Zhou Qijing, Fu Jiayi, Chen Manling, Zhang Li, Chen Xinyi, Jin Danyan, Zhang Wenzhuo, Guan Xiaojun, Xu Xiaojun
Department of Radiology, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China.
Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China.
Quant Imaging Med Surg. 2025 Sep 1;15(9):7896-7908. doi: 10.21037/qims-2025-239. Epub 2025 Aug 19.
Computed tomography (CT)-based coronary atherosclerotic plaque studies have been continuously deepening and evolving, yet systematic trend analysis remains to be implemented. In this study, to explore the dynamic development in this field, we conducted a comprehensive and in-depth bibliometric analysis of CT-based atherosclerosis plaque imaging in coronary artery disease (CAD).
Our data sources were from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC), in which the relevant documents were limited to articles written in English, with no time restrictions. Bibliometric analysis using Bibliometrix and VOSviewer was conducted, including keywords, citations, authors, institutions, countries, and also co-citation analyses of references and sources.
A total of 2,195 publications between 1990 and 2024 were included, comprising 1,970 articles and 225 reviews. The number of publications displayed a strong upward trend. Based on the keywords analysis, the research topics could be sorted into 4 categories (disease, atherosclerotic plaque type, imaging technique, and study orientation) and the evolution of the research could be divided into four stages (initial, slow rise, wavelike rise, and blooming). The co-citation analysis showed that the sources were grouped into cardiovascular-related, metabolism-related, and radiology-related journals. Among 72 countries and 2,339 institutions, the USA ranked first with 1,003 articles and 58,759 citations.
Through bibliometric analysis, we found that coronary atherosclerotic plaque studies have been evolving and are now blooming, with obvious trends and certain flow directions, which helps us to identify the current research challenges, as well as future research directions. The CT plaque imaging enabled coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) to change from the "gatekeeper" of invasive angiography to the "whistleblower" of high-risk patients, meaning that its role has shifted from a selector reliant on coronary angiography to an identifier of patients at high risk of adverse cardiovascular events.
基于计算机断层扫描（CT）的冠状动脉粥样硬化斑块研究不断深入和发展，但仍有待进行系统的趋势分析。在本研究中，为探索该领域的动态发展，我们对基于CT的冠状动脉疾病（CAD）动脉粥样硬化斑块成像进行了全面深入的文献计量分析。
我们的数据来源是科学网核心合集（WoSCC），其中相关文献仅限于英文撰写的文章，无时间限制。使用Bibliometrix和VOSviewer进行文献计量分析，包括关键词、引文、作者、机构、国家，以及参考文献和来源的共被引分析。
纳入了1990年至2024年间的2195篇出版物，包括1970篇文章和225篇综述。出版物数量呈强劲上升趋势。基于关键词分析，研究主题可分为4类（疾病、动脉粥样硬化斑块类型、成像技术和研究方向），研究的演变可分为四个阶段（初始、缓慢上升、波浪式上升和蓬勃发展）。共被引分析表明，来源被分为心血管相关、代谢相关和放射学相关期刊。在72个国家和2339个机构中，美国以1003篇文章和58759次引文排名第一。
通过文献计量分析，我们发现冠状动脉粥样硬化斑块研究一直在演变，目前正蓬勃发展，有明显的趋势和一定的流向，这有助于我们识别当前的研究挑战以及未来的研究方向。CT斑块成像使冠状动脉计算机断层扫描血管造影（CCTA）从侵入性血管造影的“把关者”转变为高危患者的“举报人”，这意味着其作用已从依赖冠状动脉造影的筛选器转变为心血管不良事件高危患者的识别器。
