ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Platelet-rich plasma has been shown to promote tissue repair and regeneration. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the current status and hotspot of platelet-rich plasma globally by bibliometrics. METHODS: In the database of web of science, “platelet rich plasma” was used as keyword to research relevant researches published before December 25, 2018. The retrieved articles were indexed and analyzed according to country/region, institution, publication year, and publication name. Excel 2007 was used for descriptive statistics. VOS viewer (Leiden University, Netherlands) software was used to analyze and draw all the retrieved items. The main evaluation indicators were co-occurrence relationship, mutual citation relationship, co-citation relationship, and cooperation relationship map. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: (1) Totally 8 499 studies on platelet-rich plasma were retrieved, and the number and citations increased gradually. (2) Number of studies on platelet-rich plasma ranked top 3 countries are the United States, Italy, and Japan. (3) The subject direction and research fields of platelet-rich plasma mainly involve five aspects: basic research on growth factor function, research on bone regeneration, clinical research in cartilage or osteoarthritis, platelet function research, and stem cells. (4) The analysis results based on big data suggest that platelet-rich plasma is mainly applied in orthopedics, especially cartilage regeneration and osteoarthritis, which will be the focus of future research and technology investment.