MP39-17 CURRENT PUBLICATION TRENDS IN UROLOGY LITERATURE

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Original research in urology journals has not been systematically assessed for quality in several years. Topic selection and measurements of quality may reflect the overall relevance of urology publications to their general urologist audience. In this study we seek to assess measures of quality of a selection of original research published in three major urology journals to identify temporal trends. METHODS: All original research articles from the months of January, February, and March from the years 2005, 2008, 2011, 2014, and 2017 in the Journal of Urology (JU), British Journal of Urology International (BJUI), and European Urology (EU) were assessed for multiple measures of research quality and article type. This includes topic; use of control, blinding, and randomization; single- vs. multi-center data; prospective vs retrospective data; use of administrative databases. Articles were independently assessed by two reviewers, who were blinded to each other’s assessment. A senior reviewer then compared the collected data for concordance and accuracy of assessment. Trends in the data were assessed between journals and over time. RESULTS: 1,285 articles were assessed. Trends in topics are reported in Table 1. Differences between journals are reported in Table 2. Data regarding quality metrics and classifications are reported in Table 3. CONCLUSIONS: The most common focus of original research in urology literature is cancer, specifically prostate cancer. Even in preeminent urology journals markers of quality study design (randomization, blinding, control groups) are infrequent. Variability is seen between these journals in the types and variety of studies published. Table. No title available. Table. No title available. Table. No title available. Source of Funding: none