Annual Scientific Meeting of The College of Surgeons of Hong Kong: A 5-year audit

Authors: Lee, Dwh; Chan, Acw; Lai, Pbs; Fung, Tmk; Chung, Scs

Source: Surgical Practice, Volume 4, Number 2, May 2000 , pp. 87-90(4)

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Abstract:

Objective: To examine the quality of surgical research in Hong Kong by auditing the results of abstracts submitted for annual scientific meetings held by The College of Surgeons of Hong Kong.

Materials and Methods: From 1993 to 1998, all abstracts submitted for the meetings were evaluated and classified according to the hierarchy of evidence. The institutions of the presenting authors were recorded. Ovid MEDLINE search was then conducted to determine whether the abstracts were subsequently published in an indexed medical journal.

Results: In total, 165 abstracts were submitted for the meeting in a 5-year period. Randomized controlled trials constituted 12% of this research. Participation from community surgeons showed an encouraging trend from 17% in 1993 to 63% in 1998. In the first 4 years, 38% of abstracts were of publishable quality. More than half of the prospective randomized controlled trials were selected for presentation and subsequently published. Those abstracts selected for presentation have a higher chance of being published subsequently (P < 0.03).

Conclusions: The randomized controlled trial remains a powerful research tool but is scarce in Hong Kong surgical research.

Keywords: abstracts; audit of research quality; randomized controlled trial; research quality

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1046/j.1442-2034.2000.00055.x

Affiliations: 1: Department of Surgery, Prince of Wales Hospital, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong.

Publication date: 2000-05-01