Pottegård Anton, Haastrup Maija Bruun, Stage Tore Bjerregaard, Hansen Morten Rix, Larsen Kasper Søltoft, Meegaard Peter Martin, Meegaard Line Haugaard Vrdlovec, Horneberg Henrik, Gils Charlotte, Dideriksen Dorthe, Aagaard Lise, Almarsdottir Anna Birna, Hallas Jesper, Damkier Per
Clinical Pharmacology, Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, DK-5000 Odense C, Denmark
Department of Clinical Chemistry and Pharmacology, Odense University Hospital, Odense C, Denmark.
BMJ. 2014 Dec 16;349:g7092. doi: 10.1136/bmj.g7092.
To describe the development of acronym use across five major medical specialties and to evaluate the technical and aesthetic quality of the acronyms.
Acronyms obtained through a literature search of Pubmed.gov followed by a standardised assessment of acronym quality (BEAUTY and CHEATING criteria).
Randomised controlled trials within psychiatry, rheumatology, pulmonary medicine, endocrinology, and cardiology published between 2000 and 2012.
Prevalence proportion of acronyms and composite quality score for acronyms over time.
14,965 publications were identified, of which 18.3% (n=2737) contained an acronym in the title. Acronym use was more common among cardiological studies than among the other four medical specialties (40% v 8-15% in 2012, P<0.001). Except for within cardiology, the prevalence of acronyms increased over time, with the average prevalence proportion among the remaining four specialties increasing from 4.0% to 12.4% from 2000 to 2012 (P<0.001). The median combined acronym quality score decreased significantly over the study period (P<0.001), from a median 9.25 in 2000 to 5.50 in 2012.
From 2000 to 2012 the prevalence of acronyms in trial reports increased, coinciding with a substantial decrease in the technical and aesthetic quality of the acronyms. Strict enforcement of current guidelines on acronym construction by journal editors is necessary to ensure the proper use of acronyms in the future.
描述五个主要医学专科领域中首字母缩略词的使用发展情况，并评估这些首字母缩略词的技术和美学质量。
通过对Pubmed.gov进行文献检索获取首字母缩略词，随后对首字母缩略词质量进行标准化评估（采用BEAUTY和CHEATING标准）。
2000年至2012年间发表的精神病学、风湿病学、肺病学、内分泌学和心脏病学领域的随机对照试验。
首字母缩略词的流行比例以及首字母缩略词随时间变化的综合质量得分。
共识别出14965篇出版物，其中18.3%（n = 2737）的标题中包含首字母缩略词。首字母缩略词在心脏病学研究中的使用比其他四个医学专科更为常见（2012年为40%对8 - 15%，P < 0.001）。除心脏病学领域外，首字母缩略词的流行率随时间增加，其余四个专科的平均流行比例从2000年的4.0%增至2012年的12.4%（P < 0.001）。在研究期间，首字母缩略词综合质量得分的中位数显著下降（P < 0.001），从2000年的中位数9.25降至2012年的5.50。
从2000年到2012年，试验报告中首字母缩略词的流行率增加，与此同时首字母缩略词的技术和美学质量大幅下降。期刊编辑严格执行当前关于首字母缩略词构建的指南对于确保未来首字母缩略词的正确使用是必要的。
