Global research status and emerging frontiers of Shoutai Wan in the prevention and treatment of spontaneous abortion: a bibliometric analysis (1982-2026).

Authors

Meng Tan, Si Chen, Ting Wang, Han-Qing Zhao, Mei-Li Chen, Song-Ping Luo, Hai-Wang Wu

Published in

Frontiers in medicine. Volume 13. Pages 1850663. Epub Oct 13, 2026.

Abstract

This study representing the most comprehensive bibliometric analysis to date on Shoutai Wan (STW) in the field of spontaneous abortion aimed to systematically analyze the research hotspots and frontiers of STW in spontaneous abortion (SA) prevention and treatment using bibliometric methods and provide references for future basic mechanism research and clinical applications.
Relevant literature published from inception to January 2026 was retrieved from the Web of Science, PubMed, CNKI, VIP, and Wanfang databases. CiteSpace 6.4R1, VOSviewer 1.6.20, and Origin 2025 were used to analyze journal literature on STW in the prevention and treatment over the past 40 years, followed by a qualitative analysis and evaluation.
This study involved a comprehensive analysis of 255 articles. STW publications stagnated at a low level from 1982 to 2007, exhibiting overall fluctuating growth after 2008, with a notable surge in mechanistic investigations over the past 5 years. Luo SP, Gao J, Lei L, and Du HL were key figures. Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, and Hebei University of Chinese Medicine served as the three primary hubs for "STW-mechanism research." China was the leading country. Threatened and recurrent abortion, the most common subtypes of SA, exhibited the most significant association with STW. Keywords with high frequency and high betweenness centrality included kidney deficiency syndrome, progesterone, clinical efficacy, inflammatory factors, IL-17, HSP27 and aerobic glycolysis. Keyword clustering analysis identified three main research foci: Clinical efficacy assessment, investigation of critical mechanisms such as immune modulation, oxidative stress, and apoptosis, and the impact of STW on the maternal-fetal interface.
STW research is transitioning from "clinical empirical application" to balancing evidence-based practice and mechanism clarification. However, challenges persist, including insufficient clinical evidence, fragmented mechanism studies, and a disparity between traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) macro theory and micro mechanism. Future research should prioritize high-quality multicenter clinical trials, developing a TCM-mechanism-target model, and using multi-omics for maternal-fetal biology mapping.

PMID:
42947823
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 28 Oct 2026.

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