An observational study of the proceedings of the All India Ophthalmological Conference, 2000 and subsequent publication in indexed journals.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the quality of reporting in the proceedings of the All India Ophthalmological Conference (AIOC) 2000, subsequent rate of publication in an indexed journal and differences between the proceedings and the journal version of these papers.


METHODS
Observational study.


METHODS
All papers presented at the AIOC 2000 were retrieved from the proceedings and assessed for completeness of reporting. To determine the subsequent full publication, a Medline search was performed as of January 2007; consistency between the proceedings paper and the final publication was evaluated.


METHODS
Chi square and Fisher's exact tests were used to compare publication rates based on geographical location, subspecialty and study design; Student's t -test was used to compare differences based on the number of authors and sample size.


RESULTS
Two hundred papers were retrieved; many failed to include study dates, design or statistical methods employed. Thirty-three (16.5%) papers were subsequently published in indexed journals by January 2007. The published version differed from the proceedings paper in 27 (81.8%) instances, mostly relating to changes in author name, number or sequence.


CONCLUSIONS
The overall quality of reporting of scientific papers in the proceedings of the AIOC 2000 was inadequate and many did not result in publication in an indexed journal. Differences between the published paper in journals and in proceedings were seen in several instances. Ophthalmologists should be cautious about using the information provided in conference proceedings in their ophthalmic practice.
Dhaliwal
Upreet
U
Department of Ophthalmology, University College of Medical Sciences and GTB Hospital, New Delhi-110 095, India. upreetdhaliwal@yahoo.com
Kumar
Rajeev
R
D000043:Abstracting and Indexing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000818:Animals; D003226:Congresses as Topic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D009885:Ophthalmology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011642:Publications / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011643:Publishing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data