Global Research Trends in Treatments for Ureteropelvic Junction Obstruction: A Multi-Database Bibliometric Analysis of the Past Two Decades

Background: Ureteropelvic junction obstruction (UPJO) is one of the most common causes of hydronephrosis in children. Over the last several years, treatment methods have evolved toward less invasive procedures. However, bibliometric analysis of UPJO treatment remains limited. We applied a multi-database bibliometric approach to describe the current status and recent and emerging research trends in UPJO management. Methods: We retrieved studies on the treatment of UPJO from PubMed, Scopus, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library, spanning from 1 January 2006 to 31 December 2025; all five databases were searched on 20 January 2026. Records were merged in EndNote X9 (Clarivate Analytics, Philadelphia, PA, USA), deduplicated using Author, Year, and Title, and manually verified using DOI and minor title/author variants. Web of Science was used as the single source for citation counts and cited-reference data in citation-based analyses. Of the 849 included publications, 736 were matched to Web of Science, and 728 of these contributed cited-reference data to the co-citation analysis. We analyzed data using CiteSpace (v6.2.R.3; one-year slices; g-index k = 25) together with the bibliometrix R package (v4.6). Results: A total of 849 publications, including 761 original articles and 88 reviews, from 55 countries were included in the analysis, with the United States and China leading in publication volume. Annual citation activity generally increased with year-to-year variation. A total of 3545 authors participated in these publications, among whom Lorenzo AJ, Noh PH, and Peters CA had the highest total citation counts. Wroclaw Medical University, Peking University and University of Toronto had the highest publication counts among institutions. The funding analysis indicated that the National Natural Science Foundation of China, United States Department of Health and Human Services, and National Institutes of Health were the top three funding bodies by publication count. Conclusions: Management-related research on UPJO is active, with current emphasis on technological innovation, full-cycle management, and complex case management. Robot-assisted pyeloplasty remains a prominent bibliometric theme in the recent literature.