Background: Research presented to a scientific meeting is inaccessible to clinicians, unless it is also published in a cited journal.
Aims: To assess the publication rate of studies presented to two UK national paediatric meetings: the Paediatric Research Society (PRS) and the British Paediatric Association (BPA).
Methods: A Medline search in December 1999 for the first authors of all plenary abstracts presented in 1996. If not found, authors contacted by postal questionnaire.
Results: Information was obtained on 88/89 presentations. Twenty five of 48 PRS and 31 of 40 BPA studies were published in Medline listed journals. The major reason for non-publication was that they had not been submitted (PRS 15/48, BPA 6/40). Some authors were still hoping to do so (PRS 7, BPA 2). Other reasons were: publication in other forms (theses, book chapters, non-Medline journals) (PRS 5, BPA 2), or still being reviewed (PRS 3, BPA 1). Ten of 11 randomised, controlled trials were published, but only 20 of 37 observational studies were submitted and published.
Conclusion: Presenters to paediatric meetings need help in submitting and publishing their work.