[Global progress and trend in research of target trial emulation: a bibliometric and visualization analysis].

Objective: To explore the progress and trend in research of target trial emulation (TTE) and provide reference for research in this field. Methods: A literature retrival of research papers in this field published as of November 30, 2024 was conducted based on three databases (i.e. PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus). The papers which were highly cited were analyzed by Bibliometrix package in R 4.3.2. The co-occurrence network of keywords were analyzed by using software VOSviewer. The keyword burst test was carried out with software CiteSpace. Results: A total of 685 papers from 314 journals were included. The annual number of the papers published showed a significant growth in recent three years. JAMA Network Open had the highest publication mumber related to TTE (34 papers), Annals of Internal Medicine had the highest H-index and American Journal of Epidemiology had the highest total citations. In the 2 997 authors, Hernán MA made a greatest contribution. In the 2 046 institutions, Harvard Medical School was at leading position. The analysis on highly cited papers and keyword co-occurrence showed that TTE was mainly used in the studies of COVID-19 vaccine, cancer and the treatment efficacy and safety of chronic diseases. The analysis on the co-occurence of keyword burst test showed that keywords frequently used until 2024 were COVID-19 vaccine, cardiovascular disease and breast cancer. Conclusions: TTE is mainly used in the studies of public health emergency (such as COVID-19), patients with cancer and chronic diseases. TTE will play a crucial role when randomized controlled trial is difficult to conduct or current evidence requirement can not be met.