Bibliometric Analysis of Publications on Hepatitis D Virus Published in 1984–2022

Abstract

Background: Hepatitis D virus research has advanced in recent decades. In this study, we aim to quantitatively analyze the scientific data in the field of "hepatitis D virus" by using bibliometric analysis.
 Methods: Research documents published in the Web of Science database between 1984 and 2022 were included in the study. The search keywords were "hepatitis D" or "hepatitis-D" or "HDV" or "hepatitis virus D." The full record and cited references of documents extracted were converted to a "bibtex" file as well. The R-Studio software's Bibliometrix package and Biblioshinny application are used to perform the bibliometric analysis.
 Results: A total of 1530 publications written by 6042 authors were identified. Most of the publications were articles (62.81%). The number of published articles increased gradually, especially after 2008. The articles of the authors were mostly published in the United States, Germany, and China. The affiliation where the most studies were conducted was Hannover Medical School (8.82%). Also, the United States and Germany were found to be the main countries in the collaboration network. Mario Rizzetto was the author of the most published articles on HDV. The most frequently used words in the articles were "infection," "prevalence," and "b-virus."
 Conclusion: Clinical and epidemiological studies on HDV were given more focus, while studies on treatment were less numerous. It can also be predicted that potent treatment options will increase more in the coming years, and the frequency of studies on this will increase.