In-depth bibliometric analysis and current scientific mapping research in the context of rheumatoid arthritis pharmacotherapy

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic multifactorial disorder of autoimmune etiology with a complex pathophysiological mechanism that is not yet fully elucidated. RA pharmacotherapy includes active molecules of chemical or biological nature that offer symptomatic relief and a slowing of progression, but still in a context of incurability. Therefore, the development of continuous research and multidisciplinary collaboration is essential. Although the management of RA is a topic of significant scientific relevance, existing bibliometric analyses are insufficient to assess this vast field. Consequently, the present study examines numerous manuscripts indexed in the Web of Science database using the VOSviewer software to provide through statistical interpretation of the data a comprehensive description of RA pharmacotherapy in terms of scientific impact, current state of research, number and frequency of citations, most prolific journals, authors, and countries, along with their relationships and other useful data for the literature search/publication process. Furthermore, the use of bubble maps of term occurrence has applicability in identifying current research trends in the field of RA pharmacotherapy as well as their evolution over the years. The leader in this field in terms of published papers is the United States, and the most prolific journal is Annals of the rheumatic diseases. The global management of RA, which is characterized by extensiveness and depth due to many variables, suggests the need for a conceptual framework based on pharmacotherapy coupled with comprehensive bibliometric studies, and the results may be useful for researchers in setting specific objectives that contribute to improving RA outcomes.