TIME TO PUBLICATION AS FULL REPORTS OF ABSTRACTS OF RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIALS IN CYSTIC-FIBROSIS

Objectives. To determine 1) what proportion of abstracts of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) presented at international conferences on cy stic fibrosis (CF) are published as full reports, 2) time to publicati on, and 3) factors that might delay or prevent publication. Methods. A t the end of 1995, the Cochrane CF Group's register of RCTs contained 199 abstracts describing 180 RCTs. Abstracts were identified by handse arching 44 abstract books of three international CF conferences over a 30-year period. We searched the register for subsequent full reports of these RCTs and used survival analysis to investigate time to public ation. Using the log-rank test, we examined 1) whether there is a diff erence in time to publication between reports where the investigators concluded that the test treatment was as effective as or better than t he control treatment, and reports where it was not, and 2) whether the re is a difference in time to publication according to sample size. Re sults. Thirty-two percent of the 178 abstracts analyzed were subsequen tly published in full. Survival analysis indicated that the proportion s published before 12 months, 2 years, and 5 years were 8.1%, 29%, and 40% respectively. No difference in time to publication was identified when the abstracts were stratified according to conclusions or sample size; no significant association (P > 0.05) existed between time to p ublication and both sample size and conclusions together. Conclusion. Only a small proportion of abstracts of RCTs presented at internationa l conferences on CF are followed by full publication, and usually only after several years. Therefore, many potentially valuable studies do not reach a wide audience. However, we found no consistent factors whi ch might delay or prevent publication. Pediatr Pulmonol, 1998; 26:101- 105, (C) 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.