Full text publication rates of papers presented at the British Foot and Ankle Society

Techniques in foot and ankle surgery have expanded rapidly in recent years, often presented at national society meetings. It is important that research is published to guide evidence based practice. Many abstracts however do not go on to full text publication.

A database was created of all abstracts presented at BOFAS meetings from 2009 to 2013. Computerised searches were performed using PubMed and Google search engines.

In total 341 papers were presented, with an overall publication rate of 31.7%. Of 251 clinical papers, 200 were case series (79.6%). Factors associated with publication success included basic science studies, papers related to arthroscopic surgery and research performed outside the UK.

A relatively low conversion rate from presentation to publication could be as a result of papers failing to pass the scrutiny of peer review, or that the work is never formally submitted for publication. The information from this study could be used to prioritise future research and promote higher quality research.