Guidelines of the Scientific Committee of the Pediatric Orthopedic Section of the PTOiTr regarding abstracts submission for the 2nd Congress of the Polish Pediatric Orthopedic Society.
The Scientific Committee of the Pediatric Orthopedic Section of PTOiTr (SC) presents guidelines regarding the structure and content of abstracts submitted for the section's symposiums and the method of their qualification for oral presentations during the symposiums.
The Scientific Committee reminds of the generally accepted level of scientific significance (importance) of works, following Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM) principles:
- Clinical studies
- Case controls
- Case series
- Case reports
- Expert opinions
The scientific value of works increases with prospective, randomized studies supported by statistical analysis.
**Abstract Structure Guidelines:**
- Maximum word count: 350 words.
- No information identifying authors or the institution should be included in the abstract.
- Classic division of the abstract text, including the following information:
- Introduction: Not necessarily required
- Objective: Presenting the main goal of the work
- Character: Research work; comparative study; description of a homogeneous group of patients (e.g., treatment outcomes); literature meta-analysis; case description; review article
- Material: Presentation of the studied group considering:
- Patient selection method (randomized, consecutive)
- Gender distribution
- Age range and average age, follow-up range and average
- Applied classifications and distribution of the studied group according to them
- Methods:
- Description/name of applied therapeutic, research, clinical, functional, radiological methods, and any statistical tests used
- Evaluation method (prospective, retrospective)
- Information on local Ethics Committee approval for experimental studies.
**Results:**
- Presentation of obtained results exclusively based on the stated methods.
- Long-term results: avarage follow-up over 5 years
- Medium-term results: average follow-up 3-5 years
- Early results: average follow-up up to 3 years.
**Conclusions:**
- Only conclusions derived from the presented results, referencing data from orthopedic literature.
- Authors' personal beliefs or speculations not based on presented results, as well as assumptions or generally known views, should not be included in the conclusions.
Abstracts not meeting these criteria will not be evaluated.
**Abstract Qualification Rules:**
The Scientific Committee evaluates works anonymously, receiving abstracts with assigned numbers from the symposium organizer, who acts as an intermediary between SC and the authors.
Qualification for oral presentation at the PPOS Symposium is based on the methodological aspects of the submitted works. Therefore, in abstract evaluation, the Scientific Committee will particularly consider:
- Whether the material selection is adequate for further research on the topic proposed by the authors.
- Whether the number of assessed patients allows credible conclusions.
- Whether the observation period is sufficient for the given condition and justifies drawing conclusions.
- Whether the correct research methods were used and if valuable conclusions can be drawn using them, comparing obtained results with other works.
- Whether presented results directly arise from the applied research methods.
- Whether the significance of results is confirmed by statistical methods.
- Whether conclusions directly arise from the presented results.
The SC does not directly assess presented results, leaving them for general discussion during the symposium unless they significantly deviate from generally accepted orthopedic knowledge and their methodology raises serious doubts.
SC members independently evaluate each abstract, presenting their qualification with justification to the SC Chair.
Abstracts receiving 3 negative opinions are disqualified from oral presentation.
Those receiving 2 negative opinions may be returned to authors for suggested SC changes and reevaluation.
Abstracts receiving 1 negative opinion may be qualified after agreement between SC members or returned to authors for revision.
The Scientific Committee allows the possibility of qualifying for presentation those works where authors present only preliminary results (full results under development). However, this is conditional on a full and proper description of the method and research material, adequate to the work's goal. In such situations, including final conclusions in the abstract is not advisable.
The SC sends the qualified abstracts to the symposium organizer, who then forwards the proposed scientific program of the symposium to the SC Chair for approval before its public announcement.
Works must be submitted solely in electronic form through the above panel.
Submitting a work is equivalent to obtaining consent from all co-authors.
The final deadline for submitting works is February 15, 2024.