Focuses and Trends of Research on Platelet-Rich Fibrin: A Bibliometric and Visual Analysis.

A rapid expansion of study on platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) has gained more attention in the subject. In this study, bibliometrics were used to assess the outputs and trends of relevant PRF studies. An in-depth analysis of the publication patterns and progress in PRF research worldwide was conducted for the purpose of filling in this research gap.  The analysis included 946 papers sourced from Web of Science that included 842 original articles and 104 reviews. A number of factors including country/region, institution, journal, and author were taken into account. Research on PRF development trends was mapped using the frequency of keywords.  In terms of the total number of publications, China ranked first with 199 papers, whereas the United States ranked first on the H-index with 37. PRF is an active research area in stomatology and craniomaxillofacial surgery. Keywords provided by the authors were designated to three clusters: red, green, and blue. "Growth factor," "platelet-rich plasma," and "bone regeneration" were the most frequent keywords in each cluster, which reflect the current interests in corresponding fields. Bone regeneration post-dental extractions is one of the main application directions in the field of oral and maxillofacial surgery. "Membrane," "injectable PRF (I-PRF)," "case report," and "advanced PRF (A-PRF)" were relative recent keywords in all clusters, indicating that manufacturing processes and new applications are promising research hotspots in the field.  In the future, the applications of modified PRF, such as I-PRF, are promising research hotspots. Moreover, strict randomized controlled trials on PRF deserve more attention. The results of this analysis may be helpful for all scholars seeking to expand researches and innovations in the field of PRF.