Emerging trends and research foci in allergic rhinitis immunotherapy from 2002 to 2021: a bibliometric and visualized study

Background and objective: Research on allergic rhinitis (AR) immunotherapy has increased in recent decades. This study conducted a bibliometric and visualization analysis of studies related to AR immunotherapy to identify research trends and highlight current research foci. Methods: Relevant original publications were obtained from the Science Citation Index-Expanded and Social Sciences Citation Index in the Web of Science Core Collection databases between 2002 and 2021. CiteSpace and VOSviewer software were used to identify and analyze the research foci and emerging trends in the field of AR immunotherapy. Results: Over the last two decades, the number of publications related to AR immunotherapy has increased markedly. With regard to publications and access to collaborative networks, the leading country was the USA. Inspection of keyword bursts suggested that "subcutaneous immunotherapy", "quality of life", "prevalence", "rhino-conjunctivitis", and "mechanism" are emerging research hotspots. The timeline of the co-cited references cluster diagram revealed that the mechanism of allergen immunotherapy has emerged as a main topic in AR immunotherapy. Conclusion: Over the past 20 years, scholars have significantly improved their understanding of AR immunotherapy. The current research hotspots of AR immunotherapy in the health promotion domain lie in "subcutaneous immunotherapy", "quality of life", and "rhino-conjunctivitis". In addition, the mechanism of allergen immunotherapy has emerged as a frontier and focus of this field.