Please follow the Abstract Submission Guidelines below and on the Abstract Submission Platform carefully, otherwise, your abstract cannot be selected for review.  You are not required to be an EACTS member to submit an abstract, however you will be required to create a user profile in order to submit an abstract using the Abstract Submission Platform.

 

 

Your abstract must conform to the following guidelines:

 

Abstract Categories

For your submission, you are required to select one of the following categories:

• Adult Congenital

• Aorta & Aortic Arch

• Aortic Root

• Aortic Valve

• Atrial Fibrillation

• Coronary Artery Disease

• Heart Failure/VADs

• Mitral Valve

• Pediatric Congenital

• Quality and Outcomes Initiatives

• Tricuspid Valve

 

Title case: Capitalize the first letter of each main word in the title; please do not enter information in all upper case or in quotation marks.

 

Section Headings: All abstracts must be structured using the following section headings:

1. Purpose - Include a brief statement on the intent of the study and the current state of research in the  field. Specifically, describe the quality gap (limitation or problem) within the practice of cardiothoracic surgery that this research addresses. (50 word maximum)

2. Methods - The methods of the study or experimental approach should be clearly and briefly defined. (100 word maximum)

3. Results - Provide a summary of the study findings, including sufficient details, to support those conclusions. These may be presented in a brief table (no more than five columns of data). (150 word maximum)

4. Conclusions - Include a statement concerning the significance of the work and its implications for further research. In what way might the results of this project supplement or inform clinical or research knowledge or strategies? (50 word maximum)

 

Tables: Up to one (1) table allowed. The table cannot have more than five (5) columns of data. The file should be .jpg, .tif, or .eps format. (PowerPoint images, Excel, and  Word Documents are not permitted.)

 

Images: Up to one (1) image allowed.

• Images can be displayed only in black and white. (Please take this into consideration when developing images.) Images should be between 300 and 600 dpi at 3"x5".

• The file should be in .jpg, .tif, or .eps format. (PowerPoint images, Excel, and  Word Documents are not permitted.)

 

Other:

• There should be no reference to the institutions involved in the body of the text.

• The institution name, state, and email address information of the presenting author and all co-authors must be provided.

• When percentages are used, the absolute numbers of derivation must be stated.

• To ensure fairness, abstracts are read and graded in a blinded fashion with no references to authors or institutions.  Abstracts are reviewed by peer reviewers based on scientific merit, originality, and practice gaps identified.

 

General 

• Only abstracts submitted using the online system will be considered for presentation.

• Only authors (and not their assistants) may complete submissions; authors will be responsible for the information provided.

• The submitting author must provide accurate email addresses of all co-authors, and must attest

• that (a) all co-authors of the abstract have granted consent for the material to be submitted for presentation, and (b) that the submitting author has been granted the right by all co-authors to act on their behalf.

• For the submitted abstract, each co-author will be asked to complete a disclosure form.

• STS/EACTS reserves the right to withdraw any abstract at any time.

• All abstracts must be submitted in English. If selected for oral presentation during the Conference, the author may present in either English or Spanish.

• If an abstract is not accepted as an oral presentation, it may be accepted as a scientific poster presentation instead. The final determination on format is at the discretion of the Program Directors. Scientific posters must be displayed in English.

• The person listed as the presenting author for each abstract must attend the STS/EACTS Latin America Cardiovascular Surgery Conference. In the event that a change of presenting author must be made after abstract submission, EACTS must be notified in writing. NOTE: The replacement presenter must be a co-author of the abstract.

• Once an abstract has been accepted, additional authors may not be added.

• Abstract content must be based upon the best available evidence and should not promote any health care device, drug, other product or service.

• If the presenter has any relationship posing a conflict or potential conflict relevant to his or her session, he or she may not make any recommendations regarding relevant products or services as part of that session.

• If your abstract is selected, you will be asked to present it as either an oral presentation during a specific session or at the Poster Session; you will receive complete information (including poster dimensions and setup times) after notification of the Programme Committee’s decision.

• The Programme Committee will review your abstract, and you will be notified of its decision by mid- September 2019. Results will be sent only to the presenting author listed on the abstract via email. Only the presenting author will be notified. We kindly ask that the presenting author communicate this information with all co-authors.

• If accepted for presentation or display, your abstract will be printed in the course e-book, so please edit and proofread carefully.

 

Disclosure Information

Conflict of interest and FDA disclosure (if relevant) is required before an abstract will be accepted for consideration. If a potential conflict of interest exists, be sure to include the name of the organisation/company and the nature of the potential conflict.

 

• Each author must submit her/his individual disclosure when completing the abstract submission.

• It is the responsibility of the submitting author to identify each co-author on the abstract. Upon submission of the abstract, an email will be sent to each co-author, who will then be responsible for submitting her/his individual disclosure.

• If commercial relationship information and FDA disclosures are not received from all co-authors by the abstract submission deadline, the abstract will not be considered for review.

• For live presentations, all relationships with commercial interests and FDA disclosures, as defined in the Education Disclosure Policy (below), must be stated orally to the audience at the beginning of each presentation. In addition, a slide at the beginning of the PowerPoint presentation must be used to reveal the nature of the disclosure(s). This commercial relationship and FDA disclosure information will be noted in published materials. Speakers are required to communicate that they have nothing to disclose, if that is the case.

• For scientific poster presentations, all relationships with commercial interests must be displayed on each scientific poster along with any FDA disclosures.

 

Education Disclosure Policy  

As a sponsor of continuing medical education accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), The Society of Thoracic Surgeons requires that any individual who is in a position to control the content of an educational activity must disclose all relationships with commercial interests (including known relationships of his or her immediate family, department, and partners). The ACCME defines a commercial interest as “any entity producing, marketing, reselling, or distributing health care goods or services consumed by, or used on, patients. The ACCME does not consider providers of clinical service directly to patients to be commercial interests.” The question of whether a disclosed conflict situation could represent undue influence on the educational activity by a commercial interest or whether the disclosed information is sufficient to consider an abstract, presentation, or other educational enduring material to represent potentially biased information must be resolved prior to an individual’s involvement in STS/EACTS educational programming.

 

Required disclosures include (1) a financial interest of any amount (e.g., through ownership of stock, stock options, or bonds) (2) the receipt of any amount of cash, goods or services within the current 12-month period (e.g., through research grants, employment, consulting fees, royalties, travel, or gifts) or (3) a nonremunerative position of influence (e.g., as officer, director, trustee or public spokesperson). EXCLUDED from this disclosure requirement are blind trusts or other passive investments such as mutual funds. In the case of a financial or other relationship disclosure, the company, product/service, and the specific nature of the relationship must be noted. Disclosure is mandatory for any person involved in the planning, management, presentation, and/or evaluation of STS/EACTS educational activities.

 

Failure to disclose all relationships with commercial interests disqualifies the individual from being a planning committee member, a teacher, or an author of educational materials, and this individual cannot have any responsibility for the development, management, presentation, or evaluation of STS/EACTS educational activities. This requirement is intended neither to imply any impropriety of such relationships nor to prejudice any individual planner, presenter or author. It is merely to identify such relationships through full disclosure, and to allow STS/EACTS to assess and resolve potential influences on the educational activity prior to the planning and implementation of an educational activity. If no relationships with commercial interests exist, the individual must indicate this on the disclosure form.

 

Additionally, the fact that the presentation, paper, or other educational product describes (a) the use of a device, product, or drug that is not FDA approved or (b) an off-label use of an approved device, product, or drug must also be disclosed. This requirement has been adopted in response to FDA policy and case law involving medical societies and is not intended to prohibit or inhibit independent presentation or discussion regarding the uses of devices, products, and drugs as described in (a) or (b) above.

 

For live presentations, all disclosures must be stated orally and on a slide at the beginning of the presentation and will be noted in published material related to the activity. Slides, handouts, and other materials utilized as part of an educational activity cannot contain any advertising, trade names or a product group message. Speakers are required to disclose that they have nothing to disclose if this is the case.

 

Amended by the STS/EACTS Executive Committee: April 11, 2012

 

Withdrawal of an Abstract

To withdraw an abstract, the presenter must notify EACTS in writing. Please email EACTS at registration@eacts.co.uk and include the title of the abstract.