Submissions

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Submission Preparation Checklist

As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission's compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors that do not adhere to these guidelines.
  • The submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration (or an explanation has been provided in Comments to the Editor).
  • The submission file is in OpenOffice, Microsoft Word, or RTF document file format.
  • Where available, URLs for the references have been provided.
  • The text is single-spaced; uses a 12-point font; employs italics, rather than underlining (except with URL addresses); and all illustrations, figures, and tables are placed within the text at the appropriate points, rather than at the end.
  • The text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined in the Author Guidelines.

Author Guidelines

Authors are required to check that all the following items are fulfilled:

  • The submitted manuscript has not been previously published, nor is it considered for publication in another journal.
  • The manuscript has not been provided in Comments to the Editor
  • The submission file is in OpenOffice, Microsoft Word, or RTF document file format.
  • URLs for the references should be provided where available.
  • The text is single-spaced; with a 12-point font; employs italics, rather than underlining (except with URL addresses); and all illustrations, figures, and tables are placed within the text at the appropriate points, rather than at the end.
  • The text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined in the Pre-Submission Guidelines.

Make sure you submit the title page and the main article text (including tables and illustrations) in two separate files.

As a reminder, the title page should contain the following:

  • Title, which should be succinct as well as descriptive.
  • First name and last (surname) name of each author.
  • Name and address of department, hospital or institution to which work should be attributed.
  • Running title (Maximum of 30 letters and spaces).
  • Maximum of six keywords (in alphabetical order).
  • Name, full address, telephone, and e-mail address of author responsible for correspondence, known as the corresponding author.
  • Conflict of interest ("None" if not existing).

Original Articles

Original articles include theoretical, applied, observational or experimental research, and meta-analysis.

It should have no more than 6 authors and is supported by up to 30 references.

The text must not be more than 3000 words excluding abstracts references or tables and it should be divided into the following sections: Abstract, Keywords, Introduction, Material and Methods Results, Discussion and Conclusion, References, Tables and Figures, and Legends. The abstract should not exceed 350 words.

In Introduction section the purpose and rational of the study is summarised. It should outline the historical or logical origins of the study and gaps in knowledge.  detailed literature reviews are not appropriate.  

Materials and Methods: describe the study design and the method of sampling selection or randomization of subjects, or participants. Explain in detail the experimental steps and equipment and identify any drugs or chemicals used. Clearly indicate the inclusion and exclusion criteria.

Mention the statistical methods and computer software used for data analysis and their limitations. For P value give the exact value and not: less than 0.05 or 0.001.

Results:

Have a sequence of results presented should be ordered logically throughout the results section, in the text tables and figures.

The main and most important results are mentioned first. Data given in tables and figures shouldn't be repeated in the text, although only emphasis or important observations can be summarised in the text.

Numeric data should be given as both absolute numbers and percentages. Tables and figures must be restricted to explain the main study argument. Don't duplicate data in figures and tables.

Discussion:

Memorise the key results and describe the strength and limitations of the study throughout the study question, design, data collection, analysis, and interpretation, considering previous work in the field, and to be supported by original references.

Define the application of the study findings, what the study adds to the current evidence and weather there are controversies raised,

Recommend future research directions based on your findings. Material given in the introduction and results sections shouldn't be repeated in detail.

Conclusion: should contain a summary of the findings.

Systematic review articles

The abstract should summarize the review under the following headings : Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, and Conclusion. Abstract should not exceed 350 words.

The main text of the systematic review article shouldn't exceed 5000 words, and  is divided into the following sections:

Title: Identify the report as a systematic review, meta-analysis, or both.
Introduction: Provide an introduction of the subject and why it is important.
Explain the research question, indicating participants, interventions, comparators, and outcomes.

Methods:  describe the following in detail:

  1. i) Inclusion criteria
  2. ii) Databases searched and dates

iii) Method used to assess study quality

  1. iv) Meta-analysis methodology (if appropriate)

Results: 

Number and type of included studies and participants.

Results for outcomes. Details of measures and confidence intervals of meta-analysis (if appropriate).

Discussion:  Adress strengths and limitations of evidence.
Conclusions: summary of interpretation of the results and their important implications.
Funding: Source(s) of funding (if no funding: say ‘none’).
Registration: Registration number and name.

Review (narrative) Article

Abstract should be unstructured and should not exceed 350 words.

The review article is expected to be written by authors who are expert in the field or the subject. The article test word count must not exceed 3000 words excluding abstracts tables and references. The abstract is unstructured and must not exceed 350 words. Up to 90 references may be listed.

A main text of the review article should be divided into Introduction, Review and Conclusions.

The Introduction section should be focused on the subject reviewed, and to justify the need for the review.

The Review section: The article sections' titles depend on the reviewed topic, and they should include a section describing the method for locating, selecting, extracting and synthesis of the data. Author is expected to use state-of-the-art evidence-based systematic approaches, and to describe the search strategies. The use of tables and illustrations is encouraged.

The Conclusion section should summarize conclusions and/or recommendations.

Case Reports

Abstract should not exceed 350 words, divided into the following sub-headings:  Introduction, Report, Discussion and Conclusion. The article should include high quality images, diagrams, supporting tables and graphs as appropriate.

Rare and interesting clinical cases can be reported to provide learning points regarding diagnostic and therapeutic challenges.

A case report may be up to 1000 words excluding abstract and references and is divided into the sections: Abstract (unstructured), Keywords, Introduction, Report, Discussion, Conclusion, References, Tables, Figures (and images), and Legends.

A case report can be supported by up to 10 references and it can have up to four others.

Short Communication

Short and concise paper which addresses controversies, and discussion related to previously published journal articles.

It can be in any of the following forms: Commentaries, Reply articles, Abstracts, Research briefs, and Correspondence to the editor.

Letter to the Editor

These are short observations related to articles that were previously published in the journal. A letter to the editor could have up to 500 words and five references and it's authored by no more than four authors.

Copyright Notice

Once an article is approved, the authors will be requested to fill out a ‘Journal Publishing Agreement’. A confirmation email, along with the ‘Journal Publishing Agreement’ form or a link to its online version, will be sent to the corresponding author. Subscribers are allowed to reproduce tables of contents or create article lists with abstracts for internal use within their organizations/institutions. However, the publisher’s permission is required for resale or distribution outside the organization and for all other derivative works, including compilations and translations. If the article includes excerpts from other copyrighted works, the author(s) must obtain written consent from the copyright holders and indicate the sources in the article.

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