Global Mucormycosis Research: A Bibliometric Assessment Based on Scopus Database (1998-2021)

Abstract

Background: Mucormycosis is an invasive filamentous fungal infection that usually occurs in immunocompromised individuals. Although the disease is well-researched, the assessment of global research on mucormycosis is scarcely reported. Materials and Methods: We used Elsevier’s Scopus database to retrieve mucormycosis publications from 1998 to 2021. Using various bibliometric tools, the publication data were analyzed with regard to the growth in the number of publications, their citations, top-yielding organizations and authors, collaborations, and productive journals. Results: One hundred twenty countries contributed 5658 publications to research on mucormycosis. The USA leads with a 30.6% share, followed by India (14.1%), France, Germany, and Spain (5.4% to 5.8%). The annual and absolute growth was 3.9% and 82.6%; only 11.2% of publications were funded. The average citations per paper decreased from 28.4 to 11.4 during the two 12-yr periods. The research involved 931 organizations and 1123 authors. The leading organizations were the University of Texas, Anderson Cancer Center, USA, PGIMER-Chandigarh, India, and the University of Paris, France, with 154, 150, and 89 publications. Kontoyiannis, Walsh, and Cornely were the most prolific authors contributing 119, 76, and 58 publications. Mycoses, Clinical Infectious Diseases, and Medical Mycology were the most active journals. Conclusion: The quantity of mucormycosis research increased while the quality decreased during 1998-2021. Fostering collaboration between high- and low-income countries may improve the impact of global mucormycosis research. Key words: Mucormycosis, Invasive fungal infection, Diabetes, Research output, Scientometrics.

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