Chinese Journal of Tissue Engineering Research ›› 2026, Vol. 30 ›› Issue (34): 9103-9112.doi: 10.12307/2026.858

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Global analysis and hotspot exploration of acne scarring: a bibliometric visualization approach

Liu Yi, Fu Yuping, Cheng Qiannan   

  1. Department of Medical Cosmetology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinzhou Medical University, Jinzhou 121000, Liaoning Province, China
  • Received:2025-11-26 Revised:2026-01-14 Online:2026-12-08 Published:2026-04-15
  • Contact: Cheng Qiannan, MS, Physician, Department of Medical Cosmetology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinzhou Medical University, Jinzhou 121000, Liaoning Province, China
  • About author:Liu Yi, Physician, Department of Medical Cosmetology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinzhou Medical University, Jinzhou 121000, Liaoning Province, China
  • Supported by:
    The Basic Research Project of the Department of Education of Liaoning Province, No. JYTMS20230678 (to FYP)

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Abstract: BACKGROUND: As societal attention to acne scarring has increased, the number of emerging studies in this field has risen markedly. However, traditional reviews and meta-analyses are limited in their ability to accurately predict future development trends. Therefore, bibliometric methods are needed to clarify the research landscape and trajectory within this domain.
OBJECTIVE: To analyze the research status and future trends of acne scars from 2000 to 2025 using bibliometric methods.
METHODS: The relevant papers and reviews on the research of acne scars from 2000 to 2025 were retrieved using the Web of Science Core Collection. And Excel, CiteSpace, VOSviewer and BibliomeTools (R-Tool of R-Studio) were used to analyze the citation frequency, countries/institutions, authors/co-cited authors, journals/co-cited journals, keywords and co-cited references.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: From January 1, 2000 to February 28, 2025, both the annual publication volume and the number of citations in the field of acne scars showed an upward trend. Among them, the annual publication volume reached a peak of 114 articles in 2022; the number of citations reached the highest value of 3 933 times in 2024. The analysis of countries/regions shows that the United States is in a leading position globally in this field, with the highest publication volume and the number of citations. Among the authors, the French author Dreno, Brigitte and the American author Alster, Ts rank first in terms of publication volume and co-citation times respectively, and they are authoritative authors in this field. The institution with the largest number of publications is the Tehran University of Medical Sciences in Iran, and more than half of the institutions with a high number of citations are from the United States, represented by Harvard University. Dermatologic Surgery has published the largest number of articles in this field and is also the journal with the highest number of co-citations. The most common keyword is “acne scar,” which appeared 275 times. Keywords such as “microneedling,” “atrophic scar,” and “subcision” have received more attention in the past few years. The most concerned article is Acne vulgaris written by Williams, HC et al., which has been cited 814 times as of February 28, 2025. The study employed bibliometric methods to reveal that acne scar treatment, particularly laser therapy, has been a current research hotspot and represents a future trend in this field. 


Key words: acne scars, bibliometric, VOSviewer, CiteSpace, microneedling

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