Publication Rate and Evidence-Based Evaluation of Abstracts Presented at the American College of Veterinary Surgeon's Annual Meeting.
OBJECTIVE
To document the publication rate of abstracts presented at 10 ACVS conferences and report the time required for publication and level of evidence.


METHODS
Literature review.


METHODS
All scientific abstracts published in the ACVS proceedings from 2001 to 2010 were reviewed. The level of evidence of each abstract was evaluated and scored (1-4). Publication information was determined after a broad bibliographic search through multiple online databases.


RESULTS
The overall publication rate for ACVS abstracts (n=1,395) was 66% and 11% were published before conference presentation. The majority of abstracts focused on the dog (35%) or the horse (33%). Most (90%) abstracts were submitted to veterinary-based journals. The median time (interquartile range [IQR]) from abstract presentation to journal submission was 222 days (107-541), from journal submission to acceptance for publication was 122 days (89-185), and from acceptance to publication in a journal was 208 days (151-289). The time from abstract presentation to final publication took 449 days (238-794). Of the abstracts, 4% were of level 1 evidence, 9% level 2, 66% level 3, and 21% level 4. Studies with a higher level of evidence were submitted, accepted, and published quicker than ones with a lower level of evidence. The publication rate was 61%, 71%, 68%, and 65% for level 1, 2, 3, 4 evidence, respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
The publication rate of scientific abstracts presented at the ACVS conferences is comparable to other biomedical conferences. The subject matter is limited in scope and focused mainly on dogs or horses. Most abstracts contained lower level of evidence. Studies with higher levels of evidence were submitted, accepted, and published more timely. However, the publication rate was similar for abstracts of all levels of evidence.
The Department of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri.
Bryan T
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5477-507X
BT
Torres
The Department of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, University of Georgia, College of Veterinary Medicine, Athens, Georgia.
Ryan K
RK
Dover
The Department of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, University of Georgia, College of Veterinary Medicine, Athens, Georgia.
Joseph A
JA
Sapora
The Department of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, University of Georgia, College of Veterinary Medicine, Athens, Georgia.
Gabriella S
GS
Sandberg
The Department of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, University of Georgia, College of Veterinary Medicine, Athens, Georgia.
Steven C
SC
Budsberg
D000818:Animals; D015706:Bibliometrics; D003226:Congresses as Topic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004285:Dogs; D006736:Horses; D010506:Periodicals as Topic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012107:Research Design; D013522:Surgery, Veterinary; D014481:United States