Call for Abstracts

DEADLINE: AUGUST 1, 2024

NOTIFICATION OF DECISION: September 6, 2024

MEETING DETAILS:
PCPLC 2024 Annual Meeting
November 13-15
Emory Conference Center Hotel, Atlanta, Georgia

PCPLC Abstract Overview

The PCPLC was founded in 2016 and has to date established itself as a multi-center group of care providers in the field dedicated to learning and research in pediatric colorectal and pelvic disorders. This year our Annual Meeting is being held in Atlanta, Georgia from November 13-15.

Scientific abstracts are welcome in a variety of categories (including basic science and clinical research) but must be related to colorectal and pelvic care in the pediatric (and transitioning to adult) population. Submissions are welcome from those with an interest in colorectal and pelvic care but should be sponsored by a physician or allied health professional. Acceptance of submitted work obligates the presenter to register as for the PCPLC Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia. Register Now!

Abstracts must be submitted through the PCPLC Abstract Submission Site and are subject to the published deadlines and guidelines. Abstracts are peer-reviewed and scored on originality, scientific merit, study design, clarity of presentation, impact and relevance to pediatric surgical care or research. Submitted abstracts are assumed to represent original work, and must comply with the highest ethical research practices, including the obtaining of institutional review board (IRB) approval where appropriate. Work that has been presented in other forums IS eligible for consideration – the only caveat is that it must not be accepted for publication in a medical journal.

All work will be considered for either an oral (“plenary”) or poster presentation unless otherwise stated that the authors wish to be considered for a poster only.

Interesting case submissions are meant to be difficult/challenging cases of patients with surgical colorectal or pelvic disorders that are presented to obtain feedback from content experts about management options.

Videos of new techniques are also welcome, and those that have been presented at other meetings may be submitted for consideration.

All institutional and personal information should be removed from the submitted work, including for those videos submitted to allow for unbiased judging of the scientific work.

PCPLC Abstract Type Details

Scientific Oral “Plenary” Presentations (November 14 from 1:00-2:45 PM)

• Abstracts should be formatted as listed below in “abstract submission details.”
• If accepted:
  o Presentation is limited to 5 minutes plus 3 minutes for discussion.
  o Unlimited number of slides.
  o Final presentation must be submitted by November 1, 2024
• These abstracts are eligible to submit manuscripts for publication in the Annual Meeting edition of The Journal of Pediatric Surgery. The PCPLC is afforded the opportunity to publish 3-5 papers from its annual meeting in The Journal of Pediatric Surgery. Manuscript submission is optional but encouraged. Presentation of your abstract at the annual meeting is not a guarantee of acceptance for publication. Manuscript submission guidelines will be forwarded to those authors whose work is accepted for presentation in this category.

Video Presentations (November 14 from 1:00-2:45 PM)

• Video is limited to 5-minutes.
• Videos should be submitted in .mp4 format and should include narration.
• If accepted:
  o Video presentations will be presented in the oral session on November 14, from 1-2:45 pm where the narrated video will play and there will be 3 minutes available for discussion, thus the author or her representative must be present.
  o The video that was submitted by the author initially will be considered the final video for presentation unless specific changes must be made. This will occur at the discretion of the program committee.
• These presentations are NOT eligible for manuscript submission.

Scientific Oral “Poster” Presentations (November 13 from 3:30 – 5:30 PM)

• Abstracts should be formatted as listed below in “abstract submission details”.
• Authors may choose to have their work judged as a poster only if desired, and this must be identified as such when the abstract is submitted.
• Posters will be presented at a dedicated interactive poster session.
• Presenter must be present at session.
• Posters will consist of one PowerPoint slide that will accompany an oral presentation of no longer than 3 minutes, with discussion to take place for 3-5 minutes thereafter. Additional details on the construction of the poster will be emailed to the submitting author upon acceptance.
• These abstracts are NOT eligible for manuscript submission.

Interesting Case Presentations (November 15 from 2:45 – 3:45 PM)
Abstract should be constructed as listed here (different than for a regular scientific abstract):

• Title should be short and descriptive highlighting the challenge the case poses. Avoid declarative or interrogatory title styles.
• Case should be a succinct review of the case highlighting the controversies or difficulties.
• Summary should summarize the questions to be asked by the content experts.

If accepted:

• The presentation is limited to 5-minutes plus 10 minutes for discussion.
• Do not submit video as part of the original submission, photos can be used for the abstract.
• Video or other visual adjuncts may be used if accepted for presentation.

Abstract Submission Details

All abstracts (oral “plenary” presentations and oral posters) should be constructed as follows:

• Title
  o Should be short and descriptive. Avoid declarative or interrogatory title styles.
• Purpose
  o Should be a succinct statement of the research question or hypothesis to be addressed.
• Methods
  o Should include the clinical setting (taking care not to identify the institution name), sampling criteria and inclusive dates. The control group should be adequately described. Specific mention should be made of the number of experimental subjects or patients in groups (n=). The statistical method and
  levels of significance should be included. IRB and/or IACUC approval should be mentioned here if applicable.
• Results
  o Should be stated in sufficient detail to support the conclusion, with only enough interpretation to indicate relevance; extended discussion or literature reviews should be avoided.
• Conclusion
  o Should summarize the abstract (We conclude…) with a brief statement of findings clearly supported by the data, consistent with the research purpose, and with a minimum of further suggestions or inferences. The conclusion should be readable as a short, stand-alone statement.

Abstract Text

• The abstract must be written in English. Authors who do not utilize English as a first language are encouraged to seek assistance for writing abstracts with proper English grammar and syntax.
• Authors and institutions must be omitted from the abstract text. Because of the blinding process used during the review process these rules must be observed. Non-conforming abstracts will NOT be considered.
• Abstracts must be limited to 300 words and one graphic element or one table, which do not count against the 300-word limit.
• Tables are limited to a maximum of 7 columns and 10 rows.
• Graphics should be submitted in a .jpg or .gif format. Do not submit .bmp files. Maximum file size is 30MB.
• The abstract should clearly state the purpose for the study or review, the results
  obtained and the conclusions. Promises to explain the work or vague presentations of data will result in rejection.
• Tables, figures, and graphs should not be used in the abstract unless they are simple and illustrate the central theme of the work in ways that text cannot.
• Abbreviations conjured up for use within an abstract are discouraged. Thus, non-standard abbreviations should be avoided. There should be no abbreviations used in the conclusion. Authors agree to copy editing of the abstract.

Financial Disclosures

Authors must disclose any financial interest/relationship that they have with any commercial interest related to the content of the presentation. In addition, authors must identify any off- label or experimental uses of any drugs that are presented in the abstract.

Informed Consent: IRB/IACUC Approval

Institutional Review Board (IRB) and/or Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) approval must be indicated for all studies involving human subjects and/or animals. IRB approval is required for retrospective reviews. Indication on the abstract form that IRB/IACUC approval has been obtained implies that written approval from the appropriate institutional committee has been obtained. Authors of abstracts that are exempt from IRB approval must provide documentation of exemption in the form of a letter from the chair of their IRB or provide a letter from the senior APSA member author on the abstract attesting to the fact that the study design meets all criteria for exemption from IRB review and approval. The program committee reserves the right to refuse claims of exemption if, in the opinion of the program committee members, the study design does not meet criteria for exemption. IRB/IACUC requirements must be satisfied upon submission of the abstract. Failure to comply with this requirement will result in the abstract being withdrawn. There will be no exceptions to this rule. Any studies involving human subjects must conform to the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki of the World Medical Association (Clinical 57 Research 1966; 14:103) and must meet all requirements governing informed consent of the country in which it was performed. To complete your abstract submission, you will be required to provide a copy of your IRB/IACUC approval (or equivalent of) or exemption for the abstract to be considered.

Categories

Abstracts should be identified by one (or more of the following categories/key words)

• Basic Science
• Anorectal malformations
• Hirschsprung disease
• Education
• Ethics
• Pelvic floor disorders
• Motility disorders
• Urologic disorders
• Gynecologic disorders
• Disorders of sexual differentiation
• Other

Authors

Credit for authorship implies substantial contributions to conception, design, analysis and interpretation of data, and to writing and revising the abstract. The number of authors should be reasonable, given the subject and experimental design. Data generated from multiple
institutions should include an author from each institution or permission from a representative from each institution to use the data.

Corresponding Author

The corresponding author must provide a reliable email address at the time of abstract submission and must notify the PCPLC of any changes in contact information. In addition to acting as the liaison for their abstract(s), the duty of the corresponding author is to warrant to PCPLC they have reviewed the material to assure the quality and integrity of the work and will supervise preparation of the presentation and the manuscript. The individual identified as the presenting author during submission is, by default, also the corresponding author. The PCPLC program committee must be notified of any changes in contact information.

Presenting Author

In some cases, the presenting author may differ from the corresponding author. This is
permissible. If so, this must be delineated when the abstract is submitted for consideration. The level of training for the presenting author at the time of the meeting must be documented (i.e., college student, medical student, resident, fellow, nurse practitioner or physician assistant, attending surgeon, other). This information will be utilized only after blinded abstract review for programming purposes. The PCPLC program committee must be notified of any changes in
presenting author information as soon as possible.