Objectives: The specialty of otolaryngology in the United States has changed dramatically over the past century, and this is particularly true in the field of bronchoesophagology, which has evolved from a new specialty at the beginning of the 20th century to one that is now multidisciplinary and further subspecialized. The purpose of this report was to trace the evolution of bronchoesophagology over the past 60 years by examining and quantitating the scientific subject matter of the annual meetings of the American Broncho-Esophagological Association (ABEA).
Methods: The Transactions of the ABEA annual meetings from the 1940s to the present day were examined in depth for subject matter, and articles were categorized by topic. Each decade was represented by 3 years. Data were sorted into 3 domains: 1) anatomic area, 2) adult versus pediatric, and 3) subject matter, including neoplasms, infectious diseases, foreign bodies, technologies, function, and trauma. The overall changes were quantified to outline the direction and interests of the ABEA.
Results: We reviewed 483 scientific articles from the 1940s into the present decade, with a mean of 69.7 papers (SD, 32.4) representing each decade. Bronchology and pulmonology decreased in percentage of papers, from 43% and 17.9% in 1940 to 1.7% and 2.6%, respectively, in the 2000s. Laryngology evolved from 12.5% to 58.1%. Esophagology peaked in the 1950s at 35.7%, dropped to 4% in the 1980s, and then rose to its present-day level of 15.4%. Trends were also discernible in gastric and tracheal areas. Pediatric topics rose to 26.7% in the 1980s, then declined to their present level of 12.8%. Topics related to aerodigestive tract function increased from 3.6% to 34.2%, and presentation of technology declined from 23.2% in the 1940s to nil in the 2000s. Trends in neoplasms, infectious diseases, foreign bodies, and trauma were less significant.
Conclusions: Analysis of the data reveals changing trends in the focus of the ABEA. The changing focus of the ABEA has paralleled scientific advances in our field, as well as the rise of other subspecialties such as interventional pulmonology and gastroenterology.