Abstract
The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare the research presented at the
annual meetings of the American Society for Surgery of the Hand (ASSH) and the American
Association for Hand Surgery (AAHS). Podium presentation data were extracted from
the abstract books of the annual meetings of the ASSH and AAHS from 2007 to 2012.
Corresponding publications were identified using searchable online publication databases
and an algorithm linking authorship and content. The majority of research was clinical
and the most common topics were trauma, degenerative conditions, and biomechanics.
The most common body region of interest was the wrist/forearm. ASSH podium presentations
were of a stronger level of evidence and were more likely to be published. The mean
times to publication for research presented at the ASSH and AAHS meetings were 16.7
and 16.4 months, respectively. Presentations from each society were subsequently published
at higher proportions in their affiliated journals. Furthermore, in comparison to
AAHS presentations, a significantly larger proportion of research presented at the
ASSH meetings was published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, while a larger proportion of AAHS presentations were published in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and Microsurgery.
Keywords
abstracts - podium presentations - hand societies - publication rates
