Abstract: Objective To summarize the research hotspots in the field of hospice care in ICU at home and abroad, and to understand its current status and trends.Methods Based on the Web of Science, we searched literature with "hospice","terminal care","intensive care" and other subject terms. The Bibliographic Item Co-Occurrence Matrix Builder (BICOMB2.0) was used to extract high frequently keywords and the gCLUTO1.0 software was used to cluster the discourse matrixes.Results A total of 1,274 valid articles were included and 41 high-frequency keywords were intercepted. Six hotspots were obtained by cluster analysis, which were classified into 3 directions:(1) hospice care for patients with different diseases and age;(2) essentials in hospice care included planning,consultation in the early stage,family meeting and multidisciplinary collaboration and maintenance and withdrawal of the treatment; (3) barriers in hospice care, e.g. religious, cultural and ethical issues. Conclusion There is more experience in western countries in research objects, service processes, practitioners' cognitions, and related social backgrounds about palliative care in ICU. Models that adapt to our national conditions need to be explored. It is recommended to learn such experience and development through multiple channels including: multidisciplinary ICU team collaborations; popularization of related concepts; more education and training of medical staff; compulsory courses in universities and colleges;corresponding laws and regulations and ethical requirements,standardization of the access and management standards of hospice care.

Key words: intensive care, hospice care, nursing, research hotspot, cluster analysis