Worldwide research trends on chloroquine: a bibliometric analysis from 2012 to 2021

Background: Chloroquine (CQ) is an antimalarial drug that was first synthesized by Hans Andersag, a German scientist, in 1934. Chloroquine has been widely researched and used over the years. The rapid development in the fields of modern science and technology has also contributed to the increase in interest in chloroquine. Hence, it is necessary to comprehensively summarize the research trends to understand the breakthroughs made in the field. Methods: The required data was compiled by analyzing the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) database. The search period for studying global research trends in chloroquine research was set from 2012 to 2021 to ensure a comprehensive analysis over an extended timeframe. Data retrieval was performed on April 4, 2022, focusing on articles and reviews published in English. The retrieval words were: (TS = (chloroquine)) OR (TS = (aralen)). A total of 1,091 reviews and 7,259 articles were retrieved and analyzed .The data obtained from WoSCC was captured and analyzed using VOS viewer (version 1.6.16) and Citesspace (version 5.8.R5). Results: The number of literature reports on chloroquine published in the past 10 years has shown an annual increase. Among the countries, the United States has contributed the highest number of papers and ranks first in terms of both H-index and citation count. The League of European Research Universities is one of the largest research-focused university networks, and Malaria Journal stands out as a prominent journal publishing articles relevant to the field of study. A paper authored by Gautret and Philippe in 2020 achieved the highest citation score globally. The biosynthesis of chloroquine, mechanisms of drug resistance, and drug combinations are receiving growing attention. Conclusion: The research area of chloroquine has been significantly influenced by the American and China. The progress of chloroquine research is further propelled by fruitful collaborations among various countries. Researchers have extensively studied the anti-malarial effect, drug resistance mechanism, and autophagy of chloroquine for the development of a treatment method for COVID-19 based on chloroquine. Bibliometric analysis can be employed to identify hotspots, new directions, and frontiers in the field of chloroquine research.