Publication rate and evidence-based evaluation of abstracts presented at the annual European College of Veterinary Surgeons scientific meeting

ObjectivesTo determine the publication rate of abstracts presented at 10 European College of Veterinary Surgeons conferences from 2006 to 2015, report the key publication milestones, and determine variables associated with full manuscript publication. Study designLiterature review. Sample populationOne thousand thirty-eight abstracts. MethodsAll conference abstracts (n = 1038) from the 2006 to 2015 annual ECVS scientific meetings were reviewed, and final publication was determined through a comprehensive bibliographic search. Categories for the level of evidence (LoE), subject, discipline, and institution affiliation were assigned for each abstract. Dates of manuscript submission, acceptance, and publication were recorded. ResultsThe overall publication rate for ECVS abstracts from 2006 to 2015 was 32%. Abstracts with levels 4 (60%) and 5 (23%) evidence were presented the most at ECVS conferences and had the highest publication rates at 38% and 36%, respectively. Key publication milestones showed that most abstracts (83%) received publication within the first 36 months with most LoE 2 abstracts (91%) being published within 24 months of presentation. Most published abstracts were affiliated with academic institutions (85%), on dog (29%) and horse (27%) subjects, focused on orthopedic (35%) and soft tissue disciplines (27%), and published in Veterinary Surgery (32%). ConclusionThe ECVS abstract publication rate was lower, and timeline was longer to publish than other veterinary surgical conferences. Publication occurred most frequently in academic institutions, in select journals, and was limited to orthopedic, soft-tissue, dog, and horse studies. Clinical significanceResults from this study may help improve the publication fate of abstracts in veterinary surgery. Additionally, caution is warranted when using information from abstracts that have yet to be published to help guide clinical decisions.