title: Abstract-to-publication ratio for papers presented at scientific meetings: a quality marker for UK emergency medicine research.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the publication rate of abstracts presented by UK emergency physicians at major emergency medicine meetings, and to identify the site of publication of papers.
  
  
  METHODS
  All abstracts presented to the annual scientific meetings of both the British Association of Emergency Medicine and the Faculty of Accident and Emergency Medicine between 2001 and 2002 were identified retrospectively from conference programmes. To identify whether the work relating to the abstract had been published in a peer-reviewed journal, the Medline database (Ovid interface) was searched using the first and last authors as well as key words from the abstract.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 404 abstracts identified, 124 (30%) had been published as full articles. For abstracts presented in the oral sessions, 83 (57%) resulted in publication. A range of journals accepted papers for publication.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The abstract-to-publication ratio for UK emergency medicine is lower than for other specialties, but broadly similar to emergency medicine in the US and Australia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Academic Emergency Medicine, James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough TS4 3BW, UK.
authors.forename: Craig D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Macmillan
authors.forename: Anthony K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.forename: Ronald J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Cook
authors.forename: David K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Pedley
mesh_terms: D000043:Abstracting and Indexing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003226:Congresses as Topic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004635:Emergency Medicine / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D010506:Periodicals as Topic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011643:Publishing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012106:Research / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D006113:United Kingdom