Disciplinary Imbalances in Urology and Gynecology Research Publications within Functional Urology

TL;DR

This study examines the publication rates and disciplinary contributions in functional urology research from 2015 to 2019, highlighting imbalances between urology and gynecology.

Contribution

The study introduces a discrepancy scoring system to assess consistency between conference abstracts and full-text publications in functional urology.

Findings

Only 53% of EAU and 57% of ICS abstracts were published as full-text articles.

Urology departments dominated publications, contributing 68% at EAU and 55% at ICS.

Gynecology contributed minimally, with only 1% at EAU and 12% at ICS.

Abstract

(1) Background: This study aimed to quantify and evaluate the publication rate and discrepancies of functional urology abstracts from international conferences, and to explore the interdisciplinary contributions of urology and gynecology to the field. (2) Methods: A retrospective bibliometric and content analysis was conducted on abstracts presented between 2015 and 2019 at the EAU and ICS congresses, focusing on functional-urological keywords. A discrepancy scoring system ranging from 0 (minor discrepancies) to 3 (significant discrepancies) assessed the consistency between conference abstracts and full-text publications, and an in-depth analysis determined the disciplinary origin of these publications. (3) Results: Between 2015 and 2019, 53% of EAU and 57% of ICS congress abstracts were published as full-text articles, with minor discrepancies in 38% of EAU and 49% of ICS publications, and significant discrepancies in 17% from both. Urology departments dominated publications, contributing 68% at EAU and 55% at ICS, whereas gynecology contributed only 1% at EAU and 12% at ICS. (4) Conclusions: This study illuminates the need for improved reporting standards and interdisciplinary collaboration in functional urology, as well as increased gynecology research in functional urology-related fields, suggesting that addressing these issues is crucial for advancing the field and enhancing patient care.

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