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How to Write a Medical Abstract for Publication

abstract in medical research

Preparing Your Study, Review, or Article for Publication in Medical Journals

The majority of social, behavioral, biological, and clinical journals follow the conventional structured abstract form with the following four major headings (or variations of these headings):

OBJECTIVE   (Purpose; Aim; Goal) : Tells reader the purpose of your research and the questions it intends to answer

METHODS   (Setting; Study Design; Participants) : Explains the methods and process so that other researchers can assess, review, and replicate your study.

RESULTS (Findings; Outcomes) : Summarizes the most important findings of your study

CONCLUSIONS   (Discussion; Implications; Further Recommendations) : Summarizes the interpretation and implications of these results and presents recommendations for further research

Sample Health/Medical Abstract

abstract in medical research

Structured Abstracts Guidelines *

  • Total Word Count: ~200-300 words (depending on the journal)
  • Content: The abstract should reflect only the contents of the original paper (no cited work)

*   Always follow the formatting guidelines of the journal to which you are submitting your paper.

Useful Terms and Phrases by Abstract Section

Objective:  state your precise research purpose or question (1-2 sentences).

  • Begin with “To”: “We aimed to…” or “The objective of this study was to…” using a verb that accurately captures the action of your study.
  • Connect the verb to an object phrase to capture the central elements and purpose of the study, hypothesis , or research problem . Include details about the setting, demographics, and the problem or intervention you are investigating.

METHODS : Explain the tools and steps of your research (1-3 sentences)

  • Use the past tense if the study has been conducted; use the present tense if the study is in progress.
  • Include details about the study design, sample groups and sizes, variables, procedures, outcome measures, controls, and methods of analysis.

  RESULTS : Summarize the data you obtained (3-6 sentences)

  • Use the past tense when describing the actions or outcomes of the research.
  • Include results that answer the research question and that were derived from the stated methods; examine data by qualitative or quantitative means.
  • State whether the research question or hypothesis was proven or disproven.

CONCLUSIONS : Describe the key findings (2-5 sentences)

  • Use the present tense to discuss the findings and implications of the study results.
  • Explain the implications of these results for medicine, science, or society.
  • Discuss any major limitations of the study and suggest further actions or research that should be undertaken.

Before submitting your abstract to medical journals, be sure to receive proofreading services from Wordvice, including journal manuscript editing and paper proofreading , to enhance your writing impact and fix any remaining errors.

Related Resources

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  • Essential Academic Writing Words and Phrases  (My English Teacher.eu)
  • Academic Vocabulary, Useful Phrases for Academic Writing and Research Paper Writing  (Research Gate)
  • How to Compose a Journal Submission Cover Letter  (Wordvice/YouTube)
  • How to Write the Best Journal Submission Cover Letter  (Wordvice)
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How to write an abstract that will be accepted

  • Related content
  • Peer review
  • Mary Higgins , fellow in maternal fetal medicine 1 ,
  • Maeve Eogan , consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist 2 ,
  • Keelin O’Donoghue , consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist, and senior lecturer 3 ,
  • Noirin Russell , consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist 3
  • 1 Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
  • 2 Rotunda Hospital Dublin, Ireland
  • 3 Cork University Maternity Hospital, Ireland
  • mairenihuigin{at}gmail.com

Researchers do not always appreciate the importance of producing a good abstract or understand the best way of writing one. Mary Higgins and colleagues share some of the lessons they have learnt as both researchers and reviewers of abstracts

Effective abstracts reflect the time, work, and importance of the scientific research performed in the course of a study. A last minute approach and poor writing may not reflect the good quality of a study.

Between the four of us we have written over 150 published papers, as well as having reviewed numerous abstracts for national and international meetings. Nevertheless, we have all had abstracts rejected, and this experience has emphasised a number of teaching points that could help maximise the impact of abstracts and success on the world, or other, stage.

An abstract is the first glimpse an audience has of a study, and it is the ticket to having research accepted for presentation to a wider audience. For a study to receive the respect it deserves, the abstract should be as well written as possible. In practice, this means taking time to write the abstract, keeping it simple, reading the submission guidelines, checking the text, and showing the abstract to colleagues.

It is important to take the necessary time to write the abstract. Several months or years have been spent on this groundbreaking research, so take the time to show this. Five minutes before the call for abstracts closes is not the time to start putting it together.

Keep it simple, and think about the message that needs to be communicated. Some abstracts churn out lots of unrelated results and then have a conclusion that does not relate to the results, and this is just confusing. Plan what points need to be made, and then think about them a little more.

Read the submission guidelines and keep to the instructions provided in the call for abstracts. Don’t submit an unstructured abstract if the guidance has asked for a structured one. Comply with the word or letter count, and do not go over this.

An abstract comprises five parts of equal importance: the title, introduction and aims, methods, results, and conclusion. Allow enough time to write each part well.

The title should go straight to the point of the study. Make the study sound interesting so that it catches people’s attention. The introduction should include a brief background to the research and describe its aims. For every aim presented there needs to be a corresponding result in the results section. There is no need to go into detail in terms of the background to the study, as those who are reviewing the abstract will have some knowledge of the subject. The methods section can be kept simple—it is acceptable to write “retrospective case-control study” or “randomised controlled trial.”

The results section should be concrete and related to the aims. It is distracting and irritating to read results that have no apparent relation to the professed aims of the study. If something is important, highlight it or put it in italics to make it stand out. Include the number of participants, and ensure recognition is given if 10 000 charts have been reviewed. Equally, a percentage without a baseline number is not meaningful.

In the conclusion, state succinctly what can be drawn from the results, but don’t oversell this. Words like “possibly” and “may” can be useful in this part of the abstract but show that some thought has been put into what the results may mean. This is what divides the good from the not so good. Many people are capable of doing research, but the logical formation of a hypothesis and the argument of its proof are what make a real researcher.

Once you have written the abstract, check the spelling and grammar. Poor spelling or grammar can give the impression that the research is also poor. Show the abstract to the supervisor or principal investigator of the study, as this person’s name will go on the abstract as well. Then show the abstract to someone who knows nothing about the particular area of research but who knows something about the subject. Someone detached from the study might point out the one thing that needs to be said but that has been forgotten.

Then let it go; abstracts are not life and death scenarios. Sometimes an abstract will not be accepted no matter how wonderful it is. Perhaps there is a theme to the meeting, into which the research does not fit. Reviewers may also be looking for particular things. For one conference, we limited the number of case reports so that only about 10% were accepted. It may be that your research is in a popular or topical area and not all abstracts in that area can be chosen. On occasions, politics play a part, and individual researchers have little control over that.

Finally, remember that sometimes even the best reviewer may not appreciate the subtleties of your research and another audience may be more appreciative.

Competing interests: We have read and understood the BMJ Group policy on declaration of interests and have no relevant interests to declare.

abstract in medical research

Writing an Abstract for Your Research Paper

Definition and Purpose of Abstracts

An abstract is a short summary of your (published or unpublished) research paper, usually about a paragraph (c. 6-7 sentences, 150-250 words) long. A well-written abstract serves multiple purposes:

  • an abstract lets readers get the gist or essence of your paper or article quickly, in order to decide whether to read the full paper;
  • an abstract prepares readers to follow the detailed information, analyses, and arguments in your full paper;
  • and, later, an abstract helps readers remember key points from your paper.

It’s also worth remembering that search engines and bibliographic databases use abstracts, as well as the title, to identify key terms for indexing your published paper. So what you include in your abstract and in your title are crucial for helping other researchers find your paper or article.

If you are writing an abstract for a course paper, your professor may give you specific guidelines for what to include and how to organize your abstract. Similarly, academic journals often have specific requirements for abstracts. So in addition to following the advice on this page, you should be sure to look for and follow any guidelines from the course or journal you’re writing for.

The Contents of an Abstract

Abstracts contain most of the following kinds of information in brief form. The body of your paper will, of course, develop and explain these ideas much more fully. As you will see in the samples below, the proportion of your abstract that you devote to each kind of information—and the sequence of that information—will vary, depending on the nature and genre of the paper that you are summarizing in your abstract. And in some cases, some of this information is implied, rather than stated explicitly. The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association , which is widely used in the social sciences, gives specific guidelines for what to include in the abstract for different kinds of papers—for empirical studies, literature reviews or meta-analyses, theoretical papers, methodological papers, and case studies.

Here are the typical kinds of information found in most abstracts:

  • the context or background information for your research; the general topic under study; the specific topic of your research
  • the central questions or statement of the problem your research addresses
  • what’s already known about this question, what previous research has done or shown
  • the main reason(s) , the exigency, the rationale , the goals for your research—Why is it important to address these questions? Are you, for example, examining a new topic? Why is that topic worth examining? Are you filling a gap in previous research? Applying new methods to take a fresh look at existing ideas or data? Resolving a dispute within the literature in your field? . . .
  • your research and/or analytical methods
  • your main findings , results , or arguments
  • the significance or implications of your findings or arguments.

Your abstract should be intelligible on its own, without a reader’s having to read your entire paper. And in an abstract, you usually do not cite references—most of your abstract will describe what you have studied in your research and what you have found and what you argue in your paper. In the body of your paper, you will cite the specific literature that informs your research.

When to Write Your Abstract

Although you might be tempted to write your abstract first because it will appear as the very first part of your paper, it’s a good idea to wait to write your abstract until after you’ve drafted your full paper, so that you know what you’re summarizing.

What follows are some sample abstracts in published papers or articles, all written by faculty at UW-Madison who come from a variety of disciplines. We have annotated these samples to help you see the work that these authors are doing within their abstracts.

Choosing Verb Tenses within Your Abstract

The social science sample (Sample 1) below uses the present tense to describe general facts and interpretations that have been and are currently true, including the prevailing explanation for the social phenomenon under study. That abstract also uses the present tense to describe the methods, the findings, the arguments, and the implications of the findings from their new research study. The authors use the past tense to describe previous research.

The humanities sample (Sample 2) below uses the past tense to describe completed events in the past (the texts created in the pulp fiction industry in the 1970s and 80s) and uses the present tense to describe what is happening in those texts, to explain the significance or meaning of those texts, and to describe the arguments presented in the article.

The science samples (Samples 3 and 4) below use the past tense to describe what previous research studies have done and the research the authors have conducted, the methods they have followed, and what they have found. In their rationale or justification for their research (what remains to be done), they use the present tense. They also use the present tense to introduce their study (in Sample 3, “Here we report . . .”) and to explain the significance of their study (In Sample 3, This reprogramming . . . “provides a scalable cell source for. . .”).

Sample Abstract 1

From the social sciences.

Reporting new findings about the reasons for increasing economic homogamy among spouses

Gonalons-Pons, Pilar, and Christine R. Schwartz. “Trends in Economic Homogamy: Changes in Assortative Mating or the Division of Labor in Marriage?” Demography , vol. 54, no. 3, 2017, pp. 985-1005.

“The growing economic resemblance of spouses has contributed to rising inequality by increasing the number of couples in which there are two high- or two low-earning partners. [Annotation for the previous sentence: The first sentence introduces the topic under study (the “economic resemblance of spouses”). This sentence also implies the question underlying this research study: what are the various causes—and the interrelationships among them—for this trend?] The dominant explanation for this trend is increased assortative mating. Previous research has primarily relied on cross-sectional data and thus has been unable to disentangle changes in assortative mating from changes in the division of spouses’ paid labor—a potentially key mechanism given the dramatic rise in wives’ labor supply. [Annotation for the previous two sentences: These next two sentences explain what previous research has demonstrated. By pointing out the limitations in the methods that were used in previous studies, they also provide a rationale for new research.] We use data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) to decompose the increase in the correlation between spouses’ earnings and its contribution to inequality between 1970 and 2013 into parts due to (a) changes in assortative mating, and (b) changes in the division of paid labor. [Annotation for the previous sentence: The data, research and analytical methods used in this new study.] Contrary to what has often been assumed, the rise of economic homogamy and its contribution to inequality is largely attributable to changes in the division of paid labor rather than changes in sorting on earnings or earnings potential. Our findings indicate that the rise of economic homogamy cannot be explained by hypotheses centered on meeting and matching opportunities, and they show where in this process inequality is generated and where it is not.” (p. 985) [Annotation for the previous two sentences: The major findings from and implications and significance of this study.]

Sample Abstract 2

From the humanities.

Analyzing underground pulp fiction publications in Tanzania, this article makes an argument about the cultural significance of those publications

Emily Callaci. “Street Textuality: Socialism, Masculinity, and Urban Belonging in Tanzania’s Pulp Fiction Publishing Industry, 1975-1985.” Comparative Studies in Society and History , vol. 59, no. 1, 2017, pp. 183-210.

“From the mid-1970s through the mid-1980s, a network of young urban migrant men created an underground pulp fiction publishing industry in the city of Dar es Salaam. [Annotation for the previous sentence: The first sentence introduces the context for this research and announces the topic under study.] As texts that were produced in the underground economy of a city whose trajectory was increasingly charted outside of formalized planning and investment, these novellas reveal more than their narrative content alone. These texts were active components in the urban social worlds of the young men who produced them. They reveal a mode of urbanism otherwise obscured by narratives of decolonization, in which urban belonging was constituted less by national citizenship than by the construction of social networks, economic connections, and the crafting of reputations. This article argues that pulp fiction novellas of socialist era Dar es Salaam are artifacts of emergent forms of male sociability and mobility. In printing fictional stories about urban life on pilfered paper and ink, and distributing their texts through informal channels, these writers not only described urban communities, reputations, and networks, but also actually created them.” (p. 210) [Annotation for the previous sentences: The remaining sentences in this abstract interweave other essential information for an abstract for this article. The implied research questions: What do these texts mean? What is their historical and cultural significance, produced at this time, in this location, by these authors? The argument and the significance of this analysis in microcosm: these texts “reveal a mode or urbanism otherwise obscured . . .”; and “This article argues that pulp fiction novellas. . . .” This section also implies what previous historical research has obscured. And through the details in its argumentative claims, this section of the abstract implies the kinds of methods the author has used to interpret the novellas and the concepts under study (e.g., male sociability and mobility, urban communities, reputations, network. . . ).]

Sample Abstract/Summary 3

From the sciences.

Reporting a new method for reprogramming adult mouse fibroblasts into induced cardiac progenitor cells

Lalit, Pratik A., Max R. Salick, Daryl O. Nelson, Jayne M. Squirrell, Christina M. Shafer, Neel G. Patel, Imaan Saeed, Eric G. Schmuck, Yogananda S. Markandeya, Rachel Wong, Martin R. Lea, Kevin W. Eliceiri, Timothy A. Hacker, Wendy C. Crone, Michael Kyba, Daniel J. Garry, Ron Stewart, James A. Thomson, Karen M. Downs, Gary E. Lyons, and Timothy J. Kamp. “Lineage Reprogramming of Fibroblasts into Proliferative Induced Cardiac Progenitor Cells by Defined Factors.” Cell Stem Cell , vol. 18, 2016, pp. 354-367.

“Several studies have reported reprogramming of fibroblasts into induced cardiomyocytes; however, reprogramming into proliferative induced cardiac progenitor cells (iCPCs) remains to be accomplished. [Annotation for the previous sentence: The first sentence announces the topic under study, summarizes what’s already known or been accomplished in previous research, and signals the rationale and goals are for the new research and the problem that the new research solves: How can researchers reprogram fibroblasts into iCPCs?] Here we report that a combination of 11 or 5 cardiac factors along with canonical Wnt and JAK/STAT signaling reprogrammed adult mouse cardiac, lung, and tail tip fibroblasts into iCPCs. The iCPCs were cardiac mesoderm-restricted progenitors that could be expanded extensively while maintaining multipo-tency to differentiate into cardiomyocytes, smooth muscle cells, and endothelial cells in vitro. Moreover, iCPCs injected into the cardiac crescent of mouse embryos differentiated into cardiomyocytes. iCPCs transplanted into the post-myocardial infarction mouse heart improved survival and differentiated into cardiomyocytes, smooth muscle cells, and endothelial cells. [Annotation for the previous four sentences: The methods the researchers developed to achieve their goal and a description of the results.] Lineage reprogramming of adult somatic cells into iCPCs provides a scalable cell source for drug discovery, disease modeling, and cardiac regenerative therapy.” (p. 354) [Annotation for the previous sentence: The significance or implications—for drug discovery, disease modeling, and therapy—of this reprogramming of adult somatic cells into iCPCs.]

Sample Abstract 4, a Structured Abstract

Reporting results about the effectiveness of antibiotic therapy in managing acute bacterial sinusitis, from a rigorously controlled study

Note: This journal requires authors to organize their abstract into four specific sections, with strict word limits. Because the headings for this structured abstract are self-explanatory, we have chosen not to add annotations to this sample abstract.

Wald, Ellen R., David Nash, and Jens Eickhoff. “Effectiveness of Amoxicillin/Clavulanate Potassium in the Treatment of Acute Bacterial Sinusitis in Children.” Pediatrics , vol. 124, no. 1, 2009, pp. 9-15.

“OBJECTIVE: The role of antibiotic therapy in managing acute bacterial sinusitis (ABS) in children is controversial. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of high-dose amoxicillin/potassium clavulanate in the treatment of children diagnosed with ABS.

METHODS : This was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Children 1 to 10 years of age with a clinical presentation compatible with ABS were eligible for participation. Patients were stratified according to age (<6 or ≥6 years) and clinical severity and randomly assigned to receive either amoxicillin (90 mg/kg) with potassium clavulanate (6.4 mg/kg) or placebo. A symptom survey was performed on days 0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 10, 20, and 30. Patients were examined on day 14. Children’s conditions were rated as cured, improved, or failed according to scoring rules.

RESULTS: Two thousand one hundred thirty-five children with respiratory complaints were screened for enrollment; 139 (6.5%) had ABS. Fifty-eight patients were enrolled, and 56 were randomly assigned. The mean age was 6630 months. Fifty (89%) patients presented with persistent symptoms, and 6 (11%) presented with nonpersistent symptoms. In 24 (43%) children, the illness was classified as mild, whereas in the remaining 32 (57%) children it was severe. Of the 28 children who received the antibiotic, 14 (50%) were cured, 4 (14%) were improved, 4(14%) experienced treatment failure, and 6 (21%) withdrew. Of the 28children who received placebo, 4 (14%) were cured, 5 (18%) improved, and 19 (68%) experienced treatment failure. Children receiving the antibiotic were more likely to be cured (50% vs 14%) and less likely to have treatment failure (14% vs 68%) than children receiving the placebo.

CONCLUSIONS : ABS is a common complication of viral upper respiratory infections. Amoxicillin/potassium clavulanate results in significantly more cures and fewer failures than placebo, according to parental report of time to resolution.” (9)

Some Excellent Advice about Writing Abstracts for Basic Science Research Papers, by Professor Adriano Aguzzi from the Institute of Neuropathology at the University of Zurich:

abstract in medical research

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  • How to Write an Abstract | Steps & Examples

How to Write an Abstract | Steps & Examples

Published on February 28, 2019 by Shona McCombes . Revised on July 18, 2023 by Eoghan Ryan.

How to Write an Abstract

An abstract is a short summary of a longer work (such as a thesis ,  dissertation or research paper ). The abstract concisely reports the aims and outcomes of your research, so that readers know exactly what your paper is about.

Although the structure may vary slightly depending on your discipline, your abstract should describe the purpose of your work, the methods you’ve used, and the conclusions you’ve drawn.

One common way to structure your abstract is to use the IMRaD structure. This stands for:

  • Introduction

Abstracts are usually around 100–300 words, but there’s often a strict word limit, so make sure to check the relevant requirements.

In a dissertation or thesis , include the abstract on a separate page, after the title page and acknowledgements but before the table of contents .

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Table of contents

Abstract example, when to write an abstract, step 1: introduction, step 2: methods, step 3: results, step 4: discussion, tips for writing an abstract, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about abstracts.

Hover over the different parts of the abstract to see how it is constructed.

This paper examines the role of silent movies as a mode of shared experience in the US during the early twentieth century. At this time, high immigration rates resulted in a significant percentage of non-English-speaking citizens. These immigrants faced numerous economic and social obstacles, including exclusion from public entertainment and modes of discourse (newspapers, theater, radio).

Incorporating evidence from reviews, personal correspondence, and diaries, this study demonstrates that silent films were an affordable and inclusive source of entertainment. It argues for the accessible economic and representational nature of early cinema. These concerns are particularly evident in the low price of admission and in the democratic nature of the actors’ exaggerated gestures, which allowed the plots and action to be easily grasped by a diverse audience despite language barriers.

Keywords: silent movies, immigration, public discourse, entertainment, early cinema, language barriers.

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abstract in medical research

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You will almost always have to include an abstract when:

  • Completing a thesis or dissertation
  • Submitting a research paper to an academic journal
  • Writing a book or research proposal
  • Applying for research grants

It’s easiest to write your abstract last, right before the proofreading stage, because it’s a summary of the work you’ve already done. Your abstract should:

  • Be a self-contained text, not an excerpt from your paper
  • Be fully understandable on its own
  • Reflect the structure of your larger work

Start by clearly defining the purpose of your research. What practical or theoretical problem does the research respond to, or what research question did you aim to answer?

You can include some brief context on the social or academic relevance of your dissertation topic , but don’t go into detailed background information. If your abstract uses specialized terms that would be unfamiliar to the average academic reader or that have various different meanings, give a concise definition.

After identifying the problem, state the objective of your research. Use verbs like “investigate,” “test,” “analyze,” or “evaluate” to describe exactly what you set out to do.

This part of the abstract can be written in the present or past simple tense  but should never refer to the future, as the research is already complete.

  • This study will investigate the relationship between coffee consumption and productivity.
  • This study investigates the relationship between coffee consumption and productivity.

Next, indicate the research methods that you used to answer your question. This part should be a straightforward description of what you did in one or two sentences. It is usually written in the past simple tense, as it refers to completed actions.

  • Structured interviews will be conducted with 25 participants.
  • Structured interviews were conducted with 25 participants.

Don’t evaluate validity or obstacles here — the goal is not to give an account of the methodology’s strengths and weaknesses, but to give the reader a quick insight into the overall approach and procedures you used.

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Next, summarize the main research results . This part of the abstract can be in the present or past simple tense.

  • Our analysis has shown a strong correlation between coffee consumption and productivity.
  • Our analysis shows a strong correlation between coffee consumption and productivity.
  • Our analysis showed a strong correlation between coffee consumption and productivity.

Depending on how long and complex your research is, you may not be able to include all results here. Try to highlight only the most important findings that will allow the reader to understand your conclusions.

Finally, you should discuss the main conclusions of your research : what is your answer to the problem or question? The reader should finish with a clear understanding of the central point that your research has proved or argued. Conclusions are usually written in the present simple tense.

  • We concluded that coffee consumption increases productivity.
  • We conclude that coffee consumption increases productivity.

If there are important limitations to your research (for example, related to your sample size or methods), you should mention them briefly in the abstract. This allows the reader to accurately assess the credibility and generalizability of your research.

If your aim was to solve a practical problem, your discussion might include recommendations for implementation. If relevant, you can briefly make suggestions for further research.

If your paper will be published, you might have to add a list of keywords at the end of the abstract. These keywords should reference the most important elements of the research to help potential readers find your paper during their own literature searches.

Be aware that some publication manuals, such as APA Style , have specific formatting requirements for these keywords.

It can be a real challenge to condense your whole work into just a couple of hundred words, but the abstract will be the first (and sometimes only) part that people read, so it’s important to get it right. These strategies can help you get started.

Read other abstracts

The best way to learn the conventions of writing an abstract in your discipline is to read other people’s. You probably already read lots of journal article abstracts while conducting your literature review —try using them as a framework for structure and style.

You can also find lots of dissertation abstract examples in thesis and dissertation databases .

Reverse outline

Not all abstracts will contain precisely the same elements. For longer works, you can write your abstract through a process of reverse outlining.

For each chapter or section, list keywords and draft one to two sentences that summarize the central point or argument. This will give you a framework of your abstract’s structure. Next, revise the sentences to make connections and show how the argument develops.

Write clearly and concisely

A good abstract is short but impactful, so make sure every word counts. Each sentence should clearly communicate one main point.

To keep your abstract or summary short and clear:

  • Avoid passive sentences: Passive constructions are often unnecessarily long. You can easily make them shorter and clearer by using the active voice.
  • Avoid long sentences: Substitute longer expressions for concise expressions or single words (e.g., “In order to” for “To”).
  • Avoid obscure jargon: The abstract should be understandable to readers who are not familiar with your topic.
  • Avoid repetition and filler words: Replace nouns with pronouns when possible and eliminate unnecessary words.
  • Avoid detailed descriptions: An abstract is not expected to provide detailed definitions, background information, or discussions of other scholars’ work. Instead, include this information in the body of your thesis or paper.

If you’re struggling to edit down to the required length, you can get help from expert editors with Scribbr’s professional proofreading services or use the paraphrasing tool .

Check your formatting

If you are writing a thesis or dissertation or submitting to a journal, there are often specific formatting requirements for the abstract—make sure to check the guidelines and format your work correctly. For APA research papers you can follow the APA abstract format .

Checklist: Abstract

The word count is within the required length, or a maximum of one page.

The abstract appears after the title page and acknowledgements and before the table of contents .

I have clearly stated my research problem and objectives.

I have briefly described my methodology .

I have summarized the most important results .

I have stated my main conclusions .

I have mentioned any important limitations and recommendations.

The abstract can be understood by someone without prior knowledge of the topic.

You've written a great abstract! Use the other checklists to continue improving your thesis or dissertation.

If you want to know more about AI for academic writing, AI tools, or research bias, make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

Research bias

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An abstract is a concise summary of an academic text (such as a journal article or dissertation ). It serves two main purposes:

  • To help potential readers determine the relevance of your paper for their own research.
  • To communicate your key findings to those who don’t have time to read the whole paper.

Abstracts are often indexed along with keywords on academic databases, so they make your work more easily findable. Since the abstract is the first thing any reader sees, it’s important that it clearly and accurately summarizes the contents of your paper.

An abstract for a thesis or dissertation is usually around 200–300 words. There’s often a strict word limit, so make sure to check your university’s requirements.

The abstract is the very last thing you write. You should only write it after your research is complete, so that you can accurately summarize the entirety of your thesis , dissertation or research paper .

Avoid citing sources in your abstract . There are two reasons for this:

  • The abstract should focus on your original research, not on the work of others.
  • The abstract should be self-contained and fully understandable without reference to other sources.

There are some circumstances where you might need to mention other sources in an abstract: for example, if your research responds directly to another study or focuses on the work of a single theorist. In general, though, don’t include citations unless absolutely necessary.

The abstract appears on its own page in the thesis or dissertation , after the title page and acknowledgements but before the table of contents .

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How to Write a Medical Abstract

Last Updated: May 15, 2019 References

This article was co-authored by Chris M. Matsko, MD . Dr. Chris M. Matsko is a retired physician based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. With over 25 years of medical research experience, Dr. Matsko was awarded the Pittsburgh Cornell University Leadership Award for Excellence. He holds a BS in Nutritional Science from Cornell University and an MD from the Temple University School of Medicine in 2007. Dr. Matsko earned a Research Writing Certification from the American Medical Writers Association (AMWA) in 2016 and a Medical Writing & Editing Certification from the University of Chicago in 2017. There are 12 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been viewed 63,650 times.

The purpose of a medical abstract is to provide a concise and useful summary of a longer medical article or study. A good abstract informs readers briefly of the research and ideas that are presented in the full article. Before writing the abstract, be sure you understand the research you're summarizing. Describe the background to your research, your expectations or hypotheses, the methods you used, and the outcomes of your medical investigation.

Getting Ready to Write the Abstract

Step 1 Read a style guide.

  • If you have co-authors on the publication, have them look over a draft of the abstract before submitting it.
  • If you don’t have co-authors, submit a draft of the abstract to a peer in your field of research, or a trusted mentor knowledgeable about the abstract submission and publication process.

Providing Essential Information

Step 1 Explain why you began the research.

  • For instance, you might write, “Livingston (2009) has demonstrated the efficacy of nucleotide reparation in E. Coli UBPs.”

Step 2 State your project’s goals and expectations.

  • For instance, you might write, “Our hypothesis was that medication X was superior in treating epilepsy than medication Y.”
  • Some medical abstracts do not require a background section. In an abstract without a background section, you will start the body of your abstract with information on the goals and expectations of your research. [7] X Research source

Step 3 Outline your methods.

  • Setting — Where did you conduct your research?
  • Sample size —How many individuals participated in the research? How were they selected? This includes animal populations as well.
  • Design — How were measurements and statistics recorded?
  • Variables — What were the specific variables you looked at? How did you account for them?
  • Interventions — How did you intervene to manipulate the variables?

Step 4 Summarize your findings.

  • Do not provide interpretation of your results in this section. Interpretation and analysis should be saved for the conclusion.
  • Do not include tables or charts in your abstract. These should be included in the main body of the paper.

Step 5 Conclude the abstract.

Putting the Finishing Touches on Your Abstract

Step 1 Choose a title.

  • For instance, “New Corticosteroids Provide Asthma Relief” is a poor abstract title.
  • “Corticosteroid Treatment in Asthmatic Patients,” on the other hand, is a good title.
  • Don’t use puns or jokes in your title. This may make your work seem trivial and unimportant.

Step 2 List the authors.

  • Some abstracts expect you to list all authors in alphabetical order according to their last names.
  • Other publications might expect you to list authors of increasing seniority toward the end of the author list. In this arrangement, the study’s lead researcher or team mentor would be listed last.
  • You might also need to list each author’s credentials. For instance, you might need to write “John Smith MD”
  • The title and authors should be listed at the top of the abstract, and before the main information of the abstract.

Step 3 Edit your abstract.

  • Additionally, remember to proofread your work. Spelling errors, typos and grammatical mistakes will discredit your hard work and research.
  • It might help to read the abstract out loud to yourself to make sure it sounds right before submitting it. Ask a colleague to read over it for you to ensure it is easy to understand and makes sense.
  • After you’ve edited the abstract, submit it to the appropriate journal, professional society, or conference committee for approval.

Expert Q&A

  • Don’t reword a previous abstract to describe similar research. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

abstract in medical research

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  • ↑ http://rc.rcjournal.com/content/49/10/1206.full.pdf
  • ↑ https://www.academia.edu/3697187/Good_Abstract_Writing_for_a_Medical_Science_Journal_Article_The_Tits_and_Bits
  • ↑ https://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/policy/structured_abstracts.html
  • ↑ http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~bioslabs/tools/report/reportform.html#form
  • ↑ https://www.acponline.org/membership/residents/competitions-awards/acp-national-abstract-competition/guide-to-preparing-for-the-abstract-competition/writing-a-research-abstract

About This Article

Chris M. Matsko, MD

Medical Disclaimer

The content of this article is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, examination, diagnosis, or treatment. You should always contact your doctor or other qualified healthcare professional before starting, changing, or stopping any kind of health treatment.

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The best way to start a medical abstract is to begin with one or two sentences of background about why you did the research. For example, you might write, “Livingston (2009) has demonstrated the efficacy of nucleotide reparation in E. Coli UBPs”. Once you’ve stated the background and inspiration for your research, you should state your own goals and hypotheses while emphasizing your objectivity as a researcher. In the next section of your abstract, provide an outline of your methods that answers the question, “How did you investigate the topic or problem?”. Though you should avoid over-describing your methods, make sure you include things like the research setting, sample size, design, variables, and interventions you made to manipulate the variables. Finally, you’ll want to take 6 to 8 sentences to briefly summarize your findings using specific numbers and statistics. For more help from our Medical co-author, like how to title your abstract, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Book cover

How to Practice Academic Medicine and Publish from Developing Countries? pp 179–184 Cite as

How to Write an Abstract?

  • Samiran Nundy 4 ,
  • Atul Kakar 5 &
  • Zulfiqar A. Bhutta 6  
  • Open Access
  • First Online: 24 October 2021

54k Accesses

5 Altmetric

An abstract is a crisp, short, powerful, and self-contained summary of a research manuscript used to help the reader swiftly determine the paper’s purpose. Although the abstract is the first paragraph of the manuscript it should be written last when all the other sections have been addressed.

Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose. — Zora Neale Hurston, American Author, Anthropologist and Filmmaker (1891–1960)

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1 What is an Abstract?

An abstract is usually a standalone document that informs the reader about the details of the manuscript to follow. It is like a trailer to a movie, if the trailer is good, it stimulates the audience to watch the movie. The abstract should be written from scratch and not ‘cut –and-pasted’ [ 1 ].

2 What is the History of the Abstract?

An abstract, in the form of a single paragraph, was first published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal in 1960 with the idea that the readers may not have enough time to go through the whole paper, and the first abstract with a defined structure was published in 1991 [ 2 ]. The idea sold and now most original articles and reviews are required to have a structured abstract. The abstract attracts the reader to read the full manuscript [ 3 ].

3 What are the Qualities of a Good Abstract?

The quality of information in an abstract can be summarized by four ‘C’s. It should be:

C: Condensed

C: Critical

4 What are the Types of Abstract?

Before writing the abstract, you need to check with the journal website about which type of abstract it requires, with its length and style in the ‘Instructions to Authors’ section.

The abstract types can be divided into:

Descriptive: Usually written for psychology, social science, and humanities papers. It is about 50–100 words long. No conclusions can be drawn from this abstract as it describes the major points in the paper.

Informative: The majority of abstracts for science-related manuscripts are informative and are surrogates for the research done. They are single paragraphs that provide the reader an overview of the research paper and are about 100–150 words in length. Conclusions can be drawn from the abstracts and in the recommendations written in the last line.

Critical: This type of abstract is lengthy and about 400–500 words. In this, the authors’ own research is discussed for reliability, judgement, and validation. A comparison is also made with similar studies done earlier.

Highlighting: This is rarely used in scientific writing. The style of the abstract is to attract more readers. It is not a balanced or complete overview of the article with which it is published.

Structured: A structured abstract contains information under subheadings like background, aims, material and methods, results, conclusion, and recommendations (Fig. 15.1 ). Most leading journals now carry these.

figure 1

Example of a structured abstract (with permission editor CMRP)

5 What is the Purpose of an Abstract?

An abstract is written to educate the reader about the study that follows and provide an overview of the science behind it. If written well it also attracts more readers to the article. It also helps the article getting indexed. The fate of a paper both before and after publication often depends upon its abstract. Most readers decide if a paper is worth reading on the basis of the abstract. Additionally, the selection of papers in systematic reviews is often dependent upon the abstract.

6 What are the Steps of Writing an Abstract?

An abstract should be written last after all the other sections of an article have been addressed. A poor abstract may turn off the reader and they may cause indexing errors as well. The abstract should state the purpose of the study, the methodology used, and summarize the results and important conclusions. It is usually written in the IMRAD format and is called a structured abstract [ 4 , 5 ].

I: The introduction in the opening line should state the problem you are addressing.

M: Methodology—what method was chosen to finish the experiment?

R: Results—state the important findings of your study.

D: Discussion—discuss why your study is important.

Mention the following information:

Important results with the statistical information ( p values, confidence intervals, standard/mean deviation).

Arrange all information in a chronological order.

Do not repeat any information.

The last line should state the recommendations from your study.

The abstract should be written in the past tense.

7 What are the Things to Be Avoided While Writing an Abstract?

Cut and paste information from the main text

Hold back important information

Use abbreviations

Tables or Figures

Generalized statements

Arguments about the study

figure a

8 What are Key Words?

These are important words that are repeated throughout the manuscript and which help in the indexing of a paper. Depending upon the journal 3–10 key words may be required which are indexed with the help of MESH (Medical Subject Heading).

9 How is an Abstract Written for a Conference Different from a Journal Paper?

The basic concept for writing abstracts is the same. However, in a conference abstract occasionally a table or figure is allowed. A word limit is important in both of them. Many of the abstracts which are presented in conferences are never published in fact one study found that only 27% of the abstracts presented in conferences were published in the next five years [ 6 ].

Table 15.1 gives a template for writing an abstract.

10 What are the Important Recommendations of the International Committees of Medical Journal of Editors?

The recommendations are [ 7 ]:

An abstract is required for original articles, metanalysis, and systematic reviews.

A structured abstract is preferred.

The abstract should mention the purpose of the scientific study, how the procedure was carried out, the analysis used, and principal conclusion.

Clinical trials should be reported according to the CONSORT guidelines.

The trials should also mention the funding and the trial number.

The abstract should be accurate as many readers have access only to the abstract.

11 Conclusions

An Abstract should be written last after all the other sections of the manuscript have been completed and with due care and attention to the details.

It should be structured and written in the IMRAD format.

For many readers, the abstract attracts them to go through the complete content of the article.

The abstract is usually followed by key words that help to index the paper.

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Preparing a manuscript for submission to a medical journal. Available on http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/manuscript-preparation/preparing-for-submission.html . Accessed 10 May 2020.

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Department of Surgical Gastroenterology and Liver Transplantation, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi, India

Samiran Nundy

Department of Internal Medicine, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi, India

Institute for Global Health and Development, The Aga Khan University, South Central Asia, East Africa and United Kingdom, Karachi, Pakistan

Zulfiqar A. Bhutta

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Writing an Abstract

Writing an abstract is a skill like any other.  

Abstracts are short summaries of your research and, although the format may vary slightly depending on where they are being submitted, there are standard guidelines about what should be in an abstract. The purpose of an abstract is to provide readers a brief summary of your study so that they may determine if they want to learn more about the research. An abstract should use proper terminology but should also be geared toward a reader who may have only a cursory familiarity with the research area.

General Guidelines

  • Omit all researcher names and affiliations from the body of the abstract.
  • Avoid the use of new technical words, laboratory slang, words not defined in dictionaries or abbreviations and terminology not consistent with internationally accepted guidelines. If you do use abbreviations define them in body of the abstract the first time they are used .
  • Eliminate jargon. Showing off your technical vocabulary will not demonstrate your research’s value. If you can’t avoid using a technical term, add a nontechnical synonym to help nonspecialists infer the term’s meaning.
  • Brevity is the goal. Most abstracts have a word limit of around 250 to 300 words. Omit needless words, redundant modifiers, over-the-top diction, and excessive detail.
  • An abstract should have the same structure a research article: Introduction, Methods, Results, and Conclusions . Depending on the required format you may be required to use these or similar headings within the body of the abstract but even if you do not use these headings the structure of the abstract should implicitly follow this format.
  • Eliminate expressions such as “It is my opinion that,” “I have concluded,” “The main point supporting my view concerns” or “Certainly, there is little doubt as to.” Focus readers’ attention solely the findings, not on opinion.
  • Examine other abstracts for examples of successful abstracts .  If you are submitting to a journal, look at the abstracts for papers recently published in that journal. If you are submitting to a conference, look at abstracts printed in past years’ meeting programs.
  • Before submitting your abstract have a colleague who has limited knowledge of your research area read and comment on it to determine how understandable it is. Remember you will often know more about your research area than those who review your work so having someone with a similar knowledge base to the potential reviewers will help determine how well you have written the abstract.
  • Remember an abstract is you telling a short story about your research.

Things To Ask Yourself When You Are Writing An Abstract

  • Have I stated why my research is important to a larger problem?
  • Have I stated the specific aims of my research project?
  • Have I indicated the most important hypothesis(es)?
  • Have I identified the type of study I conducted (experimental, clinical trial, non-experimental, survey, case study, etc).
  • Have I clearly and precisely identified the sample being studied? Be specific. For example if you are studying veterans over 60 who are cardiology patients, state that rather than just stating cardiology patients. 
  • Have I clearly identified the variables being examined? State explicitly what your independent and dependent variables are. Use general terms when possible and more specific terms when necessary.  
  • Have I stated the most important finding clearly and in a way that someone without deep technical knowledge of the field can understand? 
  • Do the results reflect what I actually did in terms of statistical analyses?   Be prudent in reporting statistical findings. You may provide statistics but don’t rely on them to completely tell the story of the findings. You also need to communicate the inferences from your statistical findings. If you conducted correlations or regressions do you describe the relationships between variables? If you examined naturally occurring groups or treatment groups (t-test, ANOVA), do you frame the results around how the groups were different on your dependent measure(s)?
  • Are the findings reported directly related the hypothesis stated earlier? Are the findings consisted or inconsistent with prediction of the hypothesis?
  • Are my conclusions simply a restating of the results?   Conclusions should not just be a restating of the results. The conclusions should be about the implications of the results and should refer back to the purpose of the study stated earlier in the abstract. 

Enago Academy

Role of an Abstract in Research Paper With Examples

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Why does one write an abstract? What is so intriguing about writing an abstract in research paper after writing a full length research paper? How do research paper abstracts or summaries help a researcher during research publishing? These are the most common and frequently pondered upon questions that early career researchers search answers for over the internet!

Table of Contents

What does Abstract mean in Research?

In Research, abstract is “a well-developed single paragraph which is approximately 250 words in length”. Furthermore, it is single-spaced single spaced. Abstract outlines all the parts of the paper briefly. Although the abstract is placed in the beginning of the research paper immediately after research title , the abstract is the last thing a researcher writes.

Why Is an Abstract Necessary in Research Paper?

Abstract is a concise academic text that –

  • Helps the potential reader get the relevance of your research study for their own research
  • Communicates your key findings for those who have time constraints in reading your paper
  • And helps rank the article on search engines based on the keywords on academic databases.

Purpose of Writing an Abstract in Research

Abstracts are required for –

  • Submission of articles to journals
  • Application for research grants
  • Completion and submission of thesis
  • Submission of proposals for conference papers.

Aspects Included in an Abstract

The format of your abstract depends on the field of research, in which you are working. However, all abstracts broadly cover the following sections:

Reason for Writing

One can start with the importance of conducting their research study. Furthermore, you could start with a broader research question and address why would the reader be interested in that particular research question.

Research Problem

You could mention what problem the research study chooses to address. Moreover, you could elaborate about the scope of the project, the main argument, brief about thesis objective or what the study claims.

  • Methodology

Furthermore, you could mention a line or two about what approach and specific models the research study uses in the scientific work. Some research studies may discuss the evidences in throughout the paper, so instead of writing about methodologies you could mention the types of evidence used in the research.

The scientific research aims to get the specific data that indicates the results of the project. Therefore, you could mention the results and discuss the findings in a broader and general way.

Finally, you could discuss how the research work contributes to the scientific society and adds knowledge on the topic. Also, you could specify if your findings or inferences could help future research and researchers.

Types of Abstracts

Based on the abstract content —, 1. descriptive.

This abstract in research paper is usually short (50-100 words). These abstracts have common sections, such as –

  • Focus of research
  • Overview of the study.

This type of research does not include detailed presentation of results and only mention results through a phrase without contributing numerical or statistical data . Descriptive abstracts guide readers on the nature of contents of the article.

2. Informative

This abstract gives the essence of what the report is about and it is usually about 200 words. These abstracts have common sections, such as –

  • Aim or purpose

This abstract provides an accurate data on the contents of the work, especially on the results section.

Based on the writing format —

1. structured.

This type of abstract has a paragraph for each section: Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, and Conclusion. Also, structured abstracts are often required for informative abstracts.

2. Semi-structured

A semi-structured abstract is written in only one paragraph, wherein each sentence corresponds to a section. Furthermore, all the sections mentioned in the structured abstract are present in the semi-structured abstract.

3. Non-structured

In a non-structured abstract there are no divisions between each section. The sentences are included in a single paragraph. This type of presentation is ideal for descriptive abstracts.

Examples of Abstracts

Abstract example 1: clinical research.

Neutralization of Omicron BA.1, BA.2, and BA.3 SARS-CoV-2 by 3 doses of BNT162b2 vaccine

Abstract: The newly emerged Omicron SARS-CoV-2 has several distinct sublineages including BA.1, BA.2, and BA.3. BA.1 accounts for the initial surge and is being replaced by BA.2, whereas BA.3 is at a low prevalence at this time. Here we report the neutralization of BNT162b2-vaccinated sera (collected 1 month after dose 3) against the three Omicron sublineages. To facilitate the neutralization testing, we have engineered the complete BA.1, BA.2, or BA.3 spike into an mNeonGreen USA-WA1/2020 SARS-CoV-2. All BNT162b2-vaccinated sera neutralize USA-WA1/2020, BA.1-, BA.2-, and BA.3-spike SARS-CoV-2s with titers of >20; the neutralization geometric mean titers (GMTs) against the four viruses are 1211, 336, 300, and 190, respectively. Thus, the BA.1-, BA.2-, and BA.3-spike SARS-CoV-2s are 3.6-, 4.0-, and 6.4-fold less efficiently neutralized than the USA-WA1/2020, respectively. Our data have implications in vaccine strategy and understanding the biology of Omicron sublineages.

Type of Abstract: Informative and non-structured

Abstract Example 2: Material Science and Chemistry

Breaking the nanoparticle’s dispersible limit via rotatable surface ligands

Abstract: Achieving versatile dispersion of nanoparticles in a broad range of solvents (e.g., water, oil, and biofluids) without repeatedly recourse to chemical modifications are desirable in optoelectronic devices, self-assembly, sensing, and biomedical fields. However, such a target is limited by the strategies used to decorate nanoparticle’s surface properties, leading to a narrow range of solvents for existing nanoparticles. Here we report a concept to break the nanoparticle’s dispersible limit via electrochemically anchoring surface ligands capable of sensing the surrounding liquid medium and rotating to adapt to it, immediately forming stable dispersions in a wide range of solvents (polar and nonpolar, biofluids, etc.). Moreover, the smart nanoparticles can be continuously electrodeposited in the electrolyte, overcoming the electrode surface-confined low throughput limitation of conventional electrodeposition methods. The anomalous dispersive property of the smart Ag nanoparticles enables them to resist bacteria secreted species-induced aggregation and the structural similarity of the surface ligands to that of the bacterial membrane assists them to enter the bacteria, leading to high antibacterial activity. The simple but massive fabrication process and the enhanced dispersion properties offer great application opportunities to the smart nanoparticles in diverse fields.

Type of Abstract: Descriptive and non-structured

Abstract Example 3: Clinical Toxicology

Evaluation of dexmedetomidine therapy for sedation in patients with toxicological events at an academic medical center

Introduction: Although clinical use of dexmedetomidine (DEX), an alpha2-adrenergic receptor agonist, has increased, its role in patients admitted to intensive care units secondary to toxicological sequelae has not been well established.

Objectives: The primary objective of this study was to describe clinical and adverse effects observed in poisoned patients receiving DEX for sedation.

Methods: This was an observational case series with retrospective chart review of poisoned patients who received DEX for sedation at an academic medical center. The primary endpoint was incidence of adverse effects of DEX therapy including bradycardia, hypotension, seizures, and arrhythmias. For comparison, vital signs were collected hourly for the 5 h preceding the DEX therapy and every hour during DEX therapy until the therapy ended. Additional endpoints included therapy duration; time within target Richmond Agitation Sedation Score (RASS); and concomitant sedation, analgesia, and vasopressor requirements.

Results: Twenty-two patients were included. Median initial and median DEX infusion rates were similar to the commonly used rates for sedation. Median heart rate was lower during the therapy (82 vs. 93 beats/minute, p < 0.05). Median systolic blood pressure before and during therapy was similar (111 vs. 109 mmHg, p = 0.745). Five patients experienced an adverse effect per study definitions during therapy. No additional adverse effects were noted. Median time within target RASS and duration of therapy was 6.5 and 44.5 h, respectively. Seventeen patients (77%) had concomitant use of other sedation and/or analgesia with four (23%) of these patients requiring additional agents after DEX initiation. Seven patients (32%) had concomitant vasopressor support with four (57%) of these patients requiring vasopressor support after DEX initiation.

Conclusion: Common adverse effects of DEX were noted in this study. The requirement for vasopressor support during therapy warrants further investigation into the safety of DEX in poisoned patients. Larger, comparative studies need to be performed before the use of DEX can be routinely recommended in poisoned patients.

Keywords: Adverse effects; Alpha2-adrenergic receptor agonist; Overdose; Safety.

Type of Abstract: Informative and structured .

How was your experience  writing an abstract? What type of abstracts have you written? Do write to us or leave a comment below.

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Writing a Research Abstract

The written abstract is used in making selections for presentations at scientific meetings. Writing a good abstract is a formidable undertaking and many novice researchers wonder how it is possible to condense months of work into 300 to 400 words. Nevertheless, creating a well-written abstract is a skill that can be learned and mastering the skill will increase the probability that your research will be selected for presentation.

The first rule of writing abstracts is to know the rules. Organizers of scientific meetings set explicit limits on the length abstracts.

Authors must pay close attention to the published details of the meeting including deadlines and suggested format. Since reviewers have many abstracts to read and rank; those that don't conform to the stated rules are simply discarded.

The scientific abstract is usually divided into five unique sections: Title and Author Information, Introduction, Methods, Results, and Conclusions. The following paragraphs summarize what is expected in each of these sections.

Title and Author Information: The title should summarize the abstract and convince the reviewers that the topic is important, relevant, and innovative. To create a winning title, write out 6 to 10 key words found in the abstract and string them into various sentences. Once you have a sentence that adequately conveys the meaning of the work, try to condense the title yet still convey the essential message. Some organizations require a special format for the title, such as all uppercase letters, all bolded, or in italics. Be sure to check the instructions.

Following the title, the names of all authors and their institutional affiliations are listed. It is assumed the first author listed will make the oral presentation. Determine if the first author needs to meet any eligibility requirements to make the presentation. For example, the first author may need to be a member of the professional society sponsoring the research meeting. This information is always included with the abstract instructions.

Introduction: This usually consists of several sentences outlining the question addressed by the research. Make the first sentence of the introduction as interesting and dramatic as possible. For example, "100,000 people each year die of…" is more interesting than "An important cause of mortality is…" If space permits, provide a concise review of what is known about the problem addressed by the research, what remains unknown, and how your research project fills the knowledge gaps. The final sentence of the introduction describes the purpose of the study or the study's a priori hypothesis.

Methods: This is the most difficult section of the abstract to write. It must be scaled down sufficiently to allow the entire abstract to fit into the box, but at the same time it must be detailed enough to judge the validity of the work. For most clinical research abstracts, the following areas are specifically mentioned: research design; research setting; number of patients enrolled in the study and how they were selected; a description of the intervention (if appropriate); and a listing of the outcome variables and how they were measured. Finally, the statistical methods used to analyze the data are described.

Results: This section begins with a description of the subjects that were included and excluded from the study. For those excluded, provide the reason for their exclusion. Next, list the frequencies of the most important outcome variables. If possible, present comparisons of the outcome variables between various subgroups within the study (treated vs. untreated, young vs. old, male vs. female, and so forth). This type of data can be efficiently presented in a table, which is an excellent use of space. But before doing this, check the rules to see if tables can be used in the abstract. Numerical results should include standard deviations or 95% confidence limits and the level of statistical significance. If the results are not statistically significant, present the power of your study (beta-error rate) to detect a difference.

Conclusion: State concisely what can be concluded and its implications. The conclusions must be supported by the data presented in the abstract; never present unsubstantiated personal opinion. If there is room, address the generalizability of the results to populations other than that studied and the weaknesses of the study.

Research literature has a special language that concisely and precisely communicates meaning to other researches. Abstracts should contain this special language and be used appropriately. See The Glossary of commonly used research terms.

Avoid the use of medical jargon and excessive reliance on abbreviations. Limit abbreviations to no more than three and favor commonly used abbreviations. Always spell out the abbreviations the first time they are mentioned unless they are commonly recognized (e.g., CBC).

Although short in length, a good abstract typically takes several days to write. Take this into account when budgeting your time. Seek the help of an experienced mentor. Share the abstract with your mentor and make revisions based upon the feedback. Allow others to read your draft for clarity and to check for spelling and grammatical mistakes. Reading the abstract orally is an excellent way to catch grammatical errors and word omissions. Use the Scientific Abstract Checklist  to assist your completion of the task. Finally, an example of an abstract  previously accepted for presentation at the ACP Resident Research Competition is attached for your review.

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What are structured abstracts?

A structured abstract is an abstract with distinct, labeled sections (e.g., Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion) for rapid comprehension (see Figure 1 ).

What kinds of structures are used?

Standardized formats for structured abstracts have been defined for original research studies, review articles and clinical practice guidelines ( 1 , 2 ). The IMRAD format (INTRODUCTION, METHODS, RESULTS, and DISCUSSION), a defacto standard that reflects the process of scientific discovery ( 3 ), is commonly used as a structure for journal abstracts ( 4 , 5 ). The CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials) Group issued a guideline for how to report randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in journal and conference abstracts using a structured format ( 6 ).

Why use structured abstracts?

Structured abstracts have several advantages for authors and readers. These formats were developed in the late 1980s and early 1990s to assist health professionals in selecting clinically relevant and methodologically valid journal articles. They also guide authors in summarizing the content of their manuscripts precisely, facilitate the peer-review process for manuscripts submitted for publication, and enhance computerized literature searching ( 1 , 2 ).

The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE, of which NLM is a sitting member), whose "Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals" document provides general guidelines for the format of manuscripts submitted to journals, requires the use of structured abstracts for original research articles, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses. ICMJE does acknowledge that the format required for structured abstracts differs from journal to journal and that some journals use more than one structure ( 7 ).

The substantial growth in both the individual number of PubMed records with structured abstracts and in the number of journals that continuously publish structured abstracts demonstrates widespread adoption of structured abstracts over the years ( 8 ). Structured abstracts perform better than unstructured abstracts for the discovery of corresponding MeSH (Medical Subject Headings®) terms using the Medical Text Indexer (MTI) software application ( 9 ). More information about NLM research on structured abstracts including technical details for the NLM implementation of structured abstracts can be found at Structured Abstracts in MEDLINE .

How are structured abstracts formatted in PubMed?

NLM uses all uppercase letters followed by a colon and space for the labels that appear in structured abstracts in MEDLINE/PubMed ® citations (see Figure 1 ).

How can I search for structured abstracts in PubMed?

In a PubMed search box, type:

See the structured abstract search results in PubMed .

References:

1 . Haynes RB, Mulrow CD, Huth EJ, Altman DG, Gardner MJ. More informative abstracts revisited. Ann Intern Med. 1990 Jul 1;113(1):69-76. PubMed PMID: 2190518 . Available from: https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/0003-4819-113-1-69 .

2 . Hayward RS, Wilson MC, Tunis SR, Bass EB, Rubin HR, Haynes RB. More informative abstracts of articles describing clinical practice guidelines. Ann Intern Med. 1993 May 1;118(9):731-7. PubMed PMID: 8460861 . Available from: https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/0003-4819-118-9-199305010-00012 .

3 . Sollaci LB, Pereira MG. The introduction, methods, results, and discussion (IMRAD) structure: a fifty-year survey. J Med Libr Assoc. 2004 Jul;92(3):364-7. PubMed PMID: 15243643 ; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC442179 .

4 . Nakayama T, Hirai N, Yamazaki S, Naito M. Adoption of structured abstracts by general medical journals and format for a structured abstract. J Med Libr Assoc. 2005 Apr;93(2):237-42. PubMed PMID: 15858627 ; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC1082941 .

5 . Kulkarni H. Structured abstracts: still more. Ann Intern Med. 1996 Apr 1;124(7):695-6. PubMed PMID: 8607606 . Available from: https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/0003-4819-124-7-199604010-00020 .

6 . Hopewell S, Clarke M, Moher D, Wager E, Middleton P, Altman DG, Schulz KF; CONSORT Group. CONSORT for reporting randomized controlled trials in journal and conference abstracts: explanation and elaboration. PLoS Med. 2008 Jan 22;5(1):e20. PubMed PMID: 18215107 ; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2211558 .

7 . International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals (ICMJE Recommendations). 2013 Aug [cited 2013 Aug 21]. Available from: http://www.icmje.org .

8 . Ripple AM, Mork JG, Rozier JM, Knecht LS. Structured abstracts in MEDLINE: twenty-five years later. Bethesda, MD: National Library of Medicine; 2012 [cited 2014 Sep 17]. Available from: https://structuredabstracts.nlm.nih.gov/Structured_Abstracts_in_MEDLINE_Twenty-Years_Later.pdf .

9 . Ripple AM, Mork JG, Thompson HJ, Schmidt SC, Knecht LS. Performance comparison of MEDLINE structured abstracts to unstructured abstracts. Poster session presented at: National Institutes of Health Research Festival; 2014 Sep 22-24; Bethesda, MD. Available from: https://researchfestival.nih.gov/festival14/poster-RSCHSUPP-19.html .

  • Ripple AM, Mork JG, Knecht LS, Humphreys BL. A retrospective cohort study of structured abstracts in MEDLINE, 1992-2006. J Med Libr Assoc. 2011 Apr;99(2):160-3. PubMed PMID: 21464855 ; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3066587 .

Last Reviewed: December 14, 2023

Writing the title, abstract, and keywords for a medical article: to be concise and accurate

  • PMID: 31872396

The title and abstract are the first contact of a reader with a given article. Therefore, drafting these parts should be done carefully. The final version of the title and abstract is only made at the end of the process of manuscript writing. The title must be catchy for the reader so that he wants to read the whole article. It must also be simple, clear and informative. It can be descriptive, affirmative or interrogative. The title's length is 10 to 12 words reflecting the main information the article contains. If more information is needed, the author can add a subtitle. Articles with short titles are the most likely to be read and cited. The abstract is a condensed version of a scientific research and must be understood independently of the rest of the article. It gives to the reader an overall idea of the article, and conditions his decision to continue reading. The abstract can be structured or unstructured. Keywords are expressions reflecting the main aspects of the study. They allow the indexation of articles, and must be checked in the Medical subject headings. The main keywords should appear in the title.

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MedMG

What Is A Medical Research Abstract?

The purpose of a medical abstract is to provide a concise and useful summary of a longer medical article or study. A good abstract informs readers briefly of the research and ideas that are presented in the full article. Before writing the abstract, be sure you understand the research you’re summarizing.

How do you write a good abstract for a research paper?

The Contents of an Abstract

  • the context or background information for your research; the general topic under study; the specific topic of your research.
  • the central questions or statement of the problem your research addresses.
  • what’s already known about this question, what previous research has done or shown.

How long is a medical abstract?

Most abstracts have a word limit of around 250 to 300 words. Omit needless words, redundant modifiers, over-the-top diction, and excessive detail. An abstract should have the same structure a research article: Introduction, Methods, Results, and Conclusions.

Where can I get medical abstract?

Medical abstracts can be found online on PubMed. PubMed is a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine that includes over 18 million citations from a wide varity of science and medical journals from current back to 1948. Users may search by topic, author, or journal name.

What is a good abstract?

An abstract is a 150- to 250-word paragraph that provides readers with a quick overview of your essay or report and its organization. It should express your thesis (or central idea) and your key points; it should also suggest any implications or applications of the research you discuss in the paper.

How do you write an abstract example?

Here are the basic steps to follow when writing an abstract:

  • Write your paper.
  • Review the requirements.
  • Consider your audience and publication.
  • Determine the type of abstract.
  • Explain the problem.
  • Explain your methods.
  • Describe your results.
  • Give a conclusion.

Is the aim included in the abstract?

The abstract concisely reports the aims and outcomes of your research so that readers know exactly what the paper is about. Write the abstract at the very end, when you’ve completed the rest of the text.

What is meant by structured abstract?

A structured abstract is an abstract with distinct, labeled sections (e.g., Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion) for rapid comprehension (see Figure 1).

What is abstract and example?

An abstract is an outline/brief summary of your paper and your whole project. It should have an intro, body and conclusion. Abstracts highlight major points of your research and explain why your work is important; what your purpose was, how you went about your project, what you learned, and what you concluded.

What are the 5 parts of a scientific abstract?

The five main elements to include in your abstract are stated below.

  • Introduction. This is the first part of the abstract, and should be brief and attractive to the reader at the same time.
  • Research significance. This usually answers the question: Why did you do this research?
  • Methodology.
  • Conclusion.

What is the difference between an abstract and an introduction?

An abstract is similar to a summary except that it is more concise and direct. The introduction section of your paper is more detailed. It states why you conducted your study, what you wanted to accomplish, and what is your hypothesis. Let us learn more about the difference between the abstract and introduction.

Why is it important to spend time writing an abstract for a research report?

The main purpose of your abstract is to lead researchers to the full text of your research paper. In scientific journals, abstracts let readers decide whether the research discussed is relevant to their own interests or study. Abstracts also help readers understand your main argument quickly.

How do you write an abstract without results?

Guidelines and Tips for Writing an Abstract without Results

  • Background: Give general information about your topic.
  • Purpose: Describe the general problem that your research aims to explore.
  • Focus: Explain what you intend to do to solve the problem.

How do you review an abstract?

Abstract Review Guidelines

  • Is the question or issue clearly stated?
  • Is the significance of the work clearly stated?
  • If relevant, are the method, data collection, and analysis procedures well-designed and appropriate to the question addressed?
  • Is the conceptual framework coherent?
  • Is the work original?

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Medical research involves research in a wide range of fields, such as biology, chemistry, pharmacology and toxicology with the goal of developing new medicines or medical procedures or improving the application of those already available. It can be viewed as encompassing preclinical research (for example, in cellular systems and animal models) and clinical research (for example, clinical trials).

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The Role of Visual Abstracts in the Dissemination of Medical Research

Beverley c. millar.

1 School of Medicine, Dentistry and Biomedical Sciences, The Wellcome-Wolfson Institute for Experimental Medicine, Queen’s University, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast BT9 7BL, Northern Ireland, UK

2 School of Biomedical Sciences, Ulster University, Cromore Road, Coleraine, BT52 1SA

3 Northern Ireland Public Health Laboratory, Belfast City Hospital, Lisburn Road, Belfast, Northern Ireland, BT9 7AD, UK

Michelle Lim

4 James Cook University Hospital, Marton Road, Middlesbrough, TS4 3BW, UK

Medical research within the UK has continued to grow, most notably during the COVID-19 pandemic over the last two years, which highlights the importance of disseminating relevant research findings. For all researchers involved in clinical trials and scientific research, the end goal of success is not completed following the publication of the research findings, but ultimately true impact and significance is achieved when such research has a role in developing clinical practice. Each year between 2.5 - 3 million scientific papers are published and the number continues to rise, therefore it is becoming increasingly difficult to ensure that published research has such a targeted impact as it must first get noticed. Increasing time commitments result in difficulties for clinicians keeping up-to-date with the current literature and in order to address this, journals and researchers have developed approaches to share peer-reviewed research with the wider research community in an effective and efficient manner. One such approach has been the introduction of the visual abstract which comprises of an infographic style format, coupled with a shortened, limited word summary of the research abstract detailing the key question, methodology, findings and take home message of the research study. The visual abstract has characteristics which enable it to be shared on social media platforms and in turn increase the interest and impact within the research community. Visual abstracts are being increasingly introduced within medical journals and organisations to help disseminate valuable research findings. This review focuses on visual abstracts, what they are, their history, structure and role within research dissemination and medical education.

INTRODUCTION

“If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?” (Henriksen and Mishra, 2019) 1

The ultimate goal of medical research is to have impact on clinical practice and as reported by the National Institute for Health Research, “ clinically research-active hospitals have better patient care outcomes ”. 2 However, increasing numbers of high quality medical research although published, may never be disseminated, cited or read, other than by the authors, the peer-reviewers and the editor of the accepting journal, thus questioning the significance and value of such research. 1 It is therefore fundamentally important to disseminate research to a wide audience to facilitate and promote the implementation of research findings into clinical practice. 1

The impact of research, particularly in academia, has traditionally been measured quantitatively in terms of number of publications, the impact factors of journals where the research has been published, the number of citations and the h -index. 3 This form of assessment has been viewed by some as outdated and it has been suggested that the validity of the traditional form of assessment has been compromised due to a number of issues, such as, the increased numbers on author lists, the volume of papers published, self-citations, extensive reference lists and papers published in high impact journals by common groups of authors 3 . More recently, due to the advancements in digital technology, additional complementary research evaluation, attention and dissemination metrics have been introduced by institutional repositories and journal websites, such as Altmetric 4 and PlumX Metrics 5 . These metrics aim to provide a more comprehensive indication of the impact of research outputs, within the online environment and complement the traditional bibliometrics. 6 These additional indices reflect digital footprints and provide a more comprehensive overview of the interest that the published research has had in terms of citations including clinical, patent and policy documents, usage, captures, mentions and social media 6 . Currently, however, traditional citation bibliometrics still remain the most recognised for impact evaluation of peer-reviewed publications and researcher activity within academia.

Irrespective of which bibliometrics are favoured, it is important that for peer-reviewed published research to have educational or clinical impact such research must be first noticed and subsequently read by the appropriate and varied target communities within research, education, government as well as healthcare policy makers and discipline specific groups providing guidelines.

“ What information consumes is rather obvious: it consumes the attention of its consumers. Hence a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention and a need to allocate that attention efficiently among the overabundance of information sources that might consume it .” (Simon, 1971) 7

The concept of attention and various aspects of attention have been discussed and researched extensively amongst psychologists for centuries 8 , however with the ever increasing demands on individuals’ time, attention is currently globally seen as a valuable commodity which is required to be captured. The term “ attention economy ” was originally devised in 1971 by the psychologist, economist and Nobel Laureate, Herbert Alexander Simon, who believed that an abundance of information would result in the consumption of attention 7 . Attention economy is not only important to organisations and business but also to publishers and authors of clinical and scientific research. Investment must be given to design approaches to capture the attention of readers and other researchers to facilitate the communication of research findings to key stakeholders whether that be service users, multidisciplinary healthcare teams or other researchers, by a variety of dissemination approaches to ensure attention and understanding in a resourceful manner 9 .

It is astonishing with how little reading a doctor can practice medicine, but it is not astonishing how badly he may do it. (Osler,1904) 10 .

It is essential that all clinicians, healthcare staff, researchers and students, can adapt and draw upon the current research knowledge to deliver safe, quality evidence based-practice for patient care and successful outcomes 11 . Developments within medicine are constantly and rapidly evolving and it is common practice to consult clinical journals to keep informed of recent research and reflect on such literature, which could impact or change clinical practice. Reviewing and reflecting on current medical literature, not only in relation to specific speciality disciplines, but in general terms, contributes to personal learning and continuing professional development in terms of keeping knowledge skills up-to-date, as well as identifying centres of excellence which could potentially be sources of clinical guidance in the future 11 , 12 . Importantly, the construction of clinical practice guidelines is built upon a solid evidence-base by systematic review of the published literature. 13 It has been calculated that the growth in publication outputs from scientific research in the field of Life Sciences has an annual growth rate of 5.07% and a doubling time of 14 years 14 . The time required to navigate through the oceans of articles published each month, filter and subsequently read, result in individuals facing challenges of how to allocate their time to focus on the articles which are significant in terms of their personal interests and those whose findings could impact on their clinical practice. As such, recently a variety of strategies have been documented to keep abreast with such medical literature through journal surveillance, manuscript review, rounds/seminars, amongst other approaches 11 .

‘With half an hour’s reading in bed every night as a steady practice, the busiest man can get a fair education before the plasma sets in the periganglionic spaces of his grey cortex’ (Osler, 1909) 15 .

Visual abstracts are a communication approach increasingly being used by authors and journals to stimulate selective attention and disseminate research findings to a broad audience both within and outside the readership of a particular journal in a concise manner and shared via social media. 16 Such image-focused summaries provide clinicians and researchers with a snapshot of current research findings and help guide which articles to select for further in-depth examination, whether for educational or research purposes. Visual abstracts, what they are, their history, role and structure are discussed in this article to complement their introduction within the Ulster Medical Journal .

THE PURPOSE OF VISUAL ABSTRACTS

“Visualisation lays the foundation of new modes of thought and dissemination of scientific ideas and information” (Ostergren, 2013) 17

Visualisation of key research outcomes offers the advantage of using a common language, thereby permitting global dissemination in a format which is accessible and understandable. 17 , 18 Such visual representations not only improve memorability in comparison to verbal representation but also help to persuade the viewer to examine the research in greater depth by retrieving the article. 17 , 18 The routine use of visualisation to communicate research findings not only allows scientists to develop competency in relation to visual literacy skills but more importantly, leads to the enhancement of cognition by means of visual thinking. 17 , 18

Nearly six years ago, Professor Andrew Ibrahim, Creative Director of Annals of Surgery , wished to improve how researchers could disseminate their research findings visually and the result was the introduction and sharing by the journal of the first visual abstract in July 2016 via social media using the hashtag #VisualAbstract. 19 The concept of visual representations of scientific research findings was not novel as many journals since the 1980s have used other visual formats such as central illustrations and graphic summaries to convey such information. Central illustrations and graphic summaries are used to convey the primary message or the most important findings detailed in a paper by means of a single illustration or graphical image. Unlike visual abstracts, they do not contain any details on methodology and generally appear at the end of the paper or at the end of the results section, the beginning of the discussion or as a thumbnail linked to the article. 20 In contrast, a visual abstract is generally presented at the beginning of the article after the scientific abstract. The purpose of the unique layout of the visual abstract is to provide a visual summary of research studies using visual icons in a format where scientific abstract meets infographic. Historically visual abstracts have used single or dual coloured icons and a limited text to convey the main outcomes of studies accompanied with a citation to the full article and credit to the visual abstract constructor. 21 The purposes of the visual abstracts are multi-fold namely to (i) assist readers scan recent research articles to acquire a flavour and comprehension for what is new and current in clinical research, (ii) engage and entice the reader to retrieve and read complete articles, which is fundamentally important prior to changing or influencing decisions relating to clinical practice 19 , 21 , (iii) promote a deeper engagement and discussion regarding the study findings 21 , (iv) help facilitate the establishment of scientific communities 22 , (v) increase a broader readership and (vi) provide a preview output which lends itself to dissemination particularly via social media. Since 2016, over one hundred medical journals and organisations, initially many nephrology and surgical journals and subsequently other various specialisms, including, but not limited to, the New England Journal of Medicine , The British Medical Journal, Stroke, Academic Psychiatry, Medical Education and JAMA Open , have adopted visual abstract formats, with several journals including Bone and Joint Research and the British Journal of Sports Medicine , dedicating sections to this aspect. 23 Some examples of the varied visual abstract designs are shown in Figure 1 .

An external file that holds a picture, illustration, etc.
Object name is umj-91-02-67-g001a.jpg

(A) Taken from Costa RLD, Sória TC, Salles EF, Gerecht AV, Corvisier MF, Menezes MAM, et al. Acute kidney injury in patients with Covid-19 in a Brazilian ICU: incidence, predictors and in-hospital mortality. J Bras Nefrol . 202; 43(3) :349-358, under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) License. ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en ). 24

An external file that holds a picture, illustration, etc.
Object name is umj-91-02-67-g001b.jpg

(B) Taken from Abbar M, Demattei C, El-Hage W, Llorca PM, Samalin L, Demaricourt P, et al. Ketamine for the acute treatment of severe suicidal ideation: double blind, randomised placebo controlled trial. BMJ . 2022 Feb 2; 376 :e067194, under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) License ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ ). 25

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(C) Taken from Tummalapalli SL, Mendu ML, Struthers SA, White DL, Bieber SD, Weiner DE, et al. Nephrologist Performance in the Merit-Based Incentive Payment System. Kidney Med . 2021; 3(5) :816-826.e1, under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND) License. ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ ). 26

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(D) Visual Abstract used in conjunction with the full article by Ali B, Jiang Y, Agbim U, Kedia SK, Satapathy SK, Barnes M, et al. Effect of opioid treatment on clinical outcomes among cirrhotic patients in the United States. Clin Transplant . 2020; 34(6) :e13845. 27

RESOURCES AND SKILLS TO PREPARE A VISUAL ABSTRACT

There is much variation in the style and structure of visual abstracts currently shared on social media and as such, journals have provided guidelines to help standardise these outputs based on current published evidence to ensure consistency and validity of the visual abstracts associated with their journal. There are three main valuable resources which help guide in the construction of a visual abstract and which have been consulted when designing the templates for use in the Ulster Medical Journal , namely (i) Visual Abstract Primer (edited by Andrew Ibrahim) 21 which covers topics such as creating a visual abstract and leveraging a visual abstract for dissemination, (ii) Andrew Ibrahim’s Guidelines to Standardise Visual Abstracts for Scientific Research 19 and (iii) Michelle Lim’s short course on designing and the design process of visual abstracts. 28 The guidance detailed below and in Figure 2 and Figure 3 has been taken from these three resources.

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The top ten tips for preparing an effective visual abstract

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Key resources relating to the preparation of visual abstracts

In order to prepare an effective and informative visual abstract, it is not essential to use costly and complicated illustrative software or to possess extensive artistic or graphic design skills. It is important however, to be able to condense information and represent such information logically and coherently into three main sections encompassing the methodology, the main findings and conclusions of the research study. Additional skills which are required include creativity in thought of how to represent these findings using visual icons and the ability to organise information into bite size sections. 28

VISUAL ABSTRACT STRUCTURE

PowerPoint is the preferred digital tool to construct visual abstracts and used extensively by numerous journals and as such, the UMJ have prepared PowerPoint templates which will be used when visual abstracts accompany clinical papers. All template formats consist of four main areas as detailed below and examples of visual abstracts relating to previous articles published in the UMJ are shown alongside their paired scientific abstract, which is the primary source of the most important content prioritised in the visual abstract ( Figures 4 - ​ -6). 6 ). Details relating to the four areas of the visual abstract are detailed below and general guidelines are provided in Figure 2 .

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Paired (a) written abstract and (b) visual abstract of a clinical paper previously published in the Ulster Medical Journal entitled “Antibiotic Prophylaxis Protocols and Surgical Site Infection Rates in Trauma Surgery” . 29

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Paired (a) written abstract and (b) visual abstract of a clinical paper previously published in the Ulster Medical Journal entitled “Diagnostic accuracy of ultrasound in the paediatric population with acute right iliac fossa pain, our District General Hospital experience” . 31

Central to the construction of a visual abstract which is aesthetically pleasing and which contributes to promoting attention and further cognitive pursuit, is to ensure that its individual elements are discernible and there is a clear relationship between these sections with a logical flow. 17 , 18 Research has suggested several key tips to ensure that there is a minimum pressure on the working memory namely by minimising clutter, avoidance of prolixity and information overload and ensuring that images and text are germane to the key messages which need to be conveyed. 18

4a WRITTEN ABSTRACT

Introduction.

Prophylactic antibiotics have been shown to reduce the rate of surgical site infection (SSI), however there is little evidence supporting the effectiveness of one antibiotic over another. We have studied SSI rates and antibiotic prophylaxis protocols in Northern Ireland trauma surgery over a 10-year period to identify the most effective antibiotic protocol associated with lowest rate of SSI.

Antibiotic prophylaxis protocols from 2004-2014 were sought from each of the region’s 4 trauma hospitals and their dates of introduction recorded. For the same period, the number of trauma procedures carried out quarterly and the number of SSIs were recorded for each hospital from the return of prospectively collected SSI surveillance forms.

26849 trauma procedures were included with an overall SSI rate of 1.34% (95% Confidence interval [CI] 1.21 to 1.49). Single dose flucloxacillin (2 grams) with single dose gentamicin (3mg/kg) was the most commonly used protocol used in 3 different hospitals for a combined 13.5 years covering 11445 procedures. The SSI rate was 0.72% (95% CI 0.58-0.89). Triple dose cefuroxime (1.5 grams) was used in 2 different hospitals for a combined 10 years covering 8864 procedures. The SSI rate for this regime was 2.46% (95% CI 2.16-2.80). Single dose cefuroxime (1.5 grams) was used in 2 different hospitals for a combined 8 years covering 6540 procedures. The SSI rate was 0.92% (95% CI 0.71-1.18).

In this prospective observational cohort study prophylaxis using flucloxacillin and gentamicin was associated with the lowest SSI rate. Single dose cefuroxime was associated with a lower rate of SSI compared to triple dose (p<0.001). Identification of antibiotic regimes associated with the lowest SSI rates will promote the judicious use of antibiotics, improve antibiotic stewardship while allowing for continued benefit in the prevention of SSI in an era of ever-increasing antibiotic resistance.

4b VISUAL ABSTRACT

5a written abstract.

The delivery of cataract surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic is challenging because of the risk of nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 infection when patients attend hospital for elective care. In order to ascertain the risk to patients awaiting cataract surgery, this study aimed to identify the presence of systemic comorbidities that are associated with a high risk of severe disease or death due to COVID-19.

A prospective study of 315 patients (630 eyes) was conducted from 3rd June to 31st July 2020. An electronic health record was used to identify any systemic comorbidities that would render a patient ‘clinically extremely vulnerable’ to COVID-19, as outlined by the Department of Health for Northern Ireland. Patient demographics, best-corrected visual acuity (VA) and risk of postoperative anisometropia were also recorded.

The median age of patients awaiting cataract surgery was 76 years (range 22-97). Of the 315 patients, 72% were aged over 70 and 16% were aged over 85. A systemic comorbidity that would confer high risk status was identified in 21% of patients. This high risk status was attributable to severe respiratory disease, cancer, and immunosuppression therapies in the majority of cases. The high risk group were younger than those deemed non-high risk, but there were no significant differences with respect to gender, anticipated degree of surgical difficulty, VA, or whether the patient was undergoing first or second eye surgery. Of those patients awaiting first eye cataract surgery, the mean VA in the listed eye was 0.84 logMAR and 39% (70/179) had a VA <0.3 logMAR (6/12 Snellen acuity) in their fellow eye. 57% of patients were awaiting first eye surgery, and 32% of those patients would be at risk of symptomatic anisometropia postoperatively.

One-fifth of patients awaiting cataract surgery were found to be at high risk of severe disease or death from COVID-19 and these patients may experience delays in their surgical care. Additional planning is required in order to minimise the morbidity associated with delayed cataract surgery.

5b VISUAL ABSTRACT

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Paired (a) written abstract and (b) visual abstract of a clinical paper previously published in the Ulster Medical Journal entitled “Surgical planning during a pandemic: Identifying patients at high risk of severe disease or death due to COVID-19 in a cohort of patients on a cataract surgery waiting list” . 30

6a WRITTEN ABSTRACT

This project aimed to evaluate the role of ultrasound scan (USS) in children presenting with acute onset right iliac fossa (RIF) pain and suspected appendicitis

We retrospectively studied 100 consecutive children undergoing USS for RIF pain. Children with low to moderate clinical probability of appendicitis were seen by the surgical team and subsequently underwent USS by a radiologist or a sonographer with a special interest in paediatric USS. The clinical findings, blood tests, and radiological diagnosis led to a decision to operate, observe or discharge. USS findings were subsequently verified with the final histology. The six-month follow-up data of these patients were also analysed.

35 males, median age of 11 years (range 4-17), and 65 females, median age of 14 years (range 6-18) were included. A total of 23 appendicectomies were performed. On histology appendicitis was confirmed in 20, including 16 pre-operatively diagnosed on USS. 6 of these appendicectomies were performed on clinical suspicion with normal USS. 1 patient was diagnosed with neuroendocrine tumour of the appendix. Only 2 negative appendicectomies were performed. 62 patients were discharged without intervention. USS sensitivity was 74%, and specificity was 92% for appendicitis. An additional 16 patients were identified with alternate pathology including 5 ovarian cysts.

Appendicitis was more common in male patients; however, there was no difference in overall disease prevalence in male or female paediatric patients. Thus, USS is a valuable tool to exclude appendicitis in children with low to moderate probability.

6a VISUAL ABSTRACT

Area 1: title.

In order to gain the readers’ initial attention and provide a clear context for the research study, it is recommended that the title should be framed as a question, rather than the same title of the original article. In other words, what question did the study set out to address?

AREA 2: METHODS & COHORT

To ensure that the quality of the evidence, the research design should be described e.g., randomised controlled trial, retrospective cohort study, in vitro study, etc., and the time frame and any follow-up periods should be stated.

AREA 3: FINDINGS

The findings or outcomes of studies are varied and as such it is difficult to definitively state how this section should be formatted. It is important to think of the findings as discrete points and in the case of most studies, short comparative phrases can be included in text box headings, relating to each end point evaluated. Numeric values should be provided for each of the findings detailed including units and values relating to statistical significance, as this will not only highlight the validity of the research findings but also allow readers to interpret the findings themselves.

AREA 4: CONCLUSION/TAKE HOME MESSAGE

It is important that the conclusion aligns with the question in the title and the key take home message the authors wish to convey. Although the original article may have numerous outcomes, it is important to select between one to three main take home messages. Stating numerous outcomes may distract from the key message which the authors wish to convey. It is important, that the primary outcome of the study is presented to minimise reporting conclusions which are not intentionally or non-intentionally biased.

On a cautionary note, although the primary aim of a visual abstract is to present research findings clearly in a simplified manner, if over simplified the outcomes could be potentially misleading with respect to the strength and significance of the study. Furthermore, due to space limitations, authors may only focus on the positive outcomes of the study and overlook findings which were not significant, inconclusive or negative. The visual abstract should be a true reflection of the manuscript content and that they are not used to promote authors’ own biases or self-promotion which in turn could impact on research groups’ credibility. 17 It is therefore important that where visual abstracts are a formal adjuvant published alongside the peer-reviewed article, that they are included in the peer-review process to ensure validity and quality, prior to the dissemination.

THE PREPARATION OF ICONS

Icons, are graphical interphases which have meaning and have the ability to rapidly convey information which can be remembered effortlessly. 32 Icons, are a central to the preparation of an engaging and successful visual abstract as they have the potential to draw the attention of the reader and in turn enhance their understanding and visual learning of the content displayed. 32 Studies involving eye trackers to measure visual attention and subjective evaluations have shown that the composition of icons and backgrounds have an effect on user’s attention to the viewed icons with solid single colour icons composed of planes resulting in greater fixation, in terms of duration and frequency, as well as subjective evaluation of attention compared to line-based icons, which appear as outlined figures. 32 It is therefore recommended that solid fill icons are the preferred format of icons used in visual abstracts. When choosing icons the use of 2-D icons is advised for clarity as 3-D icons may distract the reader and clutter the visual abstract. Where possible chose .svg or .emf formats as these can be re-coloured in packages such as PowerPoint.

As a rule of thumb, one icon should be used to illustrate one key point. Icons used should be free of copyright restrictions and negate the requirement for attribution and such sources which are freely available include PowerPoint and Pixabay ( https://pixabay.com/ ). The Noun Project ( https://thenounproject.com/ ) offers an extensive catalogue of over two million icons, however the use of icons without attribution requires a small yearly payment, although educator and student licences are available with a discount. Flaticon ( https://www.flaticon.com/ ) is a valuable resource for coloured icons which is free to use with attribution and without attribution with associated costs.

DISSEMINATION OF VISUAL ABSTRACTS

Visual abstracts have a propensity to be shared and disseminated using social media platforms such a Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Research Gate and in turn encourage the full articles to be downloaded. 33 Twitter as of the January 2022 has 396.5 million users with 206 million daily active users. 34 This social media platform permits the “tagging” of organisations, fellow researchers and educators, who may be interested in the research topic and tweets or posts encompassing visual abstracts which have been advocated to encourage engagement with the research studies. The twitter platform has been described as shifting the dissemination of research from a “pull” model i.e., requiring individuals to search for research articles themselves to a ”push model” which translates to researchers actively transmitting information in a more direct approach to potentially interested audiences. 35 A recent article in the Journal of Urology which has published visual abstracts since 2016, reported visual abstract tweets significantly improved overall reader engagement by 65%, compared to tweets without visual abstracts. 36 This finding highlights the potential positive impact that the sharing of visual abstracts via Twitter may have in terms of subsequent citations, as it has been previously concluded from a systematic review, on the use of Twitter by medical journals, that using such social media communication improves citation based and alternative bibliometrics for academic medical journals when used in combination with strategies such as tweeting titles, links to articles, infographics or podcasts. 37 The Journal of the American Geriatrics Society has also examined the dissemination of research articles via social media and compared standard tweets correlating to published articles with tweets that also contained a visual abstract. Interestingly, the standard tweet received 24,984 impressions (i.e. times content was displayed) and 17 tweets (posts) and 36 likes over a period of eight days, whereas the visual abstract tweet received 168,447 impressions, 81 tweets and 100 likes over four days, highlighting a wider interest. 38 Numerous other studies have reported a similar significant greater research dissemination, social media engagement and clicks on links to the full articles, particularly by healthcare professionals, further emphasising the need for open access journals to capitalise on this increase in footfall. 16 , 39 , 40 These findings highlight the potential that visual abstracts have in disseminating research when used in conjunction with social media and the impact that this communication combination approach has on audience engagement, the alternative bibliometrics relating to impact of research publications as well as academic citation. 38 , 41

OTHER USES OF VISUAL ABSTRACTS WITHIN MEDICINE

Education, journal clubs, scientific conferences.

Social media as a platform for electronic communication within medical education has been thrust into the use of alternative approaches to aid in building educational online communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. 42 Such digital sharing of education information, including visual abstracts has provided valuable approaches to increase the reach of research articles within disciplines as recently reported in surgical education. 43

The use of visual abstracts in conjunction with social media has not been limited to their formal publication alongside the full journal article. As healthcare professionals have indicated that they have a preference for visual infographic formats rather than conventional written abstracts when communicating via social media and when viewing online journals, 44 it is not surprising that visual abstracts have been used as educational tools within journal clubs and rounds. Presenting and sharing visual infographics has been shown to engage and enhance understanding as assessed by comprehension and recall when used in a weekly orthopaedic journal club. 45 - 47 Medical Schools have promoted the use of visual abstracts in education programmes to share and showcase educational innovation and scholarship by means of a visual abstract poster format thereby permitting presenters to have more time to engage in interactive discussion with interested individuals. 48

Conferences have used visual abstracts to covey the current research has highlighted by The World Congress of Nephrology (WCN) which is an annual scientific, educational, and networking meeting of the International Society of Nephrology. 49 Recently the 2021 The Developing Excellence in Medical Education Conference (DEMEC) offered two mechanisms for authors to present their posters on a virtual platform either in the form of a visual abstract or a pre-recorded translational talk about their abstract in a “pitch” format. 50

Live visual abstracts coupled with tweeting have started to trend at conferences to promote the central messages from presentations freely to a wider audience. Such live visual abstracts have the potential to increase the visibility of the conference as well as the presenters and their research. 51

Key guidance for those who wish to use visual abstracts in this manner has been prepared within the Visual Abstract Primer (edited by Andrew Ibrahim). 51 The use of visual; abstracts were examined during an annual conference of Association of Vascular Access & inTerventionAl Renal Physicians (AVATAR 2018). 52 The findings of this study indicated that such live visual abstracts tweeted using the handle #LiveVisualAbstract received significantly more impressions and engagements than other popular media tweets which covered the same session. 52 This highlights the potential that this approach can have on delivering information to a wide audience to encourage discussion online and enhancing medical education.

Visual abstracts have been predominantly constructed for and shared with the scientific research community, however more recently, a similar visual abstract format has been used to raise public, policy makers, news and media outlets awareness of important research findings. One such example is the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention journal, The Morbidity and Mortality Week Report (MMWR), which publishes current research related to important public health issues. 53 Such visual abstracts are more akin to lay or plain language summaries and although not the focus of this review may offer an informative visual communication route between patients and healthcare providers ( Figure 7 ).

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An example of a visual abstract for the lay community published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention journal in relation to the published article by McKnight-Eily LR, Okoro CA, Turay K, Acero C, Hungerford D. Screening for Alcohol Use and Brief Counseling of Adults - 13 States and the District of Columbia, 2017. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2020 Mar 13;69(10):265-270. 53 , 54

CONCLUSIONS

We live in a society where communication and information rely on embedded visual imagery. As researchers, the communicative power of visual abstracts, particularly when used in conjunction with social media, should be harnessed to disseminate research findings. Although not a replacement for the full article, visual abstracts act as a “taster” to entice a wide audience to examine, retrieve and read the full article in greater depth. Visual abstracts may be used to highlight current research findings and promote individual researchers and research groups through a variety of mechanisms. The primary formal approach is by means of independent review and inclusion alongside the peer-reviewed manuscript in the accepting journal, which is increasingly being used as a communicating strategy and subsequently shared on social media platforms. A less formal use of visual abstracts, is through journal clubs, blog posts and conference highlights providing educational value and personal knowledge development, as well as offering a mechanism and encouragement of discussion and debate. As the Ulster Medical Journal embarks on its visual abstract journey, it is intended that these will enhance interest in the published articles, increase awareness of the valuable research published in this journal and help to stimulate discussions and collaborations within medical research locally, nationally and internationally.

UMJ is an open access publication of the Ulster Medical Society ( http://www.ums.ac.uk ).

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Abstract 4923: A systematic framework for predicting adverse drug reaction signals using medical data

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Junhyeok Jeon , Eujin Hong , Hyun Uk Kim; Abstract 4923: A systematic framework for predicting adverse drug reaction signals using medical data. Cancer Res 15 March 2024; 84 (6_Supplement): 4923. https://doi.org/10.1158/1538-7445.AM2024-4923

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Prescribing a combination of medications is a common strategy to enhance the effectiveness of disease treatment. While this approach aims to improve therapeutic outcomes, it may lead to unintended adverse drug reactions (ADRs) due to interactions between prescribed drugs and individual factors. Recognizing the importance of ADRs, various machine learning models have been developed. However, these models face limitations, particularly in predicting reactions induced by three or more drugs and in accounting for individual patient factors, such as age and medical history. To address these limitations, we propose a systematic framework that leverages medical data for predicting ADR signals. In the framework, the MIMIC-IV database was systematically preprocessed, and a series of machine learning models were developed that predict the ADR signals. The model predictions were validated using the eICU collaborative research database. The machine learning models process multiple inputs, including information on administered drugs, age, gender, ethnicity, and underlying medical conditions to predict ADR signals. The ADR signals are determined by classifying abnormalities in 20 specific laboratory test values, such as hematocrit, creatinine, and hemoglobin. The machine learning models developed in this study hold promise as a valuable tool for assessing potential risks, such as ADRs, associated with the concurrent use of multiple drugs.

Citation Format: Junhyeok Jeon, Eujin Hong, Hyun Uk Kim. A systematic framework for predicting adverse drug reaction signals using medical data [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2024; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts); 2024 Apr 5-10; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(6_Suppl):Abstract nr 4923.

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The Use of Historical Controls in Clinical Trials

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  • Original Investigation Eplontersen for Hereditary Transthyretin Amyloidosis With Polyneuropathy Teresa Coelho, MD, PhD; Wilson Marques Jr, MD, PhD; Noel R. Dasgupta, MD; Chi-Chao Chao, MD, PhD; Yeşim Parman, MD; Marcondes Cavalcante França Jr, MD, PhD; Yuh-Cherng Guo, MD; Jonas Wixner, MD, PhD; Long-Sun Ro, PhD; Cristian R. Calandra, MD; Pedro A. Kowacs, MD; John L. Berk, MD; Laura Obici, MD; Fabio A. Barroso, MD; Markus Weiler, MD; Isabel Conceição, MD; Shiangtung W. Jung, PhD; Gustavo Buchele, PhD; Michela Brambatti, MD; Jersey Chen, MD, MPH; Steven G. Hughes, MBBS; Eugene Schneider, MD; Nicholas J. Viney, BSc; Ahmad Masri, MD; Morie R. Gertz, MD; Yukio Ando, MD; Julian D. Gillmore, PhD; Sami Khella, MD; P. James B. Dyck, MD; Márcia Waddington Cruz, PhD; NEURO-TTRansform Investigators; Anna Mazzeo; Aikaterini Papagianni; Mazen Dimachkie; Ioannis Zaganas; Edward Gane; Marco Luigetti; Lucia Galan Davila; Michelle Mezei; Juan Gonzalez Moreno; Pascal Cintas; Davide Pareyson; Rebecca Traub; Julie Khoury; Conrado Estol; Merrilee Needham; David Adams; Michael Polydefkis; Thomas Brannagan III; Vera Bril; Shahram Attarian; Marcelo Rugiero; Barbara Distad; Eleni Zamba Papanicolaou; Kon-Ping Lin; Merrill Benson; Morton Scheinberg JAMA

A randomized clinical trial (RCT) is frequently the preferred research design for testing new medical treatments. Randomization helps to ensure that the participants in the treatment groups are similar in the distribution of prognostic factors. 1 This minimizes bias in statistical comparisons of patient outcomes and allows differences to be interpreted as the causal effect of treatment assigment. 2 However, there are situations in which randomizing participants to a control treatment or placebo within an RCT may not be practical or ethical, eg, if a comparison with placebo is desired but an effective treatment already exists. In such cases, researchers might use data from participants who had received the intended control treatment in a prior study, termed historical controls, to estimate the benefit of the new treatment.

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Marion JD , Althouse AD. The Use of Historical Controls in Clinical Trials. JAMA. 2023;330(15):1484–1485. doi:10.1001/jama.2023.16182

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  • 3 Future Water Institute, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa
  • 4 Civil Engineering Department, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa

Recycling resources excreted in human urine can help achieve a sustainable future and circular economy in the sanitation space. However, many studies researching different technologies for safely recycling urine do not use real human urine for experimentation, relying instead on recipes for making synthetic or artificial solutions that attempt to mimic the composition of real human urine. This methodological choice is the focus of this article, which points out that the real urine matrix is extremely complex, with a metabolome (>2,500 metabolites) that differs greatly from that of synthetic urine (<15 metabolites). Therefore, experimental results obtained using synthetic urine can also differ from those obtained using real urine. To exemplify this, we review published literature in terms of four aspects: i) solubility of chemicals and buffering capacity of urine, ii) dissolved organics and membrane fouling, iii) thermodynamic modelling of chemical speciation in urine, and iv) removal of pollutants from urine. We recognise that there is a place for synthetic urine in sanitation research and provide examples of studies where its use is appropriate. Lastly, based on literature from the medical sciences, we provide preliminary guidelines on protocols for preparing synthetic urine that could improve experimentation involving human urine and accelerate the water sector’s transition to circularity.

1 Introduction

In decentralised sanitation systems, human urine can be collected separately from other domestic wastewater and treated to make several useful products, such as water, fertiliser, biostimulants, chemicals and electricity ( Larsen et al., 2013 ). Such recycling has the potential to reduce human transgression of several planetary boundaries, including those on biogeochemical flows of nitrogen and phosphorus ( Perez-Mercado et al., 2022 ; Rockstrom et al., 2023 ). Separate treatment of urine can also benefit existing centralised wastewater treatment plants, e.g. , by decreasing the nitrogen load and thus reducing the energy demand for nitrification ( Wilsenach and Loosdrecht, 2006 ).

Recycling of human urine is a growing research topic within the water sector ( Aliahmad et al., 2022 ). Several novel technologies for treating urine are currently being developed [for recent reviews on this topic, see Larsen et al. ( Larsen et al., 2021 )] and implemented in transdisciplinary initiatives like the Horizon Europe project “P2Green” ( https://p2green.eu/ ) and the Australian Research Council research hub “NiCE” ( https://www.nicehub.org/ ). A growing number of experts believe that decentralised treatment of wastewater could help the water sector accelerate its transition to circularity and that it is well poised to achieve such a paradigm shift ( Guest et al., 2009 ; Larsen et al., 2013 ).

These developments are promising for our own research groups, which are also working in this area. However, a particular trend in current research on decentralised sanitation that gives us cause for concern, and which we address in this article, is the use of synthetic human urine . An analysis of urine research literature, specifically focusing on nutrient recovery, published over the past 5 years, shows an increasing trend in the use of synthetic urine ( Supplementary Material , Supplementary Figure S1 ), with approximately 40% of these studies conducted exclusively with synthetic urine. Of particular concern is that among several publications that exclusively used synthetic urine, 21% referred to the type of urine used as “human urine” in the title of their publications ( Supplementary Material , Supplementary Figure S1 ). For multiple reasons, many studies do not use real human urine in experimental work, and instead rely on recipes for making synthetic solutions that attempt to mimic the composition of real human urine. A simple search of the Scopus database shows that there are hundreds of published articles that have either used synthetic urine for experimentation or have developed assumptions, hypotheses and conclusions based on published studies using synthetic urine. Using synthetic solutions to simulate real fluids is a legitimate scientific method, and one that is not uncommon in wastewater research. In the decentralised sanitation sector, many recipes that can successfully mimic specific physical and chemical properties of human faeces, faecal sludge and greywater have been developed ( Penn et al., 2018 ). In early experimental work, such as proof-of-concept research studies, use of simulants like synthetic urine can help advance science by shedding light on mechanistic aspects of a treatment technology. However, in some instances, using only synthetic urine for experimentation could be problematic from a methodological perspective, especially if protocols for preparing synthetic urine are not well-established and validated by comparison with real urine. To argue why this could be the case, in this article we highlight some of the differences in composition and properties of synthetic urine and real urine. We draw on selected published literature to show how differences between types of urine affect experimental results and their real-life implications. We recognise that there is a place for synthetic/artificial urine in sanitation research and provide examples of cases where its use is appropriate. Our intention is not to criticize studies or researchers that have used synthetic urine in the past. Both of our research groups have also conducted experimental work involving synthetic urine ( Table 1 ). In fact, the observations we made during those studies regarding the differences between real urine and synthetic urine motivated us, in part, to write this perspective article. Overall, we think there is a risk that findings of experiments conducted solely with synthetic urine, especially when prepared using unvalidated protocols, may not be generalisable and transferrable to real-life sanitation systems involving real urine. For instance, studies conducted exclusively using synthetic urine might inadvertently cast a positive light on a urine treatment technology, even if that technology may not prove equally effective when applied to real urine. Therefore, in this perspective article, these authors aim to share with the research community working on decentralised sanitation certain concerns and important considerations when working with synthetic urine. We hope that the article will stimulate a discussion within the research community on the benefits of using real human urine for experimentation work.

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TABLE 1 . Concentrations of different constituents in a selection of synthetic fresh human urine recipes described in the literature. Recipes are shown in increasing order of number of metabolites in urine.

2 Real human urine metabolome vs. synthetic human urine metabolome

Urination is the primary route by which the human body eliminates water-soluble wastes. Urine is generated when the kidneys remove water, water-soluble wastes and sugars from the bloodstream. The urine matrix is extremely complex. The major inorganic components of urine include ions such as sodium, potassium, chloride and ammonium, while the major organic metabolites include urea, creatinine, hippuric acid and citric acid ( Putnam, 1971 ; Bouatra et al., 2013 ). Urine also normally contains several other ions, such as calcium, magnesium, phosphate and sulphate, as well as hundreds of metabolic breakdown products from the consumption of food and beverages, the body’s endogenous waste and exogenous compounds such as pharmaceutical drugs or drug metabolites. The human urine metabolome database ( http://www.urinemetabolome.ca ) lists more than 3,000 metabolites or metabolite species that have been detected in human urine using existing analytical methods and technologies, the majority of which are endogenous compounds. As illustrated in Figure 1 , metabolites in real human urine span a wide range of concentrations (nearly 11 orders of magnitude), chemical structures and solubilities (0.0012 g/L for androsterone to 1000 g/L for ethanolamine, according to Bouatra et al. ( Bouatra et al., 2013 )). The concentration of an average metabolite in normal human urine varies by ± 50% ( Bouatra et al., 2013 ), because a wide range of factors, including diet, health, age, gender and activity level, determine the composition of urine ( Rose et al., 2015 ). However, irrespective of the gender or time of the day when it is collected, urine contains more than 90 metabolites with 100% occurrence ( Bouatra et al., 2013 ), but the concentrations always vary. According to Putnam ( Putnam, 1971 ), 68 metabolites contribute >99% of the solutes in human urine. In contrast, synthetic urine recipes in the sanitation field typically contain <15 metabolites ( Table 1 ).

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FIGURE 1 . Distribution (%) of organic metabolites measured in real human urine by Putnam ( Putnam, 1971 ) according to their (A) chemical structure and (B) solubility in water at 25°C. Standard solubility definitions were taken from WHO ( WHO, 2022 ).

In published literature on wastewater treatment, it is common to encounter the use of synthetic urine or artificial urine, which is essentially a solution of the major inorganic and organic components in real urine, dissolved in water at room temperature. Table 1 lists a small selection of recipes that have been used in different studies to prepare synthetic urine or are referred to in studies as human urine. While this list is certainly not exhaustive, it clearly shows that there is considerable variation in the choice of inorganic and organic ingredients used for making urine, with some recipes using just one metabolite ( Asiain-Mira et al., 2022 ) and some using up to 11 metabolites ( Wilsenach et al., 2007 ). Urine also has a natural bacterial biome ( Lewis et al., 2013 ) and virome ( Li et al., 2023 ) which is not accounted for by these recipes. Therefore, no synthetic urine recipe, however complex, can ever be truly representative of real human urine.

3 Definitions for different types of urine

It is important to distinguish what type of urine a recipe is attempting to mimic. Fresh urine refers to urine collected immediately after it is excreted, although there is no consensus within the research community on how long after excretion urine can be considered fresh. In the literature, some studies have used freshly excreted urine immediately in experiments ( Flanagan and Randall, 2018 ) or have stored it for a few hours ( Vasiljev et al., 2022 ) or days ( Simha et al., 2018 ; Ray et al., 2020 ) at different temperatures (3°C–30°C) before use. However, in general the term “fresh” is typically used to indicate that no urea hydrolysis has occurred in urine. If fresh urine is diluted with flushwater, it is referred to as diluted fresh urine ( e.g. , see synthetic recipe of Han et al. ( Han et al., 2022 ) in Table 1 ). If fresh urine is treated to inhibit urease-catalysed hydrolysis of urea to ammonia, for instance by acidification ( Simha et al., 2023 ), alkalisation ( Randall et al., 2016 ) or oxidation ( Lv et al., 2020 ), the literature defines it as stabilised fresh urine . If urea hydrolysis is not prevented and the majority of the nitrogen in urine is in the form of ammonia, then the urine is considered to be hydrolysed or ureolysed ( Udert et al., 2003a ). If all the urea excreted in fresh urine is not hydrolysed to ammonia, then the urine is considered to be partially hydrolysed ( Tuantet et al., 2013 ). If hydrolysed urine is treated biologically to stabilise ammonia nitrogen, for instance by nitrification ( Udert and Wachter, 2012 ), then literature defines it as biologically stabilised urine . However, studies using synthetic urine sometimes fail to report what type of urine their recipe represents. Each type of urine has a distinct composition and physical and chemical properties, and distinguishing between the types is important as it has implications for further urine treatment (see, e.g. , Simbeye et al. ( Simbeye et al., 2023 ) for an insight into the effect of type of human urine on recovery of phosphate as vivianite). This is one area where the research community would benefit by working together to develop consistent terminology and best practices for reporting experiments involving human urine.

4 Implications of the differences between synthetic urine and real urine

To highlight some key differences between synthetic urine and real urine and the implications of these differences, we conducted a non-systemic literature review, the results of which are summarised below.

4.1 Solubility of chemicals and buffering capacity of urine

Type of urine matrix affects the solubility of different chemicals and the capacity of urine to buffer changes in pH. For example, fresh urine can be dosed with sparingly soluble alkaline Earth chemicals such as Mg(OH) 2 and Ca(OH) 2 to inhibit urease activity and urea hydrolysis. However, Mg(OH) 2 is 40% less soluble in synthetic urine and, due to lower buffering capacity, also has higher pH (>10.8) after treatment than real urine after treatment (pH < 10.6) ( Simha et al., 2022 ). Studies by Ray et al. ( Ray et al., 2018 ) and Simha et al. (2023) have shown that the acid dose needed to shift the pH of fresh urine to below 3.0 is at least two-fold higher for real urine. These are important observations since the stability of most urine treatment processes relies on accurately dosing chemicals. The operating costs of decentralised sanitation systems can also be significantly affected by the chemical demand for treating urine.

The prevailing pH affects both the solubility and the degradation of different organic metabolites in urine. For instance, the rate of degradation of creatine increases as the pH decreases ( Jager et al., 2011 ). In studies on urine acidification and concentration by reverse osmosis, Courtney and Randall ( Courtney and Randall, 2021b ) have shown that crystals of uric acid dihydrate form in acidified real urine, but not in synthetic urine, resulting in scaling of the membrane surface. These observations are consistent with findings by Wang and Königsberger ( Wang and Königsberger, 1998 ) that the solubility of uric acid decreases as the pH declines and ionic strength of the solution increases. These results suggest that reverse osmosis is not well suited for concentrating acidified urine, while other treatments such as evaporation are not significantly affected by biofouling and scaling. However, apart from three studies on reverse osmosis in the literature (viz. Ek et al. ( Ek et al., 2006 ), Ray et al. ( Ray et al., 2020 ), Courtney and Randall ( Courtney and Randall, 2021b )), to our knowledge other studies have only used synthetic urine for experimentation.

Poorly soluble organic compounds tend to co-precipitate with inorganic compounds in real urine. In a study focusing on precipitation of phosphate from fresh urine as vivianite, Simbeye et al. ( Simbeye et al., 2023 ) showed that relatively pure (95%) vivianite could be produced from synthetic urine, but that the purity of vivianite decreases to 75% when made from real urine. This is because organic metabolites in real urine form complexes with divalent ions such as Fe 2+ and these complexes can grow around vivianite crystals ( Wei et al., 2019 ) and limit its yield and purity. These differences ultimately affect process economics, as further treatment will be required to improve product purity ( e.g ., washing vivianite with solvents to selectively remove organic compounds).

4.2 Dissolved organic compounds and membrane fouling

Many synthetic urine recipes ( Table 1 ) are made up of salts to replicate the major inorganic metabolites in urine. However, real urine also has a high organic component (about 10 g COD L -1 according to ( Udert et al., 2006 ) or approximately 25% of the total dissolved solids estimated by Putnam ( Putnam, 1971 )). A research area where the missing organics in synthetic urine leads to significantly differing experimental results is in membrane research (reverse osmosis, nanofiltration, membrane distillation, etc.), specifically with regards to membrane fouling. For example, during membrane distillation, a crystalline deposit forms on the membrane when synthetic urine is used, while with real urine the deposit that forms is more complex and composed of a rich organic fraction ( Kamranvand et al., 2018 ). Bacteria ( Crane et al., 2022 ) and a combination of urinary sugars and protein ( Guizani et al., 2016 ) have been shown to cause membrane fouling when urine is concentrated by forward osmosis. Zhang et al. ( Zhang et al., 2023 ) found that fouling of a hollow fibre membrane contactor for treating real hydrolysed urine increases as the pH of urine decreases.

The solubility ( Franks et al., 2024 ) and the charge ( Wen-Qiong et al., 2019 ) of organic compounds are both affected by pH. If the charge on the membrane is the same as the charge on an organic compound, electrostatic repulsion between the organic compound and the membrane pores will increase, thus reducing the potential for fouling ( Van Reis et al., 1997 ). Higher solubility means that a higher urine concentration factor can be achieved during treatment before organic compounds precipitate. The properties of the feed solution (pH, ionic strength) and the membrane (charge, hydrophobicity, roughness) affect thermodynamic interactions between dissolved organic compounds and the membrane surface, and influence the mechanisms that cause fouling ( Tang et al., 2011 ).

Experimental results obtained when treating real urine are not always inferior to those obtained when treating synthetic urine. Studies by Courtney and Randall ( Courtney and Randall, 2021b ) and Pronk et al. ( Pronk et al., 2006 ) observed increased rejection of urea during membrane treatment of real urine. Courtney and Randall ( Courtney and Randall, 2021b ) found that improved rejection of urea increased overall urea recovery from 79.2% to 85.5% when comparing synthetic urine and real urine. Pronk et al. ( Pronk et al., 2006 ) attributed the increase in rejection of uncharged molecules such as urea to complexation of compounds with the organic substances in real urine. There is also evidence that urea promotes protein unfolding by directly interacting with polar moieties of proteins via hydrogen bonding ( Bennion and Daggett, 2003 ). Unfortunately, synthetic urine cannot be improved by merely adding organics to the recipe used, as in many of these cases the exact organic compounds causing the fouling have not yet been identified (only that they are organic is known) ( Courtney and Randall, 2021b ; Crane et al., 2022 ). In these cases, using both real and synthetic urine for experiments becomes valuable for comparing fouling (or lack thereof).

4.3 Thermodynamic modelling of chemical speciation in urine

All models used to simulate a process in urine essentially model synthetic urine. As with making synthetic urine, it is challenging to include every metabolite excreted in real urine in a thermodynamic model. Many modelling databases do not include a comprehensive list of urinary metabolites. For example, the chemistry database of the thermodynamic modelling software OLI ( OLI Systems and Inc, 2020 ) does not include major organic metabolites excreted in urine, such as creatine, creatinine and uric acid. The importance of including or excluding a metabolite will depend on the parameter being measured/simulated. Udert et al. ( Udert et al., 2003b ) developed a model using Aquasim to estimate the potential for mineral precipitation in sanitation systems that separately collect human urine and found good agreement between simulated and experimental results when the degree of dilution of urine by flushwater was accurately accounted for. Courtney et al. ( Courtney et al., 2021 ) used the same thermodynamic model (in Aquasim) to simulate removal of calcium from human urine by air and CO 2 bubbling and found that initially the model did not accurately simulate the pH of urine as a function of bubbling duration. They attributed this to the salinity of urine influencing the pK a of HCO 3 − /CO 3 −2 ( Millero et al., 2006 ) and to inclusion of creatinine in the model affecting the buffering capacity of urine at pH 9.2. When adjusted for these two factors, the model accurately captured the change in pH of urine during bubbling ( Courtney et al., 2021 ). Inaccurate simulation of chemical speciation in urine and using synthetic human urine with only a few metabolites therefore have implications for the design of experiments and treatment processes ( e.g ., operating conditions such as pH and temperature), and for analysis of experimental results ( e.g ., when evaluating the form and fate of plant-essential nutrients excreted in urine after treatment).

4.4 Removal of pollutants from urine

Several previous studies have used synthetic urine to evaluate removal of pollutants that can potentially be excreted in urine, such as residues and metabolites of pharmaceutical drugs, pesticides, hormones, personal care products, chemicals used for cleaning toilets and heavy metals ( Landry et al., 2015 ; Sun et al., 2018 ; Almuntashiri et al., 2022 ; Goulart et al., 2022 ; Rodriguez et al., 2022 ; Yao et al., 2022 ). Many of these are presented as proof-of-concept studies, and there are often no follow-up studies to evaluate whether the treatments can be replicated with a real urine matrix. In some follow-up studies, clear and significant deviations have been observed between studies, primarily because of differences between the urine matrices. There is evidence that analytical detection of pollutants is significantly affected by the type of matrix studied. For instance, ionisation of the target analytes in LC-MS/MS can be affected by endogenous compounds present in urine ( Rossmann et al., 2015 ). The matrix can also affect the removal efficiency of pollutants because the physical and chemical properties of real urine are different from those of synthetic urine, and no synthetic recipe has been developed to account for the hundreds of endogenous organic metabolites excreted in urine ( Figure 1 ). For example, Solanki and Boyer ( Solanki and Boyer, 2017 ) found that >90% removal of pharmaceuticals from synthetic urine could be achieved by adsorption onto biochar. However, in follow-up studies involving real urine, they found that removal of pharmaceuticals declined to 40% because of competition for adsorption sites by dissolved organic compounds naturally excreted in urine, such as urobilin ( Solanki and Boyer, 2019 ). In a study evaluating degradation of 75 organic micropollutants (OMPs) by a UV-based advanced oxidation process, Demissie et al. ( Demissie et al., 2023a ) observed average ΣOMP degradation of 99% (±4%) in Milli-Q water, but only 55% (±36%) in real fresh urine. This is because endogenous organic compounds in urine can competitively absorb UV light (creatinine and amino acids have high UV absorbability according to Yokoyama et al. ( Yokoyama et al., 2005 )) and can scavenge free radicals. In another study, Demissie et al. ( Demissie et al., 2023b ) found that the UV dose needed to irreversibly denature jack bean ( Canavalia ensiformis ) urease (EC 3.5.1.5) in real fresh human urine was 25-fold higher than the dose needed to denature urease in synthetic fresh human urine. Unfortunately, there seems to be more literature available on treatment of synthetic human urine than on treatment of real human urine for removal of contaminants such as micropollutants.

5 Why and when to use synthetic urine for experimentation?

While synthetic urine is not exactly representative of real urine, it does have many uses and benefits. Below we list a few valid reasons why synthetic urine may be used in research:

1. The composition of real urine varies considerably, as it is influenced by diet, health, age, gender, activity level of people and other factors ( Rose et al., 2015 ). The composition of synthetic urine can be fixed, which can be desirable when conducting experiments to evaluate the influence of several operating conditions on treatment objectives ( Tarpeh et al., 2018 ). The experimental results obtained when synthetic urine is used are generally more consistent than results obtained using real urine with varying composition ( Kabdaşlı et al., 2022 ).

2. The use of synthetic urine is appropriate in proof-of-concept research that proposes novel technologies and methods to treat urine, e.g. , Arve and Popat ( Arve and Popat, 2021 ). If experimentation using synthetic urine yields undesirable results, then further testing can be avoided, and time and resources can be saved. For instance, Ray et al. ( Ray et al., 2018 ) showed that zinc and silver ions are not effective inhibitors of urease in synthetic fresh urine as they precipitate with phosphate and chloride naturally present in urine, although the inhibition of urease in soil by these heavy metal ions is well established.

3. Using a synthetic recipe makes it easier to reverse-engineer processes and identify metabolites or properties of urine that significantly affect the outcome of a treatment ( Solanki and Boyer, 2019 ). In addition, different technologies can be more fairly compared against each other if the same synthetic urine recipe is used to evaluate their differences ( Chen et al., 2023 ).

4. Synthetic urine can be helpful for developing new analytical methods for targeted analysis of metabolites ( Scherr and Sarmah, 2011 ) and for educational purposes where the aim is to train students in analytical chemistry or wastewater engineering.

5. Computer-based thermodynamic models of chemical speciation must be validated in real experiments ( Courtney and Randall, 2023 ). Synthetic urine is particularly helpful in such cases since it is not always possible to conduct a full metabolomic analysis of real urine. Many metabolites also do not exist in the chemistry databases of software tools.

6 Guidelines on protocols for preparing synthetic fresh human urine

As shown in Table 1 , several recipes for preparing synthetic human urine are found in the water and sanitation literature. However, to the best of our knowledge, none of these recipes use well-established protocols for preparing synthetic urine, ( Lienert and Larsen, 2009 ; Jewitt, 2011 ; Furlong et al., 2019 ; Simha et al., 2021 ), nor have they been validated by comparison with real urine specimens. On the other hand, there is extensive literature in the medical sciences focusing on the development of protocols for synthetic urine preparation in various research domains, including urology ( Shafat et al., 2013 ), dermatology ( Mayrovitz and Sims, 2001 ) and nephrology ( Brooks and Keevil, 1997 ). These protocols have typically been designed to allow investigation of specific aspects, such as the formation of kidney stones ( e.g. , calcium oxalate dihydrate) in urine, study of renal physiology using in vitro cell culture ( Chutipongtanate and Thongboonkerd, 2010 ), urinary tract infections and growth of urinary pathogens ( Brooks and Keevil, 1997 ). More recent efforts have developed protocols for synthetic urine preparation that are not specific to an application, ( Chutipongtanate and Thongboonkerd, 2010 ; Sarigul et al., 2019 ), and can be more universally used across research disciplines ( Table 2 ). In fact, Sarigul et al. (2019) have shown that, by using attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), their synthetic urine comes closest to mimicking real urine. This recipe differs from many of those presented in Table 1 in two ways. First, it does not just include major inorganic metabolites and urea, but also major organic metabolites like creatinine, uric acid, citrate, and oxalate, which are normally excreted in real urine. Secondly, the recipe adds both NaH 2 PO 4 ·2H 2 O and Na 2 HPO 4 ·2H 2 O which more accurately reflects the speciation of phosphate in real fresh urine, which eliminates the need for adding HCl or NaOH to adjust the pH of urine. Their protocol is also practical as it does not contain an unreasonable number of metabolites (<15). Therefore, to urine researchers working in the sanitation space, we recommend using the protocol developed by Sarigul, et al. ( Sarigul et al., 2019 ) for preparing synthetic urine. However, considering that the concentration of different metabolites in urine varies (e.g., between 9.3 and 23.3 g L -1 for urea according to Putnam ( Putnam, 1971 )), we also suggest researchers to adjust the protocol (as shown by the “adjusted Putnam” recipe in Table 2 ) to prepare synthetic urine that accurately represents real urine produced in various geographical contexts. The key components of any synthetic urine recipe should include all major inorganic ions (Na + , K + , Mg 2+ , Ca 2+ , NH 4 + , Cl − , SO 4 2- , PO 4 -P), and all major organic metabolites (urea, creatinine, uric acid, citrate, and oxalic acid).

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TABLE 2 . Concentrations of different constituents in a selection of synthetic human urine recipes described in the medical sciences literature. To urine researchers working in the sanitation space, we recommend using the protocol developed by ( Sarigul et al., 2019 ) and adapt it to account for variation in concentration of different metabolites excreted in urine. “Putnam adapted” shows the minimum and maximum acceptable limits for concentration of major metabolites in urine.

There are several sub-topics in sanitation-focused urine research, including the recovery of plant-essential nutrients and energy, removal of micropollutants, and inactivation of pathogens. These would need to be considered when adapting and using such a protocol. It is always possible to add more metabolites to synthetic urine depending on the question at hand (e.g., Brooks and Keevil ( Brooks and Keevil, 1997 ) added bacteriological peptone to account for amino acids and short chain peptides and yeast extract to account for nucleic acids excreted in urine, respectively). This can be particularly relevant when experimentation involves developing methods to reduce malodour from urine-separating toilets or light irradiation to degrade pollutants in urine, as all protocols for making synthetic urine produce odourless and colourless urine.

7 Conclusion and the way forward

Research on innovative technologies to recycle the resources in human urine is highly relevant for achieving a sustainable future and circular economy in the sanitation space. As such research has real-life implications, it is critical to constantly evaluate methods and methodological choices used in experimentation on this topic. One such choice that researchers must make is whether to use synthetic urine or real human urine. In this article, we argue that it can be difficult to accurately replicate the complex metabolome and properties of real urine using a synthetic recipe. We provide select examples from literature to suggest that results obtained when synthetic urine is used can differ from those obtained when real urine is used. In some cases, results of experiments conducted with real urine are not as promising as those achieved with synthetic urine, but publication of negative results is still to the benefit of the entire research community. While there are several benefits and valid reasons for using synthetic urine in research, some of which we present in this article, we have also noted a lack of consistency in the protocols for preparing synthetic urine in sanitation research. To address this, we provide suggestions and preliminary guidelines on protocols for preparing and using artificial urine, inspired by literature from the medical sciences. We hope that this article initiates a discussion on methodological choices in urine research among the community engaged with decentralised sanitation systems. Overall, we have the following recommendations:

1. Whenever it is feasible, work with real urine. Urine can be collected in a depersonalised manner from several donors and pooled together. Increasing the number of donors or the collection period for urine can mitigate issues related to variability in urine composition.

2. When preparing synthetic urine, use protocols that have been evaluated and validated with real urine, such as the protocol outlined by ( Sarigul et al., 2019 ) (See Table 2 ). Modify the protocol as shown in “Putnam adapted” in Table 2 to make synthetic urine that is representative of real urine produced in various geographical contexts. Include or exclude specific metabolites from the protocol depending on the research question, as this can be important when assessing different topics in sanitation-focused urine research, such as the degradation of micropollutants.

3. Follow up an experiment involving synthetic urine that yielded positive results with an experiment using real human urine, ideally within the same study. In studies where results of only synthetic urine are reported, authors should try to hypothesize how their results could differ in case real urine is used, raise any potential aspects that could be of concern, and recommend follow-up studies to use real urine to validate these hypotheses and/or confirm that similar results with real urine can be achieved.

4. Always clearly state in the article title, abstract and conclusions whether real or synthetic/artificial urine was used in experiments. In addition, specify within the article the type of urine used/replicated in the study (see Section 3 for definitions).

5. Work together as a community to develop terminology, definitions, methodologies and best practices for experimental work involving human urine.

Data availability statement

The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/ Supplementary Material , further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.

Author contributions

PS: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal Analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Validation, Visualization, Writing–original draft, Writing–review and editing. CC: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal Analysis, Investigation, Methodology, Software, Validation, Visualization, Writing–original draft, Writing–review and editing. DR: Conceptualization, Investigation, Methodology, Software, Writing–original draft, Writing–review and editing.

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. PS was supported by grants from Stiftelsen Lantbruksforskning for the project “Micropollutants-free sustainable beer production” (Grant number O-22-23-744) and the European Union’s Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme for the project “P2Green: Closing the gap between fork and farm for circular nutrient flows” (Grant number 101081883). Dyllon Randall and CC were supported by internal funding from the University of Cape Town and the August T Larsson Guest Researcher Programme at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

The author(s) declared that they were an editorial board member of Frontiers, at the time of submission. This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision.

Publisher’s note

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Supplementary material

The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2024.1367982/full#supplementary-material

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Keywords: simulation, synthetic urine, membrane, micropollutants, nutrient recycling, wastewater treatment

Citation: Simha P, Courtney C and Randall DG (2024) An urgent call for using real human urine in decentralized sanitation research and advancing protocols for preparing synthetic urine. Front. Environ. Sci. 12:1367982. doi: 10.3389/fenvs.2024.1367982

Received: 09 January 2024; Accepted: 04 March 2024; Published: 14 March 2024.

Reviewed by:

Copyright © 2024 Simha, Courtney and Randall. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Prithvi Simha, [email protected]

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  20. Medical research

    Medical research involves research in a wide range of fields, such as biology, chemistry, pharmacology and toxicology with the goal of developing new medicines or medical procedures or improving ...

  21. (PDF) Visual Abstracts in Medical Journals

    VA is a form of graphical abstract used by medical journals. VA was introduced in Annals of Surgery in July 2016.4 Other forms of graphical abstracts in the field of chemistry had appeared as ...

  22. The Role of Visual Abstracts in the Dissemination of Medical Research

    The visual abstract has characteristics which enable it to be shared on social media platforms and in turn increase the interest and impact within the research community. Visual abstracts are being increasingly introduced within medical journals and organisations to help disseminate valuable research findings.

  23. PDF Genre Analysis of Moves in Medical Research Articles

    medical research articles. In "A enre Analysis of Medical G Abstracts by Chinese and English Native Speakers" (Zhao and Wu 60) and "Abstracting Science: A Corpus-based Approach to Research Article Abstracts" (75), Zhao and Wu and Cava focus solely on the abstract section of medical research articles.

  24. Abstract 4923: A systematic framework for predicting adverse drug

    Abstract. Prescribing a combination of medications is a common strategy to enhance the effectiveness of disease treatment. While this approach aims to improve therapeutic outcomes, it may lead to unintended adverse drug reactions (ADRs) due to interactions between prescribed drugs and individual factors. Recognizing the importance of ADRs, various machine learning models have been developed ...

  25. Full article: A scoping review of artificial intelligence in medical

    An AI literacy framework for medical school described aims, opportunities, and impact of AI for selection into medical school and training programs, learning, assessment, and research (P19). A framework for radiology education described the role of AI to promote personalized learning and decision support tools (P20).

  26. The Use of Historical Controls in Clinical Trials

    A randomized clinical trial (RCT) is frequently the preferred research design for testing new medical treatments. Randomization helps to ensure that the participants in the treatment groups are similar in the distribution of prognostic factors. 1 This minimizes bias in statistical comparisons of patient outcomes and allows differences to be interpreted as the causal effect of treatment ...

  27. Medical Research

    Research Women in Science: Q&A with Dr. Elizabeth Enninga March is Women's History Month, an opportunity to highlight the contributions of women in science and the challenges they face.

  28. Frontiers

    On the other hand, there is extensive literature in the medical sciences focusing on the development of protocols for synthetic urine preparation in various research domains, including urology (Shafat et al., 2013), dermatology (Mayrovitz and Sims, 2001) and nephrology (Brooks and Keevil, 1997).