A scientometric study of available Evidence In Interstitial cystitis/ Bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS)

Abstract

The main objective of this scientometric study is to first characterize the current status of the research field of interstitial cystitis and bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS). This is achieved by mapping, analyzing, and sub-analyzing the field with a scientometric approach, which provides insights into future research. Method: In September 2023, the Scopus database was searched without restrictions on language and date. We used the following search query: Bladder* W/5 pain* W/3 syndrome* AND Interstitial* W/3 (Cystitis* OR Cystides) and used the Scopus filters to exclude short surveys, book chapters, editorials, notes, and guidelines. The author, journal, institution data, keywords, average citation, countries, and sources were transformed using a Biblioshiny tool (A Shiny app for Bibliometrix), accounting for author spelling, institutional naming, and subgrouping variations. Results: Our search strategy yielded 1833 studies. The USA was the most cited country, with other countries showing significant growth in recent years. In terms of affiliations, TZU CHI University was the most relevant in this field (n = 154). The most relevant keywords were “female,” “interstitial cystitis,” “human,” “cystitis interstitial,” “male,” and “cystalgia.” The current topics in IC/BPS research are Genome-wide association and Cannabidiols.