Abstract：
OBJECTIVE: This study provides a comprehensive analysis of research trends on the etiology, mechanisms, potential risk factors, diagnosis, prognosis, surgical and non-surgical treatment of varicocele, and clinical outcomes before and after varicocele repair.
METHODS: Varicocele studies published between 1988 and 2020 were retrieved from the Scopus database on April 5, 2021. Original studies on human varicocele were included, irrespective of language. Retrieved articles were manually screened for inclusion in various sub-categories. Bibliometric data was subjected to scientometric analysis using descriptive statistics. Network, heat and geographic mapping were generated using relevant software.
RESULTS: In total, 1,943 original human studies on varicocele were published. These were predominantly from the northern hemisphere and developed countries, and published in journals from the United States and Germany. Network map analysis for countries showed several interconnected nodal points, with the USA being the largest, and Agarwal A. from Cleveland Clinic, USA, being a center point of worldwide varicocele research collaborations. Studies of adolescents were underrepresented compared with studies of adults. Studies on diagnostic and prognostic aspects of varicocele were more numerous than studies on varicocele prevalence, mechanistic studies and studies focusing on etiological and risk factors. Varicocele surgery was more investigated than non-surgical approaches. To evaluate the impact of varicocele and its treatment, researchers mainly analyzed basic semen parameters, although markers of seminal oxidative stress are being increasingly investigated in the last decade, while reproductive outcomes such as live birth rate were under-reported in the literature.
CONCLUSIONS: This study analyzes the publication trends in original research on human varicocele spanning over the last three decades. Our analysis emphasizes areas for further exploration to better understand varicocele\'s impact on men\'s health and male fertility.
METHODS: Varicocele studies published between 1988 and 2020 were retrieved from the Scopus database on April 5, 2021. Original studies on human varicocele were included, irrespective of language. Retrieved articles were manually screened for inclusion in various sub-categories. Bibliometric data was subjected to scientometric analysis using descriptive statistics. Network, heat and geographic mapping were generated using relevant software.
RESULTS: In total, 1,943 original human studies on varicocele were published. These were predominantly from the northern hemisphere and developed countries, and published in journals from the United States and Germany. Network map analysis for countries showed several interconnected nodal points, with the USA being the largest, and Agarwal A. from Cleveland Clinic, USA, being a center point of worldwide varicocele research collaborations. Studies of adolescents were underrepresented compared with studies of adults. Studies on diagnostic and prognostic aspects of varicocele were more numerous than studies on varicocele prevalence, mechanistic studies and studies focusing on etiological and risk factors. Varicocele surgery was more investigated than non-surgical approaches. To evaluate the impact of varicocele and its treatment, researchers mainly analyzed basic semen parameters, although markers of seminal oxidative stress are being increasingly investigated in the last decade, while reproductive outcomes such as live birth rate were under-reported in the literature.
CONCLUSIONS: This study analyzes the publication trends in original research on human varicocele spanning over the last three decades. Our analysis emphasizes areas for further exploration to better understand varicocele\'s impact on men\'s health and male fertility.
摘要：
目的：本研究对病因学研究趋势进行了全面分析，机制,潜在风险因素，诊断,预后,精索静脉曲张的手术和非手术治疗，精索静脉曲张修复前后的临床结果。
方法：1988年至2020年发表的精索静脉曲张研究从2021年4月5日的Scopus数据库中检索。包括对人类精索静脉曲张的原始研究，不管语言。手动筛选检索的文章，以包含在各个子类别中。使用描述性统计对文献计量数据进行科学计量分析。网络,热量和地理图是使用相关软件生成的。
结果：总计，发表了1,943项关于精索静脉曲张的原始人类研究。这些主要来自北半球和发达国家，并在美国和德国的期刊上发表。各国的网络图分析显示了几个相互关联的节点，美国是最大的，和克利夫兰诊所的AgarwalA,美国,成为全球精索静脉曲张研究合作的中心点。与成年人的研究相比，对青少年的研究代表性不足。精索静脉曲张的诊断和预后方面的研究比精索静脉曲张患病率的研究更多。机理研究和关注病因和危险因素的研究。精索静脉曲张手术比非手术方法研究更多。评估精索静脉曲张的影响及其治疗，研究人员主要分析了精液的基本参数，尽管在过去的十年中，精液氧化应激的标志物正在被越来越多的研究，而生殖结局如活产率在文献中报道不足。
结论：本研究分析了过去三十年来人类精索静脉曲张原始研究的发表趋势。我们的分析强调了进一步探索的领域，以更好地了解精索静脉曲张对男性健康和男性生育能力的影响。
方法：1988年至2020年发表的精索静脉曲张研究从2021年4月5日的Scopus数据库中检索。包括对人类精索静脉曲张的原始研究，不管语言。手动筛选检索的文章，以包含在各个子类别中。使用描述性统计对文献计量数据进行科学计量分析。网络,热量和地理图是使用相关软件生成的。
结果：总计，发表了1,943项关于精索静脉曲张的原始人类研究。这些主要来自北半球和发达国家，并在美国和德国的期刊上发表。各国的网络图分析显示了几个相互关联的节点，美国是最大的，和克利夫兰诊所的AgarwalA,美国,成为全球精索静脉曲张研究合作的中心点。与成年人的研究相比，对青少年的研究代表性不足。精索静脉曲张的诊断和预后方面的研究比精索静脉曲张患病率的研究更多。机理研究和关注病因和危险因素的研究。精索静脉曲张手术比非手术方法研究更多。评估精索静脉曲张的影响及其治疗，研究人员主要分析了精液的基本参数，尽管在过去的十年中，精液氧化应激的标志物正在被越来越多的研究，而生殖结局如活产率在文献中报道不足。
结论：本研究分析了过去三十年来人类精索静脉曲张原始研究的发表趋势。我们的分析强调了进一步探索的领域，以更好地了解精索静脉曲张对男性健康和男性生育能力的影响。
