Emerging Trends and Research Focus in Erectile Dysfunction Treatment: A 1993–2023 Bibliometric Analysis

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a common sexual disorder worldwide significantly affects men’s quality of life. However, there remains a lack of comprehensive bibliometric analysis of ED treatment. This study aims to utilize bibliometric methods to assess the research progress in ED treatment and identify the research hot spots and emerging trends in this field. The publications associated with the treatment of ED from 1993 to 2023 were obtained from the Web of Science Core Collection (WOSCC) database. Articles and review articles published in English from 1993 to 2023 were selected and screened manually. The bibliometric software, CiteSpace, was used to conduct cooperative network analysis, keyword analysis, and reference co‐citation analysis. A total of 5627 publications including 4696 articles and 931 review articles from 861 journals were extracted for analysis. The publication counts and citations reached its peak of 337 in 2023 and 10,556 in 2021, respectively. The United States accounted for the largest number of publications (32.2%), as well as the highest betweenness centrality (BC) among countries/regions (0.18). The most productive institution was the University of California System ( N = 264). Furthermore, the Journal of Sexual Medicine published the most papers related to ED ( N = 750). ED treatments were summarized by analyzing the keywords and co‐cited references, including oral phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitors (PDE5Is), testosterone supplements, intracavernosal injection, intraurethral suppository, wave therapy, and stem cell treatment. This study showed an overview of the treatment of ED from a fresh perspective. Wave therapy, stem cell treatment were emerging trends in future research in this field. An analysis of the intellectual bases, research hot spots, and emerging trends in the field will help to shape research strategies and treatment approaches in the future, offering potential benefits for patients with ED.