Abstract
Background: Neonatal sepsis remains a leading cause of infant morbidity and mortality worldwide, with premature and low-birth-weight infants at greatest risk. The burden is disproportionately higher in low- and middle-income countries due to limited healthcare resources. Increasing focus on antimicrobial resistance and early diagnostic tools has contributed to a rapidly expanding body of literature. Despite increasing research output, understanding publication trends, collaboration patterns, and evolving research priorities remains limited. This study aims to evaluate global research trends, collaboration networks, and thematic developments in neonatal sepsis literature over the past decade.
Methods: This analysis was conducted using PubMed to identify English-language studies involving human subjects published between 2016 and 2026 examining neonatal sepsis. The search strategy included the terms (“Sepsis”[MeSH] OR sepsis) AND (“Infant, Newborn”[MeSH] OR neonat* OR “newborn*”). Filters were applied for free full text availability, English language, human subjects, and age categories including newborn (birth–1 month) and infant (birth–23 months). No restrictions were placed on study design or publication type. All retrieved records were exported directly from PubMed and imported into VOSviewer (Leiden University, the Netherlands) for bibliometric mapping and visualization of co-authorship networks, institutional collaborations, and keyword co-occurrence patterns.
Results: A total of 7,402 publications on neonatal sepsis were identified between 2016 and 2026, demonstrating a relatively stable yet fluctuating publication trend. The co-authorship network was highly clustered, with prolific authors such as T. Strunk, K. M. Puopolo, and P. Kumar appearing as central nodes within interconnected research groups. Institutional collaboration was primarily centered in academic medical centers and pediatric and neonatal institutions across North America and Europe. Keyword co-occurrence mapping revealed four dominant thematic clusters: (1) microbiology and antimicrobial resistance; (2) prematurity and clinical outcomes; (3) maternal–perinatal risk factors; and (4) epidemiology.
Discussion: Neonatal sepsis research has demonstrated sustained scholarly activity over the past decade, with collaboration networks centered in major pediatric research centers. This work has been largely driven by efforts to understand infection etiology, antimicrobial resistance, and risk factors associated with prematurity and maternal health. With research output concentrated in North America and Europe, future studies should aim to expand collaborative networks into low- and middle-income countries to address geographic disparities in both research output and disease burden.
