ReviewCureus2026
Bibliometric Analysis of Neonatal Sepsis Research in Sub-Saharan Africa (2000-2025): Trends, Funding Patterns, and Collaboration Networks.
Review in Cureus, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
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Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Neonatal sepsis accounts for a substantial proportion of newborn mortality in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), yet the region remains under-represented in global research output. While bibliometric analyses of neonatal sepsis exist globally, none have mapped 25-year trends, funding sources, and collaboration networks specific to SSA. Understanding these patterns is critical to address research inequity and guide evidence-based investment. We conducted a bibliometric analysis of publications on neonatal sepsis in SSA indexed in Scopus and Web of Science Core Collection from 2000 to 2025. A comprehensive search string captured neonatal sepsis terms and all 46 SSA countries. After deduplication and screening per PRISMA 2020 guidelines, data were analyzed using the Bibliometrix R package. Outcomes included publication trends, geographic productivity, funding sources, co-authorship networks, and keyword co-occurrence to identify research themes and gaps. A total of 1,247 publications were included. Annual output increased from 12 articles in 2000 to a peak of 106 in 2024, followed by a slight decline to 98 in 2025, with an average annual growth rate of 8.2% (95% CI: 7.1-9.3%). South Africa (28.3%), Nigeria (15.7%), and Kenya (10.2%) contributed 54.2% of total publications. The top institutions were University of Cape Town (n = 94), Makerere University (n = 67), and University of Nairobi (n = 58). Funding analysis showed that 82.3% of funded studies were supported by high-income country agencies, primarily National Institutes of Health (NIH) (15.6%), Wellcome Trust (12.3%), and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (9.8%), while African national funders accounted for <6.5%. Country collaboration networks revealed strong North-South links but limited South-South collaboration, with a multiple-country publication ratio of 0.34. Keyword analysis identified microbiology (18.4%) and antibiotic resistance (14.2%) as dominant themes, while implementation science (2.1%) and health systems research (1.8%) remained underrepresented. Despite a 25-year increase in output, neonatal sepsis research in SSA remains disproportionately low relative to disease burden and heavily dependent on external funding. Strengthening African-led funding mechanisms and fostering South-South collaborations are essential to build sustainable research capacity and align research priorities with local mortality burden.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.