Evaluation of reporting quality of the 2010 and 2012 National Surgical Congress oral presentations by CONSORT, STROBE and Timmer criteria

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to evaluate the abstracts of oral presentations that were accepted to the National Surgical Congress by CONSORT, STROBE and Timmer criteria and to recommend development of a national abstract assessment system.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Presentation scores were calculated for oral presentations that have been accepted to the 2010 and 2012 National Surgical Congresses and have been included in the digital congress abstract booklets by two independent reviewers who were blinded to information regarding both the author and the institution. The CONSORT and Timmer criteria were used for randomized controlled trials, and for observational studies the STROBE and Timmer criteria were used. The presentation score that was obtained by three different evaluation systems was accepted as the main variable. The score changes according to the two congresses, the influence of the reviewers on the presentation scores, and compatibility between the two reviewers were evaluated. Comparisons regarding study types and total presentation number were made by using the chi-square test, the compatibility between the total score of the presentations were made by the Mann-Whitney U test and the compatibility between the reviewers were evaluated by the Wilcoxon signed ranks test.

RESULTS

There was no difference between the two Congresses in terms of study type distribution and total number of accepted presentations (p=0.844). The total scores of randomized controlled trials and observational studies from the 2010 and 2012 National Surgical Congresses that were evaluated by two independent reviewers with different assessment tools did not show any significant difference (p>0.05). A significant difference was observed between the reviewers in their evaluation by CONSORT, STROBE and Timmer criteria (p<0.05).

CONCLUSION

Implementation of standard criteria for the evaluation of abstracts that are sent to congresses is important in terms of presentation reporting quality. The existing criteria should be revised according to national factors, in order to reduce the significant differences between reviewers. It is believed that discussions on a new evaluation system will be beneficial in terms of the development of a national assessment system.

Fate of abstracts presented at the 2008 congress of the French Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine Society

Publication of abstracts presented at a scientific meeting is a measure of the latter's scientific quality.

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the publication rate for abstracts presented at the 2008 congress of the French Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine Society (SOFMER) and to identify (i) factors that were predictive of publication and (ii) the main reasons for non-publication.

METHODS

We searched the PubMed database for publications related to SOFMER 2008 abstracts. We then screened the abstracts' characteristics for features that were predictive of publication. Authors of abstracts that had not been published were contacted (by e-mail) in order to establish the reason(s) for non-publication.

RESULTS

Of the 231 abstracts presented at SOFMER 2008, 49 (21.2%) had been published. Original studies submitted by French university teams were more likely to be published. Most of the unpublished abstracts had never been submitted to scientific journals. A heavy workload (limiting the time available for drafting a publication) and unwillingness to submit incomplete or preliminary studies were the main barriers to submission for publication.

CONCLUSION

SOFMER 2008s abstract publication rate was lower than those of other national or international medical congresses. University status and the performance of original research were predictive of publication.

Public policy implications for using remote monitoring technology to treat diabetes

Daily medical practice in the United States is at the threshold of a significant and permanent change. The driving force is technologies that permit remote physiological monitoring of patients who have diabetes and other chronic diseases, along with widespread access to the Internet and the adoption of email as a primary means of communicating in our society. Utilization of these technologies not only improves the quality of patient care, it also reduces the need for frequent physician office appointments, costly emergency room visits, and unnecessary hospitalizations. The Remote Monitoring Access Act of 2007 will eliminate disincentives in current Medicare rules that only provide payment for face-to-face meetings between patients and their doctors.