Academic otolaryngology in the new millennium: Are we falling behind?

OBJECTIVE: To determine if differences in publication rates have evolved ov er the past 3 decades for academic otolaryngologists. METHODS: Three random samples with 50 academic otolaryngologists each were studied. These otolaryngologists completed training in 1 of the 3 time peri ods(1970-74 1980-84, 1990-94) studied, Articles published within the first 5 years after graduation were tabulated and statistically analyzed, RESULTS: Academic otolaryngologists graduating in the 1970s, 1980s, and 199 0s averaged 8,7, 8.9, and 6.4 publications during their first 5 years of ac ademic practice, respectively. The first 2 cohorts averaged 5.4 and 5.7 pub lications in the 4 major otolaryngology journals, versus 3.3 for 1990s grad uates. Basic science publications increased for 1990s graduates over those of the 1970s and 1980s graduates. The percentage of first author articles r emained stable. Despite these trends, only the drop in case reports was sta tistically significant (P = 0,023, ANOVA), CONCLUSION: Trends may be developing that predict decreasing publication ra tes for newly trained otolaryngologists entering academic practice.