Publication Rates for the Scientific Sessions of the OTA

OBJECTIVES: To determine the publication rate of the scientific papers presented at the Orthopaedic Trauma Association (OTA) meetings from 1990 to 1995 inclusive. DESIGN: A Medline search was performed on abstracts presented at the OTA sessions from 1990 through 1995 using both authors and key text words within the OTA abstract. The publication rate for each meeting, journal of publication, and time to publication were tabulated. RESULTS: The publication rate for papers presented at the OTA meetings from 1990 through 1994 was 64 percent. This was significantly better than publication rates reported for American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) meetings in 1990 through 1992. The average time to publication was sixteen months. The most common journals in which papers derived from the OTA abstracts were published include the Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma (JOT), Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery combined volumes (JBJS). and Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research (CORR). CONCLUSION: OTA meetings are an excellent source of high-quality information, which is generally subsequently published in peer-reviewed journals. The Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma is the single best source for information presented at the OTA meetings. Allowing more papers to be presented did not affect the publication rate for the meetings.