From Presentation to Publication: Where did Abstracts at the 2017 Academic Surgical Congress End up? A Three-Year...

Medical school and residency programs encourage increased research, and thousands of abstracts are submitted to conferences annually. This study sought to determine the rate of publication of oral presentations from the 2017 Academic Surgical Congress (ASC) and assess factors that influence the likelihood of publication.

Abstracts selected for oral, plenary, and QuickShot presentations at the 2017 ASC were evaluated for publication status. Publication status, including date of publication and journal title, the academic rank of first and senior authors, and the type of study were collected. Senior author funding status, as well as source and amount of funding, were cataloged. These variables were noted at 16 mo and then later at 34 mo after the conference.

Of the 360 oral and plenary presentations, 41.4% (n = 149) and 70.5% were published at 16 and then 34 mo, respectively. At 16 mo, Basic science, Clinical outcomes, and Education had publication rates of 31.7%, 51.1%, and 57.7%. At 34 mo, they were 76.1%, 69.1%, and 60.06%. QuickShot presentations had a publication rate of 17%, 69%, and 14% for Basic Science, Clinical Outcomes, and Education, respectively. At 16 mo, abstracts with senior authors with an academic rank of Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and Professor had publication rates of 43.3% (22), 49.4% (39), and 41.8% (37), respectively (P = 0.697). At 34 mo, publication rates for senior authors was 21.8% (53), 32.9% (80), and 45.2% (110) for Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and Professor, respectively (P= < 0.01). Quick shot presentations had publication rates of 14%, 26%, and 49% for Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, and Professor, respectively. 191 (53.2%) senior authors had funding, of which 125 (66.8%) were from the National Institute of Health. 61% of abstracts with a funded senior author went on to be published, whereas 38.9% of abstracts with an unfunded senior author were published. The presence of funding continued to have a positive association with publication (P < 0.01 versus P < 0.01) at 16 and 34 mo postconference. In QuickShot presentations, 88% of abstracts with a funded senior author went on to be published. Of Quick shot presentations without funding, 100% were published.

There was an increase in publication rate from 16 to 34 mo after the 2017 ASC conference for oral presentations. At longer follow-up, the academic rank of the senior author and the funded abstracts were associated with abstracts achieving publication, whereas the academic rank of the first author, presentation type, and funding source was not. Funding was significantly associated with the Presentation Type at the conference and the Journal Impact Factor of the manuscript, whereas abstract type was not. QuickShot presentations did not fare as well regarding publication status; at approximately 3 y, the publication rate was 43%.