Pancreaticoduodenectomy (Whipple Procedure) research output: A 30-year bibliometric analysis

Background: Pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) is the most common procedure performed for pancreatic and periampullary tumors. The aim of this study is to describe and characterize global PD research activity between 1989 and 2019. Methods: The PubMed database was used to collect publications on PD from 1989 to 2019. Research output was analyzed with respect to the total biomedical articles produced, GDP, population size of each global geographic region, publication venues, authorship, language, institution and funding. Results: 10,700 articles were included. Eastern Asia was the most productive in crude number of publications (3,787), percentage of total biomedical publications (0.1%) and per GDP (0.34). Postoperative outcomes were the most studied theme, and post-operative pancreatic fistula was the primary endpoint in 1,002 articles. There was a significant increase in PD articles from 1989 to 2019. Johns Hopkins School of Medicine produced the highest number of publications with 437, and the National Cancer Institute funded the highest number of projects with 210. Conclusion: PD is a heavily studied surgical procedure worldwide with a significantly increasing annual trend. Recognizing barriers facing PD research such as funding, socioeconomic issues and lack of proper academic infrastructure is needed to improve research output and advance surgical outcomes associated with PD.