Publication outcomes of abstracts presented at American Academy of Dermatology annual meeting

Abstract

Objectives

As the most highly attended dermatology conference in the United States, the AAD Meeting plays an especially critical role in the dissemination of dermatologic research. We sought to address the paucity of data regarding the fate of abstracts presented at AAD meetings to better understand the likelihood of publication after presentation as well as what factors may influence publication outcomes.

Materials and Methods

We conducted a literature search for each abstract presented in 2015 and 2016 to determine publication outcomes inclusive of latency to publication and journals represented.

Results

We found that the majority of abstracts presented at AAD Meetings do not reach publication, with 44.7% and 43.5% reaching publication in 2015 and 2016, respectively. Abstracts are likely to be published within 1 year of presentation. Publication outcomes are stratified by abstract category and study design.

Conclusion

There is considerable consistency in publication outcomes for abstracts presented at AAD Meetings for 2015 and 2016. Publication rates are comparable to other conferences in dermatology and other disciplines. These findings provide insight into the fate of the wealth of research presented at AAD meetings and what factors may influence an abstract being published.

Keywords:

• American Academy of Dermatology
• annual meeting
• publication frequency
• publication latency
• publication outcomes

Ethical approval

This study utilized publicly available information and did not qualify as human subject research; therefore, institutional review board approval was not required at the University of Connecticut Health Center.

Disclosure statement

Eric Beltrami: none declared.

Hao Feng: Consultant, Cytrellis Biosystems, Inc.

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).