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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Surg.

Sec. Colorectal and Proctological Surgery

Analysis of the Current Status of Research on Perianal Lesions Associated with Crohn's Disease: A Bibliometric and Visualization Analysis

Provisionally accepted
Pengfei  ZhouPengfei Zhou*Jingen  LuJingen LuYi  FuYi FuXi  HuangXi HuangYibo  YaoYibo YaoYanting  SunYanting SunJiawen  WangJiawen Wang*
  • Department of Anorectal Surgery, Longhua Hospital, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the characteristics and research hotspots of perianal lesions associated with Crohn's disease (CD) based on the currently published literature. METHODS: We conducted a comprehensive search of all relevant literature on "Crohn's disease" and "Perianal" from the inception of PubMed, Web of Science Core Collection and Scopus database up to December 31, 2024. Using the bibliometric analysis software CiteSpace 6.4. R1, we visualized and scientifically interpreted the authors, countries, and keywords of the included studies. RESULTS: A total of 4,286 papers were retrieved using the subject terms "Crohn's disease" and "Perianal". According to exclusion criteria, 2,134 papers were included in the final analysis. These studies involved 130 researchers, 360 research institutions, and 148 keywords. The analysis revealed that the number of publications on CD with perianal lesions has increased annually since 1979, indicating growing attention to this condition. The United States led in the number of publications, with 452 related papers. The most prolific authors were Ye, Byong Duk and Lightner, Amy L, with 21 published papers each on the topic. The top five keywords were Crohn's disease (357 times), Inflammatory Bowel Disease (202 times), Perianal Fistula (110 times), Ulcerative Colitis (81 times), and Perianal Disease (37 times). CONCLUSION: Current research on CD with perianal lesions is primarily focused on mesenchymal stem cells, intestinal inflammation, and biologic therapies. However, further comprehensive studies are needed to improve the early diagnosis and treatment of CD, particularly when perianal symptoms are the initial manifestation.

Keywords: Bibliometric, Citespace, Crohn's disease, inflammatory bowel disease, Research hotspots

Received: 07 May 2025; Accepted: 30 Jan 2026.

Copyright: © 2026 Zhou, Lu, Fu, Huang, Yao, Sun and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence:
Pengfei Zhou
Jiawen Wang

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