Assessing publication rate of abstracts presented in spine conferences as a quality benchmark: the example of the Canadian Spine Society Annual Meetings

Publication rate of abstracts presented at the Australian Orthopaedic Association Annual Scientific Meeting

BACKGROUND

Presentations at scientific conferences are an important method of research dissemination, with abstracts often used to inform clinical practice. Abstract to publication ratio is a commonly used tool for determining meeting quality. The aim of this study was to determine the publication rate for abstracts presented at the Australian Orthopaedic Association Annual Scientific Meeting (AOA ASM) between 2012 and 2015 inclusive and identify reasons for non-publication.

METHODS

MEDLINE, PubMed and Google Scholar were searched to determine whether each abstract presented at AOA ASMs between 2012 and 2015 was associated with a full text publication in a peer-reviewed journal. Where a publication could not be located, the presenter was contacted to confirm the reason for non-publication.

RESULTS

A total of 1130 abstracts were submitted (951 oral and 179 posters), and 573 resulted in full-text peer-reviewed publications (51%). The majority of publications (73%) were published within 2 years of presentation. There was no difference in likelihood of publication for oral presentations compared to posters, nor in the rate of publication across the 4 years of meetings. Common reasons for non-publication were lack of time (32%), publication considered low priority (27%) and journal rejections (22%).

CONCLUSION

The overall publication rate for abstracts presented at the AOA ASM is 51%, which is an increase from the 1998 ASM (31%). This publication rate is higher than many similar Australian meetings and on par with other international orthopaedic and subspecialty meetings. Future research should investigate potential publication bias and methods to minimise barriers to publication.

Publication rates of abstracts presented at the annual scientific meetings held by the American Academy of Forensic Sciences in 2011 and 2016

Prior research evaluating the papers presented in forensic sciences in international meetings is scant. This study determines the possible predictions concerning publications by comparing the publication rates, publication years, and presentation types, time until publication, participating countries, and criteria of the published journals in the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS). The publication rates of abstracts presented at scientific meetings of AAFS, a prestigious forensic science organization, along with the aforementioned components and the extent of their contribution in 2011 and 2016 were investigated. The abstracts presented at the AAFS meetings in 2011 and 2016 were reviewed retrospectively within the scope of this study. The Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, and Google Scholar databases were searched using a specified process that included the title, first and last author surnames, and keywords. Results revealed that approximately 21% and 24% of the papers presented at the 2011 and 2016 AAFS meetings, respectively, were published. Considering the publication rates of abstracts according to sections, the publication rates for the 2011 AAFS meeting ranged from 4% (questioned documents) to 31% (anthropology) and from 5% (questioned documents) to 32% (pathology/biology), on average, for the 2016 AAFS meeting. It was determined that the papers were largely published in the Journal of Forensic Sciences for both annual scientific meetings. Future studies should concentrate on the obstacles to the publication of papers presented at such prestigious organizations and strategies to facilitate the publication process such that they do not lose their value over time.

Publication rate of abstracts presented at the annual meetings of the AANS/CNS Section on Disorders of the Spine and Peripheral Nerves

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study was to determine the publication rate of abstracts presented at the annual meetings of the AANS/CNS Section on Disorders of the Spine and Peripheral Nerves (Spine Summit).

METHODS

The authors used a search algorithm in PubMed to determine the publication rate of abstracts presented at the Spine Summit from 2007 to 2012. The variables assessed were presentation modality, topic, meeting year, publication year, destiny journal and its 5-year impact factor (IF), country, and citation count (retrieved from the Scopus database).

RESULTS

One thousand four hundred thirty-six abstracts were analyzed; 502 were oral presentations and 934 were digital poster presentations. The publication rate was 53.97% (775/1436). The mean time from presentation to publication was 1.35 ± 1.97 years (95% CI 1.21-1.49 years). The mean citation count of published articles was 40.55 ± 55.21 (95% CI 36.66-44.44). Oral presentations had a higher publication rate (71.51%, 359/502) than digital posters (44.54%, 416/934; OR 3.13, 95% CI 2.48-3.95, p < 0.001). Oral presentations had a higher number of citations (55.51 ± 69.00, 95% CI 48.35-62.67) than digital posters (27.64 ± 34.88, 95% CI 24.28-31.00, p < 0.001). The mean IF of published articles was 3.48 ± 2.91 (95% CI 3.27-3.70). JNS: Spine (191/775, 24.64%), Spine (103/775, 13.29%), and Neurosurgery (56/775, 7.23%) had the greatest number of published articles. The US represented the highest number of published articles (616/775, 79.48%).

CONCLUSIONS

The publication rate of the Spine Summit is among the highest compared to other spine meetings. Many of the abstracts initially presented at the meeting are further published in high-IF journals and had a high citation count. Therefore, the Spine Summit maintains its high standards of scientific papers, which reflects the high quality of the research performed in the spine surgery field in North America.

Trends and publication rates of abstracts presented at the British Association of Head and Neck Oncologists' (BAHNO) annual meetings: 2009 - 2015

The British Association of Head and Neck Oncologists (BAHNO) hosts an annual meeting at which research from all specialties involved in the management of head and neck oncology is presented. We have analysed the rate of publication of the abstracts presented, and reviewed the finalised programmes from the meetings between 2009 and 2015. The 2014 meeting was excluded as it was a combined international meeting. Key terms were searched in PubMed and Google Scholar to identify publications in peer-reviewed journals. If none was identified, these platforms were searched for the authors' names. Published abstracts were excluded. Study and journal demographic data were extracted. A total of 363 abstracts were presented, including 75 oral, 271 poster, and 17 of unclear presentation method. The total publication rate was 31.1%, representing 46.7% of oral abstracts and 27.3% of poster presentations. The mean time to publication was 16.5 months. Research was published in 45 individual journals with a mean (range) impact factor of 2.559 (0.886-36.418). There was a trend towards an increasing number of presentations over time with a decreasing publication rate. However, there was no trend in mean impact factor by year. The publication rate of abstracts presented at the BAHNO annual meetings is comparable with that of other large otolaryngology and head and neck conferences. The mean impact factor has not previously been utilised within this field, but may prove a useful metric that enables monitoring of the quality of presented research and comparison of the impact of the conferences.

Academic performance after neurosurgery residency training in Turkey: a national survey

OBJECTIVE

Neurosurgery training programs aim to train specialists. In addition, they are expected to equip the residents with necessary knowledge and skills for academic development. This study aims to gain insights into academic productivity after neurosurgeons graduated from residency training in Turkey.

METHODS

An electronic survey was sent to all Turkish Neurosurgical Society members (n = 1662 neurosurgeons) between September and November 2019. The number of participants was 289 (17.4%). Participants were divided into subgroups based on three main factors: training institution type (university hospital [UH] vs training and research hospital [TRH]), training institution annual case volume (low [< 1000 or inadequate cranial/spinal case numbers] vs high [> 1000 and adequate cranial/spinal case numbers]), and training program accreditation status (accredited vs nonaccredited).

RESULTS

The majority of the participants (64.7%) graduated from the UHs. Those trained at UHs (vs TRHs) and high- (vs low-) volume centers had their dissertations more frequently published in Science Citation Index/Science Citation Index–Expanded journals, gave more oral presentations after residency, had higher h-indices, had higher rates of reviewership for academic journals, and had greater participation in projects with grant support. In addition, graduates of accredited programs reported more PhD degrees than those of nonaccredited programs.

CONCLUSIONS

Neurosurgeons trained in higher-case-volume, accredited programs, mostly in the UHs, performed better in terms of scientific activities and productivity in Turkey. Strong research emphasis and supportive measures should be instituted to increase academic performance during and after residency training.

Publication rates of abstracts presented at the World Congress on Pain held by the International Association for the Study of Pain in 2010

Objective

To examine publication rates of the full texts of abstracts presented at the 2010 World Congress on Pain (WCP) of the International Association for the Study of Pain.

Methods

Poster presentations published in the abstract booklet of the 13th WCP in 2010 were examined. The post-congress status of each abstract was investigated by searching titles, first author, and co-authors, in order, using local search engines. The year of publication, country, index, impact factor (IF) of the publishing journal, and name and title consistencies between the abstract and published text were recorded.

Results

A total 1907 poster presentations were investigated. Of these, 525 (27.5%) were published in scientific journals. The most poster presentations (402, 37%) were from the United States. The most published presentations appeared in scientific journals in 2011. Science Citation Index (SCI), SCI Expanded, and Emerging Sources Citation Index published 491 abstracts as full texts. The mean IF of journals in which articles were published was 3.90 ± 3.64.

Conclusions

As with scientific journals, a communication process should be established with authors during assessment of poster presentations at congresses regarding critical progression and rectification of deficiencies, which will increase the likelihood of presentation abstracts being published.