Emerging Trends and Research on Hydroxychloroquine Treatment in Diseases From 1991 to 2020

Abstract

Background Recently, hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) has become a controversial point for whether it functioned in the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The aim of this paper is mainly to explore the international frontiers and trends of HCQ clinical treatment in recent 30 years by bibliometric analysis. Besides, the research prospects and hotspots of HCQ therapy in COVID-19 have further been investigated quantitatively and qualitatively. Methods Publications related to HCQ treatment research from 1991 to 2020 and HCQ studies on COVID-19 from the end of 2019 till now were both obtained from Web of Science Core Collection (WOSCC). Bibliometric analyses were primarily performed via Citespace 5.7.R1 to identify the trends of cooperation between countries and institutions, the research hotspots and frontiers. Results A total of 2642 articles and reviews on HCQ treatment in diseases were included, indicating an increase in number of publications since 2013. The United States was the largest scientific output country, followed by France and China. Trending keywords analysis indicated the hotspot research of HCQ treatment referred to “rheumatoid arthriti,” “chloroquine”, “systemic lupus erythematosus” and “COVID-19”. Moreover, 568 publications on the study of HCQ in COVID-19 therapy were also gathered from WOSCC, which showed the USA ranked first again in the world for its most publications. Further, Aix Marseille University, Univ Tehran Med Sci, Univ Paris, Harvard Med Sch and Huazhong Univ Sci & Technol were the five leading institutions in research of HCQ treatment in COVID-19.Conclusion Visualization knowledge map analysis regarding HCQ clinical treatment over the past 30 years suggested scientists are mainly focused on the autoimmune diseases therapy by HCQ. HCQ research have significantly increased since the end of 2019. Obviously, studies on HCQ in COVID-19 may lead the future direction of this field in recent years. The present study provides valuable information on HCQ research through bibliometric analysis so that researchers may identify new perspective and fields.