical translation.