Abstracts and ePosters

Best of Meeting Abstracts

Resident/Fellow Travel Awards

Patient Safety Award (NEW!)

President's Choice

Contents

Deadlines and Overview
Submission Content
Mandatory Attestations
Review and Grading Process
Presentation During Meeting
Awards
Availability After Meeting

All scientific abstracts are considered for:

• Moderated session presentation
• Inclusion in the meeting app, online ePoster website, and RAPM journal listing
• Best of Meeting Awards, including oral or video presentation 
• One of three Resident/Fellow Travel Awards, each receiving complimentary meeting registration and a certificate of recognition 

Deadlines and Overview

• Abstract Submission Deadline (no extensions): Thursday, January 6, 11:59 pm ET
• Abstract Notifications Sent: By Monday, January 31
• Pre-Registration Deadline for Inclusion in Meeting Materials:  March 1
• ePoster Submission Deadline: Thursday, February 24

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Abstracts must be submitted via the online submission system at www.asra.com. The system allows storing abstracts as a draft in order to make changes. However, abstracts must be formally submitted before the deadline in order to be considered.  Key abstract submission guidelines include: 

• In proper and grammatically correct English
• No limit to the number of abstracts that may be submitted
• If previously submitted to a different meeting an abstract may still be submitted
• The submitting author is required to ensure that all co-authors are aware of the abstract content before submission
• ASRA does not share with an institution or employer information of those who have submitted abstract(s)
• A presenter is expected to attend the meeting and present the poster
• Meeting registration is required at least 3 weeks prior to the meeting in order to be included in the final program
• There is no fee to submit an abstract, but if accepted, there is an ePoster fee of USD $75 (plus tax where applicable).
• Quality suitable for publication and strict adherence with all requirements outlined in the call for abstracts

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Submission Content

Abstract Category

• Scientific Abstracts
  • Acute Pain
  • Chronic Pain
  • Regional Anesthesia
  • Emerging Technology
  • Education
  • Case Series (5 or more patients; patient informed consent required for submission)
• Medically Challenging Cases: Report of up to 4 cases having a similar presentation; case series of 5 or more patients must be presented as a scientific abstract. Patient informed consent required for submission. 
• Safety/QA/QI Projects: Showcase for Resident quality improvement projects with a focus on acute pain and regional anesthesiology. IRB approval is not required for this category.

Abstract Title (limited to 130 characters including spaces in sentence format) 

Submitting Author Details: The submitting author will receive all communications regarding the abstract and is responsible for informing the other authors, as necessary.

Co-Author(s) Details: Name, contact information, role (author, co-author, presenting author), and display/list order.  Must include submitting author information in this list, if appropriate.

Abstract Body: Strictly limited to 1000 words over the following content areas:

• Introduction
• Material and Methods (including statement of IRB approval/waiver, IND approval, patient informed consent, etc.)
• Results / Case Report
• Discussion
• References (max. 5 references, not included in 1000 word count)
• Tables (not included in 1000 word count; maximum 3 tables of 10 rows x 10 columns)
• Images (not included in 1000 word count)
  • Patient faces must be entirely covered
  • Only figures in JPG format may be uploaded
  • Maximum 2 images
  • Maximum file size of each image is 500 KB
  • Maximum pixel size is 600(w) x 800(h) pixel
  • File type must be one of the following: .pdf, .jpg, .jpeg, .png

 Important Considerations

• No promotional content of a commercial entity may be included (brand/trade/product names, photos, logos, company names, etc.).
• If necessary for clarity, a trade/product name may be included parenthetically once in the materials and methods section, but no more, and not in the abstract title. If more than one company makes the product, all applicable trade names are identified.
• Any off-label indications should be clearly marked as such. 

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Mandatory Attestations

Conflicts of Interest Disclosure: All submissions require disclosure of financial or other relationships with a commercial interest producing, marketing, re-selling, or distributing health care goods or services consumed by, or used on, patients. Disclosure must include the company name(s) and nature of relationship (honoraria/expenses, consulting/advisory board, funded research, royalties/patent, stock options, equity position/ownership, employee, other similar relations). Disclosure is required for the submitting author and their spouse/partner over the last 12 months. 

Institutional Review Board (IRB) and/or Animal Use Committee Approval (select one)

• IRB and/or animal use committee approval was either obtained or waived for the study. IMPORTANT: abstracts must include this approval/waiver statement under methods and materials.
• This is a medically challenging case and IRB approval is not mandatory, but I will adhere to the other submission guidelines below.

Patient Informed Consent and Protected Health Information (select all that apply)

• Patient informed consent was obtained for submission of a case report. IMPORTANT: abstracts must include this consent statement under methods and materials.
• All patient protected health information has been de-identified; patient faces are entirely covered.
• This is a scientific abstract with no patient protected health information. 

Off-Label Drug Use (select all that apply)

• If my study involves off-label use of drugs placed near the neuraxis, I have obtained an FDA IND and/or I have followed the conditions set forth regarding such experimentation as described within the How to Format Data for Presentation in the Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine Journal.
• If my study involves off-label use of drugs for peripheral nerve block, I have obtained IRB approval.
• All off-label indications have been clearly indicated as such in the abstract. IMPORTANT: abstracts without this text will be rejected.
• There are no off-label indications included. 

Trade Names (select one)

• No promotional content of a commercial entity is included (brand/trade/product names, photos, logos, company names, etc.).
• If necessary for clarity, a trade/product name is included parenthetically once in the materials and methods section, but no more, and not in the abstract title. If more than one company makes the product, all applicable trade names are identified. 

Copyrighted Material (select one)

• There are no copyrighted figures, images, or content in my abstract.
• If copyrighted figures, images or content are contained in my abstract, I have obtained the necessary permission from the copyright owner. 

Other

• I would like my abstract to be considered for oral presentation during the moderated poster sessions. (If not, will not be considered of Best of Meeting awards)
• I am a resident or fellow, ASRA member, and would like to be considered for a travel award. (ASRA membership is required for award eligibility. Join now.)
• I will be using an infographic for my poster.

Agreement and Submission

• I reviewed this abstract and all information is correct. I accept that the content of this abstract cannot be modified or corrected after final submission; I am aware that it will be published exactly as submitted.
• I and all others listed as (co-)authors contributed substantively to the writing, review, and work described by this abstract, and further affirm that it was not prepared or written by anyone not listed as an author.
• I am the sole owner and/or have the rights of all the information and content. The publication of the abstract does not infringe any third party rights including, but not limited to, intellectual property rights. I herewith grant ASRA a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable nonexclusive license to use, reproduce, publish, translate, distribute, and display the abstract content.
• Submission of the abstract constitutes my consent to print and/or electronic publication (e.g. meeting website, program, other promotions, etc.)
• The submitting author is responsible for informing the other authors about the status of the abstract.
• It is the author's responsibility to maintain necessary documentation for all attestations (IRB approval/waiver, patient informed consent, copyright, etc.). ASRA is not liable for any issues arising from improper documentation.
• I understand that my abstract may be immediately rejected and/or removed from any publication if it does not thoroughly comply with all of the above requirements. 

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Review and Grading Process

Abstracts are blind reviewed by at minimum 2 committee members and are graded using a 1 to 9 scale as detailed below.  The ASRA committee performing the review and selecting abstracts for presentation is identified based on the abstract category. 

Scientific Abstracts

• Research Committee
• Support from the Scientific/Education Committee members with expertise in each field as necessary

Medically Challenging Cases

• Scientific/Education Planning Committee 

Safety/QA/QI Projects

• Support from the Scientific/Education Committee members and volunteer Fellowship Directors

The ASRA committee review and ranking of abstract submissions does not constitute peer review and should not be interpreted as such. Notification regarding the status (accepted for poster presentation or rejected) will be sent to the abstract author approximately 2 months prior to the meeting. Some submitted abstracts may not be accepted based on their quality or space limitations at the meeting venue.

Reviewer Checklist
Reviewers will complete the checklist below to verify that all requirements are integrated into the submitted abstract. Abstracts not complying with all requirements will be automatically rejected. There will be no revision and resubmission period or process.  Submission Requirements:

• The abstract is correctly categorized.
• The abstract is incorrectly categorized and should be re-categorized (see comments).
• All abstract content areas are thoroughly completed.
• Conflicts of interest disclosure and financial support have been declared.
• IRB, animal use committee, and/or patient informed consent stated or waived, as necessary.
• If off-label use, proper approval obtained (IND and/or IRB) and/or follows conditions set forth regarding such experimentation as described within the How to Format Data for Presentation in the  Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine Journal.
• Any off-label indications have been clearly marked as such.
• No promotional content has been used (brand/trade names, logos, ultrasound logos, etc.). If necessary for clarity, a trade/product name is included parenthetically once in the Materials and Methods section, but no more, and not in the abstract title. If more than one company makes the product, all applicable trade names are identified.
• Copyright permission obtained, if necessary. 

• Comments, reasons for rejection, or re-categorization: (open text box)
• Incorrectly categorized; Recategorize to Scientific Abstract
• Incorrectly categorized; Recategorize to Medically Challenging Case 
• Incorrectly categorized; Recategorize to Safety/QA/QI

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Presentation During Meeting

ePoster Fee: ASRA does not charge a fee to submit an abstract. However, USD $75 (plus tax where applicable) will be charged for each abstract actually accepted for ePoster presentation. This payment is non-refundable and partially offsets ASRA’s cost for abstract presentation in the ePoster format. This ePoster fee is generally less expensive than printing a poster.  The ePoster fee will be charged after abstract acceptance and upon online submission of the ePoster.

Meeting Pre-Registration: Only abstracts/ePosters by authors who register no later than the ePoster submission deadline will be included in the final program and meeting materials. Meeting registration is refundable according to the meeting cancellation policy. 

Eligibility: Only authors listed on the submitted abstract may present during the meeting. Investigators who have abstracts approved for presentation but fail to attend the meeting three years in a row will be prohibited from submitting abstracts for the following two years. 

ePoster Display: All abstracts accepted for poster presentation during the annual meeting will be available using ePoster technology and may include audio or video files.  The ePosters will not be formally moderated during general viewing hours. 

Moderated Poster Sessions: Upon submission, authors will have the option to indicate if they would like to be considered for oral presentation during the annual meeting. The maximum number of moderated sessions will be determined by the project management team based on program organization and meeting space; ASRA will provide as many opportunities as possible. Moderated poster sessions will include at least one dedicated session for medically challenging cases. All other sessions will be allocated for presentation of scientific abstracts; these sessions will be structured according to category and subcategory as much as possible. The final number of presentations will be based on the quality of submitted abstracts. Posters will be moderated at various times by various moderators. Each presenter will be allocated maximum 10 minutes per poster (5 minutes presentation and 5 minutes discussion). 

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Awards

Eligibility: Membership in ASRA is not required to submit an abstract. However, only abstracts submitted by ASRA members will be considered for the best of meeting awards. 

Best of Meeting Abstracts (Scientific Abstracts only): The top 10 highest scoring scientific abstracts that have met all ASRA abstract submission requirements and ASRA membership will be sent to the research committee, which will select 3 best of meeting abstracts.  Best of abstract winners benefit from the following.

• Inclusion in a moderated poster session
• Certificate of achievement (mailed by the ASRA office after the meeting)
• Poster is tagged in the ePoster system
• Invitation to submit a video presentation to be posted on the ASRA Website

Best of meeting award recipients must participate in the above presentation activities.  If a winner is unable to participate, an alternative award winner will be selected.  

Resident/Fellow Best of Meeting Abstracts and Research  Award: Upon submission, resident/fellow submitters have the option of having their abstract considered for the resident/fellow research  award.  The top 10 highest scoring resident/fellow scientific abstracts will be sent to the research committee chair who will then select 3 to receive an award. The resident/fellow best of meeting and research  award recipients benefit from the following.

• Inclusion in a moderated poster session
• Certificate of achievement
• Highlighted poster in the ePoster system
• Invitation to submit a video presentation to be posted on the ASRA Website

Resident/fellow best of meeting and research award recipients must participate in the above presentation activities.  If a winner is unable to participate, an alternative award winner will be selected. 

Best Infographic:  During the submission process, scientific abstract presenters will have the option to check if they will be submitting their abstracts as an infographic.  The top infographic that has met all ASRA abstract submission requirements and ASRA membership will be chosen by the Meeting Scientific Planning Committee. The best infographic winner will benefit from the following:

• Invitation to give an oral presentation from the podium (max. 5 minutes with 1 slide of infographic submitted prior to the meeting)
• Certificate of achievement (mailed by the ASRA office after the meeting)
• Poster is tagged in the ePoster system

Best infographic recipient must participate in the above presentation activities. If a winner is unable to participate, an alternative award winner will be selected.

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Availability After Meeting

ASRA Society and/or Meeting Websites: Abstracts (as submitted for initial grading) will be included on the ASRA website for three years (starting from March 2022). All submitted ePosters will be available online prior to the meeting. Medically challenging cases ePosters are removed three months after the meeting and scientific abstracts after maximum three years. 

Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine Journal (RAPM) Listing (Scientific Abstracts only): Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine (RAPM) is ASRA’s official journal, publishing peer-reviewed scientific and clinical studies.  Scientific abstracts presented during the annual meeting are listed in the journal with abstract title, author, and affiliation data only; full abstracts are not included in print, but will be posted on the ASRA website with a link to the RAPM journal website. Medically challenging cases will not be printed in the journal or available on the journal’s website. ePosters will not be printed in the journal.

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