Trends in the studies of pharmacoresistant epilepsy- a review based on literature analysis (2015–2025)

Drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE) is a complex neurological disease that accounts for 30%-40% of all epilepsy cases. Its pathogenesis and treatment have always been research hotspots in this field. In recent years, interdisciplinary research on DRE has gradually become a hot topic owing to the research and application of gene sequencing, neuroimaging, new antiepileptic therapies, and artificial intelligence. To reveal the knowledge structure and research trends in this field, this study conducted a bibliometric analysis based on the literature from 2015 to 2025 in the PubMed database, utilizing tools such as R-bibliometrix and CiteSpace to reveal the research trends, core authors, hot topics, and future directions in the DRE field. The analysis showed that from the sorted documents, Professor Bartolomei Fabrice is the most productive author and has published 80 articles on drug-resistant epilepsy. The Capital Medical University of China was the most active institution. The USA, China, and Italy are the countries with the most research contributions, accounting for 25.67%, 15.71%, and 8.09%, respectively. Through keyword analysis and theme evolution, hotspots (such as the ketogenic diet and cannabidiol) and trends (the shift from anti-seizure medications to new therapies) in drug-resistant epilepsy research were explored, revealing dynamic changes in research directions in the field, and that the DRE field is experiencing a paradigm shift from empirical treatment to precision medicine. Robot and artificial intelligence-assisted diagnosis and treatment may become important research directions in the future. This literature analysis study may provide an overview of the research field and references for future research directions in the DRE.