Burnout in a high-risk environment: A bibliometric analysis of worldwide burnout research in the operating room.

Abstract

BackgroundOperating rooms expose healthcare professionals to a high risk of burnout, yet the scientific literature on this topic has not been comprehensively analyzed from a bibliometric perspective.ObjectiveThis study aimed to conduct a bibliometric analysis of research on burnout in the operating room setting indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection to identify research trends, thematic focuses, and patterns of scientific production.MethodsA bibliometric analysis of Web of Science-indexed literature was conducted using the search terms ("operating room" OR "operating theatre") AND "burnout". A total of 290 English-language articles and reviews published up to January 2026 were analyzed using bibliometrix/biblioshiny in R to assess publication trends, authorship and collaboration patterns, leading countries and journals, and research themes.ResultsThe analyzed publications spanned from 1995 to 2026, with a marked increase after 2020, comprising 290 documents and an annual growth rate of 3.61%. The most frequent keywords were "burnout" (6.91%) and "operating room" (5.18%). Research articles accounted for most publications (84.14%), and the United States was the leading contributor (37.93%). Keyword co-occurrence and thematic analyses showed that burnout, operating room, nursing, patient safety, and teamwork were the principal research themes, whereas resilience and well-being represented specialized themes, and ergonomics and COVID-19 emerged as developing research topics.ConclusionsBurnout in the operating room has become an important research focus with implications for patient safety and care quality. This study highlights research gaps and informs future research and policy development.