SAEM abstracts to articles: 1997 and 1999-2001

Abstract

Objectives: The Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM) annual meeting is the primary research conference in emergency medicine. An abstract presented at the 2000 SAEM meeting found a trend of decreasing publication rates of articles based on SAEM abstracts from 47% in 1995 to 33% in 1997. The authors wished to determine whether the publication rates of articles based on SAEM abstracts continued to decline since 1997.

Methods: A MEDLINE search of all SAEM abstracts from 1997 and 1999-2001 was conducted. The primary outcome was the publication rates of articles based on abstracts presented each year. Secondary outcomes included comparison of publication rates by oral versus poster presentation and category of research.

Results: Thirty-eight percent of 2,054 SAEM abstracts were published as articles by fall 2003, with 40% in 1997, 40% in 1999, 38% in 2000, and 35% in 2001. The publication rate was higher for oral presentations (50%) than poster presentations (34%). Publication rates ranged from 32% to 53% by category of research; the highest rates were in wound (53%) and cardiopulmonary resuscitation/resuscitation (51%), and the lowest rates were in administration (32%) and cardiovascular (33%). Twenty-six percent of articles were published in emergency medicine journals. The times to publication were similar across the years: 4%-7% were published in the same year of the meeting, 15%-17% one year later, 10%-11% two years later, 5% three years later, and 3%-5% after three years.

Conclusions: The publication rate of articles based on SAEM abstracts has held steady at 40% in recent years when the time delay to publication is taken into account.