Publication rate of abstracts presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.

Background: Research projects are frequently presented at national meetings not only to make the data available, but also to further critically evaluate the project. The ultimate goal remains publication of the research. We assessed the publication rate of presentations at 1993-95 annual meetings.

Methods: All presentations at the scientific sessions were searched in the computerized database Melvyl MEDLINE and PubMed. The papers were categorized in 6 broad groups.

Results: The overall proportion of presentations that were published was 32%. Clinical papers in pediatrics had the highest publication rate, followed by basic science research in laryngology and plastics.

Conclusion: The publication rate of 32% is lower than the rate at meetings in other fields, reflecting variability in selection criteria for the presentations and quality of abstracts presented. Basic science presentations did not have a greater publication rate as compared to clinical presentations.