Guidelines for submission of abstracts to WCVAA 2025
General Information
Abstracts submission deadline is April 20, 2025, at 23.59h CET. Abstracts received after the deadline will not be considered. All abstracts must be submitted via the congress website form. Abstracts received otherwise will not be accepted. Upon submission, you will receive a confirmation email that your abstract has been received. In the confirmation email, the abstract number will be allocated. Please refer to this abstract number in all correspondence regarding the abstract. If an error occurred during submission process, please contact us at abstracts@frei.gr.
All submitted abstracts will be scored by the WCVAA 2025 Scientific Committee and you will be notified the status of the submitted abstract in due course. Only the corresponding author will be contacted regarding the abstract status, please make sure to assign the correct person and forward all the information to the presenter.
Please, do not submit multiple copies of the same abstract. There is no limit to the number of abstracts that can be submitted.
Before you start
Review the abstract topics and select the most suitable. Prepare your abstract in Microsoft Word or a plain text document. Have the names, institutions, and email addresses of all co-authors readily available. The abstract submitter is listed as the first author and presenting author. Ensure that all authors who contributed to the work are included. Authors’ names should be entered as they would appear in the published abstract.
Please ensure that your abstract follows the guidelines below before submitting. Those abstracts not following the guidelines will be rejected. The review process does not allow the time for major changes to be made before the congress if abstracts do not follow the guidelines below.
Abstracts must be submitted no later than the specific conference deadline. Upon submission, all abstracts must be accompanied by a confirmation that the work was subject to an ethical approval process and these details (e.g. approval number) must be available upon request. It must also be stated that the data presented are original and have not been presented elsewhere. Please do not send abstracts by email. Any queries should be directed to the Abstracts Editor at ava.abstracts@gmail.com.
About the reviewing process
- Each abstract is sent to two reviewers. The reviewer is asked to respond within two weeks.
- If the abstract needs corrections, it is returned to the authors. They are asked to submit the revised manuscript within ten (10) days.
- There is only one round of reviewing.
- The final decision to accept of an abstract lies with the editor.
- The editor makes any necessary minor grammatical corrections.
- The abstracts are sent to the scientific committee of the WCVAA Congress, which has the final decision on oral/poster presentations. The editor may advise on oral/poster allocation, based on the authors’ request and the reviewers’ suggestions.
- The whole process takes 1.5-2 months, depending on the number of submitted abstracts and how quickly the reviewers and the authors respond.
The abstract format
The abstract text must not exceed 300 words. This include any tables or figures legends, which should be added as an attachment. Please note requirements for spaces (e.g. p = 0.001 NOT p=0.001 and 45 ± 3.2 NOT 45±3.2). All abstracts must be written in English. American or UK spelling is acceptable but must be consistent.
The abstract must consist of an introduction, materials and methods, results and a conclusion. However, titles prior to each section are not required.
- Introduction (maximum three lines in word) should concisely summarize the background for the study.
- Materials & methods must provide sufficient information to allow the quality of the study to be evaluated. Specific details of the number of animals studied and doses of drugs given must be recorded. Generic names should be used for all drugs; best to use recommended international non-proprietary name. Statistical methods should be recorded.
- Results must include data. Parametric data should be presented as mean ± SD. Nonparametric data should be presented as median values (range). Individual p-values for results are not necessary in the abstract text, but authors must make clear which results were statistically significant.
- Conclusions should be drawn from the data presented in the abstract without repetition of results.
A maximum of three references may be listed in Harvard style (see examples below). Acknowledgements should be limited to the major funding of the study.
Formatting
You must upload the body of the abstract in the specified box. Each section (introduction, materials and methods etc.) should be a separate paragraph with no subheadings and no spacing between paragraphs. The reference list, as well as the tables and the figures with their legends must be uploaded as pdf files. A maximum of two (2) tables/figures in total are allowed.
When using μ e.g. in μg kg-1, use the Arial font greek letter. Avoid using a different font e.g. “symbol”.
Units
- Please use negative indices, not solidus e.g. mg kg-1 not mg/kg
- % – not per cent or percentage
- Minute & hour not min & hr
- SI units throughout with the exception of; mmHg for blood, intracranial and intra-ocular pressure and cmH2O for airway pressure and CVP.
- mmHg or kPa are permissible for blood gases and unlike in VAA, both are not required.
Abbreviations
Do not start a sentence with an acronym or abbreviation. Acronyms should be written in full at first usage followed by acronym in brackets with the exception of the following which may be used without explanation
| HR | heart rate; units: beats minute-1 |
| PR | pulse rate |
| ECG | electrocardiogram |
| EEG | electroencephalogram |
| fr | respiratory rate |
| SAP | systolic arterial pressure |
| DAP | diastolic arterial pressure |
| MAP | mean arterial pressure |
| PaCO2 & PvCO2 | arterial and venous partial pressure of carbon dioxide |
| PaO2 & PvO2 | arterial and venous partial pressure of oxygen |
| Fe’CO2 & Pe’CO2 | end-tidal carbon dioxide. fractional concentration (F) or partial pressures. |
| VT | Tidal volume |
| VE | Minute ventilation |
| NSAID | Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug |
| ANOVA | Analysis of variance |
| MAC | Minimum alveolar concentration |
| SpO2 | Percentage of haemoglobin oxygen saturation measured by pulse oximetry |
| FiO2 | Fraction of inspired oxygen |
| IV, SC, IM | Intravenous, subcutaneous, intramuscular |
| SWG | Standard wire gauge (needle size) |
| n | Number in a group |
References
Should be in Harvard style with journal titles abbreviated. If there are more than three authors list the first three then et al.
Example: Young LE, Blissitt KJ, Clutton RE et al. (1998) Temporal effects of an infusion of dobutamine hydrochloride in horses anesthetized with halothane. Am J Vet Res 59, 1027–1032.
To cite in text:
Direct citations: Kitts (1989) for single author, Jones & Smith (1990) for two authors, Kitts et al. (1989) for more than two authors. Indirect citations: In (Jones and Smith 1990), (Kitts et al. 1989) or (Jones & Smith 1990).
Presenting author information
Presenting author or one of the authors, should be identified at the time of submission and must be registered to attend the conference to allow the programme to be finalized. The registration deadline for the presenting abstract author is one month prior to the congress. In case the presenting author has not been provided or registered up to the deadline, the abstract will be withdrawn from the programme without notification. If there is a change in the presenting author, the conference organizers must be informed in advance at abstracts@frei.gr until July 20, 2025. The presenting author can be modified in the private portal while the abstract submission is still open. The presenting author is required to ensure that all co-authors are aware of the content of the abstract before submission to WCVAA 2025.