Status quo and evolution trend of research on ventilator-associated pneumonia in patients with mechanically ventilation

YANG Qiuyan; LI Guifang; WANG Yongqin; WANG Jincong; LI Jiaying; YIN Meng

doi:10.12104/j.issn.1674-4748.2026.03.006

Abstract：Objective:To analyze the status quo and evolution trend of research on ventilator-associated pneumonia(VAP)in patients with mechanically ventilation(MV)using bibliometric methods.Methods:VAP literature was retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection and Scopus database from its inception to March 2025.VOSviewer 1.6.19 and CiteSpace 6.3.R1 were used for national collaboration network,keyword co-occurrence/emergency detection,and time zone view analysis.Results:A total of 7,747 articles were included,with the United States having the most(2,119 articles),France having the highest centrality(0.17),and China ranking fourth in terms of number of articles(521 articles),but with a lower density of international collaborations(centrality 0.02).Keyword co-occurrence analysis showed that the research hotspots were"respiratory system"(centrality 0.35)and"infection control"(centrality 0.19).Keyword emergence detection revealed that the research frontier focused on"clinical outcomes,""acute respiratory distress syndrome(ARDS),""extracorporeal membrane oxygenation(ECMO),""mortality,"and"sequential organ failure score(SOFA)."The time zone view showed that VAP research has evolved through three stages:basic prevention and control(1986-2010),mechanism exploration(2009-2017),and precision intervention(2019-2025).Conclusion:VAP research in MV patients shows a paradigm shift from single-mode prevention to multidisciplinary integration.Future research should strengthen international collaboration to develop predictive models using multi-omics data,conduct cost-effectiveness assessments under different levels of medical resources,and construct a three-dimensional prevention and control system integrating the environment,host,and pathogen.