Assessment of the Scientific Impact of Presentations at Spanish National Dermatology and Venereology Congresses From 2000 Through 2003

Abstract

Introduction The percentage of presentations at congresses that are later published is a measure of the scientific impact of these meetings. Our objective was to investigate how many studies presented in 4 Spanish national conferences (2000-2003) had been published in Spanish and international biomedical and dermatology journals, with or without an impact factor. Material and methods A search for publications in international indexed journals (using PubMed) or publications in unindexed Spanish journals (using Dermabase/Índice Médico Español) was undertaken by the name of first author, the first and last author, and the key words of the article. Results Of a total of 1471 scientific presentations, only 200 (13.5%) were published (118 in Spanish journals and 82 in international ones); that is, 1271 studies (86.5%) were not published either in a Spanish or an international journal. Conclusions We found a low impact in terms of the publication rate for abstracts presented in 4 consecutive Spanish National Dermatology and Venereology Congresses compared to the rate of publication for other dermatology meetings such as the British Association of Dermatologists Annual Meeting.