Objective

2

To explore the research history

hotspots and development trends of acupuncture and moxibustion in the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease（GERD）based on knowledge graph technology

and to provide references for clinical and basic research in this field.

Methods

2

The literature of acupuncture and moxibustion for gastroesophageal reflux disease was searched from the CNKI

Wanfang

VIP and SinoMed

from the establishment of the databases to December 31th

2023. CiteSpace 6.2.R6 Advance was used to draw the knowledge graph of authors

institutions

keywords and other elements

and then perform the visual analysis.

Results

2

A total of 341 articles were included

with the number of publications showing an upward trend and the research types continually diversifying. A total of 832 authors and 308 institutions were analyzed

with

XIE Sheng

from the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi University of CM and

BAI Xinghua

from the Beijing University of CM as representative figures

forming core research teams. However

there was a lack of close collaboration between institutions

and no significant cross-regional research networks had been formed. A total of 192 keywords were included

forming 8 cluster labels

which mainly included 4 categories：treatment methods

disease types

TCM syndrome types

and literature types. The burst analysis showed that the methods of acupuncture and moxibustion in the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease had gradually become more integrated

the treatment methods had transitioned from simple acupuncture therapy to combined therapies with proton pump inhibitors or TCM decoctions

the disease types had become more refined

the focus of mechanism research had shifted from lower esophageal sphincter pressure and esophageal motility to changes in gastrointestinal hormone levels

and the research hotspots had gradually shifted from improving clinical symptoms to considering both mental and psychological states. Twenty-three high-frequency acupoints were obtained

forming 8 clusters of "acupuncture techniques-acupoints" for the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease with acupuncture and moxibustion

indicating a gradual enrichment of acupuncture and acupoint treatment protocols.

Conclusion

2

The research on acupuncture and moxibustion in the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease has gradually deepened

in the future

the cooperation among research teams should be strengthened

the quality of clinical research should be improved

more multi-dimensional mechanism research and horizontal comparative research of different acupuncture and moxibustion methods should be made

to provide a basis for clinical promotion and deeper exploration.