PUBLICATION PATTERN OF PAPERS PRESENTED AT THE AMERICAN-SOCIETY-FOR-SURGERY-OF-THE-HAND ANNUAL-MEETING

Publication of research results in peer-reviewed journals represents t he consummation of the scientific method. In order to determine the ra te of publication of oral presentations at the annual meeting oi the A merican Society for Surgery of the Hand, every presentation (n = 397) from the 1990, 1991, and 1992 annual meetings was subjected to a Medli ne Plus computer search in January 1995. Meeting abstracts were groupe d by program designation to scientific session, research session, and residents and fellows conference categories, and a Kaplan-Meier surviv orship curve was formulated for each category. We determined an ultima te publication rate of 52% at 53 months. Subanalysis by year of presen tation showed rates of 32%, 48%, and 51% for the respective years 1992 , 1991, and 1990, with publication for most research occurring within 3 years of presentation. No statistically significant difference exist ed between the three categories, although a distinct trend toward high er ultimate publication rate (74%) was found for research abstracts. T he ultimate publication rate for hand surgery presentations is compara ble to that reported for other disciplines.