Mapping Twenty Years of Antimicrobial Resistance Research Trends
Authors: Luz C.F. , Niekerk J.M. van , Keizer J. , Jong N. Beerlage-de , Braakman-Jansen L.M.A. , Stein A. , Sinha B. , van Gemert-Pijnen J.E.W.C. , Glasner C. 
Published: March 2021

Background

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global threat to health and healthcare. In response to the growing AMR burden, research funding also increased. However, a comprehensive overview of the research output, including conceptual, temporal, and geographical trends, is missing. Therefore, this study uses topic modelling, a machine learning approach, to reveal the scientific evolution of AMR research and its trends, and provides an interactive user interface for further analyses.

Methods

Structural topic modelling (STM) was applied on a text corpus resulting from a PubMed query comprising AMR articles (1999-2018). A topic network was established and topic trends were analysed by frequency, proportion, and importance over time and space.

Findings

In total, 88 topics were identified in 158616 articles from 166 countries. AMR publications increased by 450% between 1999 and 2018, emphasizing the vibrancy of the field. Prominent topics in 2018 wereStrategies for emerging resistances and diseases, Nanoparticles, andStewardship. Emerging topics includedWater and environment, andSequencing. Geographical trends showed prominence ofMultidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB)in the WHO African Region, corresponding with the MDR-TB burden. China and India were growing contributors in recent years, following the United States of America as overall lead contributor.

Interpretation

This study provides a comprehensive overview of the AMR research output thereby revealing the AMR research response to the increased AMR burden. Both the results and the publicly available interactive database serve as a base to inform and optimise future research.

Funding

INTERREG-VA EurHealth-1Health (202085); European Commission Horizon 2020 Framework

Research in context

Evidence before this study

Prior to this study, PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and IEEE Xplore were queried to find studies providing a conceptual overview of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) research over time and space. The search string included keywords (“antimicrobial” OR antibiotic*) AND (resistan*) AND (“science mapping” OR bibliometric OR scientometric) in the title and abstract and focused on articles published before 2019 without language restrictions. Few studies were found relying on scientometric and bibliometric methods to assess either subfields of AMR research (e.g., AMR among uropathogens) or AMR-related fields (e.g., microbiology). No studies were found that focus on the entire AMR field. Therefore, this science mapping study using topic modelling was performed to provide an overview of the AMR field by identifying and assessing topics, trends, and geographical differences over time.

Added value of this study

To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to use a science mapping approach to provide a comprehensive overview of the entire AMR research field, covering over 150 thousand articles published between 1999 and 2018. Our findings revealed important (e.g.,Strategies for emerging resistances and diseases, Nanoparticles, andStewardship) and emerging (e.g.,Water and environment, andSequencing) topics in AMR research. Lastly, this study resulted in an interactive user interface where all data are presented for further analyses.

Implications of all the available evidence

Our comprehensive overview of the AMR field, including its conceptual structure, and temporal and geographical trends revealed the response of the research community to the AMR burden. The results and the openly available supporting data provide the base to guide future funding and research directions to tackle AMR.