Middle Meningeal Artery Embolization for Chronic Subdural Hematoma: A Bibliometric Analysis

BACKGROUND: Middle meningeal artery embolization (MMAE) is an endovascular technique that has been rapidly adopted in the management of chronic subdural hematoma (cSDH), with numerous positive results across the literature. This study aimed to summarize the body of original research published on MMAE for the treatment of cSDH through bibliometric methods. METHODS: The Web of Science, Science Citation Index Expanded database was queried on October 1, 2024 for articles related to MMAE for cSDH. The title, abstract, authors, publication year, journal, keywords, institution of first author, author keywords, and citations of studies were extracted for bibliometric analysis. Bibliometric visualizations were performed using VOSviewer version 1.6.20 and other visualizations were made in Graphpad Prism version 9.4.0. Overlay visualizations depicting average year of article output were selectively constructed to further elucidate trends in authorship. RESULTS: The study retrieved 198 publications on MMAE to be included in analysis. There was an exponential increase in both the number of published studies and the number of citations over the timeframe. The author, country, institution, and journal that contributed the most to the field were Christopher S. Ogilvy, the United States, Harvard Medical School, and WORLD NEUROSURGERY, respectively. The most recent groupings on keyword analysis as of 2023 include "subdural," "liquid embolic material," "embolic," and "hemorrhage". CONCLUSIONS: As the popularity of MMAE and power of studies related to the technique continues to rise, we hope that this analysis can continue to guide clinicians and researchers on growing areas of interest and academic hotspots of collaboration.