The application of metagenomic next-generation sequencing in pathogen diagnosis: a bibliometric analysis based on Web of Science

Abstract

BackgroundInfectious disease is a large burden on public health globally. Metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) has become popular as a new tool for pathogen diagnosis with numerous advantages compared to conventional methods. Recently, research on mNGS increases yearly. However, no bibliometric analysis has systematically presented the full spectrum of this research field. Therefore, we reviewed all the publications associated with this topic and performed this study to analyze the comprehensive status and future hotspots of mNGS for infectious disease diagnosis.MethodsThe literature was searched in the Web of Science Core Collection and screened without year or language restrictions, and the characteristics of the studies were also identified. The outcomes included publication years, study types, journals, countries, authorship, institutions, frontiers, and hotspots with trends. Statistical analysis and visualization were conducted using VOSviewer (version 1.6.16) and CiteSpace (version 6.1. R3).ResultsIn total, 325 studies were included in the analysis after screening. Studies were published between 2009 and 2022 with a significantly increasing number from 1 to 118. Most of the studies were original articles and case reports. Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology and Clinical Infectious Disease were the most commonly cited and co-cited journals. Institutions and researchers from China contributed the most to this field, followed by those from the USA. The hotspots and frontiers of these studies are pneumonia, tuberculosis, and central nervous system infections.ConclusionThis study determined that mNGS is a hot topic in the diagnosis of infectious diseases with development trends and provides insights into researchers, institutions, hotspots and frontiers in mNGS, which can offer references to related researchers and future research.

The top 100 most cited articles in the treatment of basal cell carcinoma over the last decade: A bibliometric analysis and review

“…Citation analysis is a pivotal element of bibliometric studies, serving as an indicator of an article’s impact. [ 14 ] WOS is esteemed as a comprehensive research platform across various fields and is globally acknowledged as a reliable citation database by prestigious publishers. [ 15 ] Table S1, Supplemental Digital Content, http://links.lww.com/MD/M94 shows the 3 most frequently cited articles revolve around “Photodynamic Therapy,” “Immunotherapy with Anti-PD1 Antibodies,” and “Hedgehog Pathway Therapeutic Potential.” Remarkably, the 2020 article “Clinical Development and Potential of Photothermal and Photodynamic Therapies for Cancer” from Nature Reviews Clinical Oncology not only secured the highest total citation count but also the highest average annual citation rate.…”

Application of metagenomic next-generation sequencing for rapid molecular identification in spinal infection diagnosis

“…Recent studies have shown that metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) technology exhibits key characteristics, including wide pathogen coverage, fast detection, high positive rate, unbiased detection, and effective detection of dead pathogens ( Gu et al., 2019 ; Wensel et al., 2022 ; He et al., 2023 ; Kullar et al., 2023 ). It plays a critical role in the diagnosis of infectious diseases.…”

Application of the metagenomic next-generation sequencing in diagnosis and therapy of chronic kidney disease patients with infections

“…Metagenomic next generation sequencing (mNGS) is an emerging method with the potential for screening pathogens, offering the ability to significantly improve diagnostic accuracy when conventional culture methods yield negative results. 2 mNGS involves the rapid sequencing of nucleic acid sequences in samples using a second-generation sequencing platform, which are then compared with genomic sequences of individual species to identify and quantify microorganisms present. The process of detecting pathogenic microorganisms using mNGS typically involves six steps: sample collection from the patient’s infection sites, extraction of nucleic acids, construction of a standard sequencing library, high-throughput sequencing, bioanalysis to identify pathogenic bacteria, and interpretation of the results.…”