Publication rates of abstracts from two pharmacy meetings

OBJECTIVE: To determine the rate of publication of abstracts presented at the 1994 American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) Midyear Clinical Meeting and the 1994 American College of Clinical Pharmacists (ACCP) Annual Meeting. METHODS: Abstracts presented at the 1994 ASHP Midyear Meeting were evaluated for subsequent publication as full articles in journals indexed in MEDLINE, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts, and Current Contents. RESULTS: Five hundred one abstracts presented at the 1994 ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting were evaluated; 55 (11%) of these had been published. Two hundred fifteen abstracts presented at the 1994 ACCP Annual Meeting were evaluated; 71 (33%) of these had been published. CONCLUSION: The publication rates for abstracts presented at ASHP and ACCP meeting were found to be lower than many of those for other medical groups. The presentation of research abstracts are not subsequently published as full research reports. The failure to publish the results of the studies may limit the ability ofa reader to judge the validity, reliability, and generalizability of the research. This could affect the use of the findings in clinical practice and in supporting or refuting other research findings.