Analysis of submitted abstracts for the American Academy of Pediatrics, Section on Surgery, National Conference (AAP SoSU).

Purpose: In this study, we characterized the topics and type of research performed for abstracts submitted to the AAP SoSU national conferences from 2010-2013.

Methods: All abstracts submitted to the AAP SoSU Program Committee from 2010-2013 were analyzed. Abstracts were classified as basic science, clinical, domestic, international, as well as by disease processes, single, multicenter, retrospective, prospective, registry data, or other.

Results: From 2010-2013, 709 abstracts were submitted (2010 - 163, 2011 - 166, 2012 - 208, 2013 - 172), of which 349 were accepted (49% total acceptance rate (AR)). 17% represented basic science studies (74% AR), while 592 (84%) were clinical studies (44% AR). By disease state, CDH (57 abstracts, 70.2% AR), appendicitis (53 abstracts, 43% AR), and NEC (39 abstracts, 56% AR) were the most common. Most clinical abstracts (63%) were single-center retrospective reviews, 13% were large data registries, <5% were prospective studies, and only 5 abstracts were randomized controlled trials.

Conclusions: The AAP SoSU abstract submission data demonstrate a wide variety of research studies spanning the entirety of our field. Basic science studies have a higher AR than clinical studies, and the topics of CDH, appendicitis, and NEC continue to be the most popular areas of study.