Publication rate of abstracts presented at the Annual Congress of the German Society of Orthopaedics and Trauma Surgery

Abstract

Introduction: The quality of abstracts presented at medical conferences reflects the scientific activity in the organisations involved. The aims of this study were to evaluate the publication rate of studies presented at the annual congress of the German Society of Orthopaedics and Trauma Surgery and to investigate predictive factors for publication. The results were to be compared with other international meetings.

Method: All 1,100 abstracts presented at the Congress of the German Society of Orthopaedics and Trauma Surgery in 2003 were assessed. The publication rate for the corresponding articles in peer-reviewed journals within 5 years was examined using a PubMed search. The consistency of the congress abstracts with the publications was studied. Factors influencing publication rates were investigated, including level of evidence (LoE) and type of study.

Results: The publication rate was 36%, with a mean of 15 months between conference and publication (mean impact factor 1.50). No significant differences were observed between publication rates for oral presentations and posters. Experimental studies and those with LoE I and II had higher publication rates (47.1%; 55.2%; 39.8%) than clinical studies and those with LoE III and IV (30.8%; 29.2%; 28.0%). Abstracts of randomised studies and prospective studies showed publication rates of 43.2 and 35.6% and were published more often than abstracts of non-randomised studies and retrospective studies, with publication rates of 35.3 and 27.1%.

Conclusion: The publication rate was in the lower range of rates available for comparable conferences--e.g., the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, with rates between 34 and 55%--but lower than those of the Orthopaedic Trauma Association, at 52-67%. However, 64% of the abstracts remained unpublished, calling into question the acceptability of citing conference abstracts in the scientific literature and implementing them in clinical practice.