Bibliometric analysis of the global literature productivity of adult-onset Still’s disease (2011–2020)

Adult-onset Still’s disease is a nonfamilial, or sporadic, systemic autoinflammatory disorder accompanied by peak fever ≥ 39 °C, arthralgia or arthritis, skin rashes, leukocytosis (≥ 10,000 cells/mm 3 ) with neutrophils ≥ 80%, and other clinical symptoms. This study aimed to analyze the quantity and quality of publications, and to exhibit the current global status and trend of adult-onset Still’s disease research. Searched with the search term ‘Adult onset Still disease’ on the Web of Science for time limited to 2011–2020. Original articles and reviews were selected. A total of 537 articles were retrieved from 44 countries, of which 13 met the criteria of major active countries. High-income countries contributed 378 articles (70.39%). The number of articles annually increased significantly in the 10-year period ( P < 0.001). China ( n = 90, 16.76%), Japan ( n = 79, 14.71%), Italy ( n = 59, 10.99%), the United States ( n = 52, 9.68%) and South Korea ( n = 45, 8.38%) are the five most productive countries. Adjusted by population, Italy led the top list, followed by South Korea and Israel. According to gross domestic product analysis, Italy ranked first, followed by Portugal and Turkey. A significant correlation was detected between average citations and AAS ( P = 0.002), MRC ( P < 0.001). From 2011 to 2020, the number of global articles was increasing rapidly. Most papers came from high-income countries. The relationship between the bibliometric and altmetric analyses are basically consistent, therefore the two can prove/complement each other.