Research Implication for Infectious Skin Disease and Phytotherapy in Developing Countries Based on 21st Century Bibliometric Trends

Abstract

Dermatological infectious disease remains one of the least in terms of treatment consideration, especially in developing countries with high prevalence. Based on the World Health Organization initiative towards traditional and complementary medicine (WHA62.13); this study identifies the recent developments in scientific research and gaps in the search for affordable plant-based treatment to combat the threat of infectious skin diseases. Bibliometric methodology was adopted for this study. Relevant research documents were retrieved based on well structured query from the Scopus database. The study covered documents published between the periods 1 January 2001 to 22 November 2022. The preliminary query reviewed all document types and was subsequently limited to original research documents. Excel and VOSviewer were used for bibliometric analysis and visualization. A total of 7,908 articles were retrieved based on the original query input for citation information, with 5,917 being original research articles. The highest number of original research articles was recorded in India (15.28%), followed by the United States (13.81%) and China (9.90%). However, most developing countries in Africa still have lower levels of research output. The combined percentage of original articles published in the top three (3) Journal outlets is 8.26%. The latest 2000 articles identified an extensive 6,108 keywords, most centered on wound healing. The exponential rate of research publications reported in this study shows potential for growth and the need for specialization in this field of phytomedicine in treating skin infections. The results also provide useful information for funding bodies and international health agencies on promoting the international exchange of phytotherapeutic research knowledge, especially in poor developing communities in Africa. If implemented, this will help proffer solutions to the menace of skin infectious diseases reported in the primary health care system of these developing countries.