Objective To explore the research hotspots and trends in the field of cognitive dysfunction after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) based on bibliometric analysis.

Methods Tools such as VoSviewer, CiteSpace, and the R language Bibliometrix package were utilized to conduct a bibliometric analysis of literature related to cognitive dysfunction after aSAH retrieved from the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) database, spanning from January 1, 1991, to December 31, 2023.

Results A total of 262 articles involving 44 countries, 443 institutions, and 1, 328 authors were screened based on the search strategy. The United States was the country with the highest number of articles (72) and the most international collaboration. The University of Toronto was the most productive institution (18 articles). Neurosurgery and World Neurosurgery were the journals with the highest number of publications in this field, each contributing 15 articles. The articles published in Stroke were the highest in total citation frequency, with 1, 222 citations. MACDONALD R L was the most prolific author in this field (17 articles), while WONG G K C had the highest co-citation frequency (179 times). Currently, the research hotspots in cognitive dysfunction after aSAH focused on early brain injury (EBI), delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI), and cerebral vasospasm (CV). The mechanism of DCI's impact on cognitive dysfunction after aSAH represented one of the research trends in this field.

Conclusion The current research hotspots in the field of cognitive dysfunction after aSAH concentrate on pathophysiological processes such as EBI, CV, and DCI. The exploration of mechanisms underlying pathophysiological changes after aSAH remains a focal point for future research in this area.