Guidelines for Authors to Submit a Manuscript
The paper should be unique and not published or under consideration for publication elsewhere. All authors should read and approve authorship responsibility and publication ethics principles presented on our website. All authors should provide a competing interest statement. One author should be designated as the corresponding author, with their contact details and postal address provided. All abstracts should be structured. The following types of manuscripts are accepted: original article, review article, hypothesis, editorial, letter, and case report (preferably with a comprehensive literature review).
Requirements for Different Types of Articles
Original articles: An original article should contain a structured abstract, 3–5 keywords, introduction, methods, results, discussion, conclusions, ethical declaration, funding, acknowledgment, and references. There is no restriction on number of supporting documents. Randomized clinical trials (RCTs) should be registered at any RCT Registries approved by the WHO.
Case reports (preferably with a comprehensive literature review): A case report should contain a structured abstract, 3–5 keywords, introduction, case presentation, discussion, conclusions, ethical declaration, funding, acknowledgment, and references. The structured abstract of this article type should consist of a background, case presentation, and conclusions. Informed consent should be obtained from the patients to report their cases. The Journal retains the right to ask for the original signed informed consent form.
Review articles: Review articles, especially systematic reviews, or meta-analyses are most welcome. The protocol of the study should adhere to the PRISMA guideline.
Hypothesis: The structured abstract of this article type should consist of a background, hypothesis, and conclusions. The main body of this manuscript consists of an introduction, hypothesis, evaluation of hypotheses, and conclusions.
Editorials and letters: Letters and editorials should preferably be less than 2,500 words. Letters discussing any articles published in this journal should be submitted within a period not exceeding 6 months after the publication of the main article. These articles will undergo the peer-review process. No abstract is required.
Manuscripts should be prepared with the following segments:
Cover letter should contain the rationale of performing the study and a statement that the article will not be submitted to another journal until the reviewing process has been completed. Moreover, authors should indicate whether they have published or submitted any related papers on the same study.
Title page should include the title of the study and names of the authors (with an email address) with their affiliations, as the first page of the manuscript. The complete mailing address, telephone number, and email address of the corresponding author should be mentioned.
Abstract should be less than 300 words. It should be structured under appropriate headings, and should be concise and comprehensible to readers. Keywords are used for indexing purposes; three to five keywords should be selected from the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH).
Introduction should cover a short background of former studies and potential gaps in the literature, and should specify the aim of the study.
Methods should indicate, evidently, the stepwise approach taken to acquire the data, including the statistical analysis. It should mention the inclusion and exclusion criteria and should be preferably presented in chronological order. For reports of randomized clinical trials (RCTs), the authors should refer to the CONSORT statement. Reporting guidelines would help authors present a high-quality study and deliver all required information and evidence. The EQUATOR Network website can assist authors in following these guidelines.
Results should be presented in chronological order in the text, tables, and illustrations. Tables and figures must be cited in the order in which they appear in the text. Figures must have captions presented in a separate section with all abbreviations expanded. Tables must have a title and a footnote with all abbreviations expanded. Ensure all figures and tables have been cited in the text. Do not present tables with information repeated from the text of the paper. Figures should be provided only if they add further information. High-resolution figures (600 dpi) should be presented in the TIFF format. If you have reused or adapted figures, tables, or sections of text from papers published elsewhere, please approach the copyright owner and obtain their permission to re-use those elements.
Discussion should challenge the outcomes of the research with other publications in the literature in the format of arguments and counterarguments. The limitations and strengths of the study and implications of the findings for future research or clinical practice should be presented.
Conclusions should present the final outcomes and brief recommendations that have been reached through the study. Of note, conclusions should not overstate and/or overreach the results.
Ethical declaration comprises ethical approval and conflict of interest, which should be reported.
Funding resources and Acknowledgments should be clearly declared in all submissions.
References should be complied numerically in the order of citation in the text. We follow the Vancouver style, as outlined in the PubMed style. For various references please refer to the NLM style guide for authors, editors, and publishers. All references cited in the reference segment should be cited in the text.
Publication Fees
The journal receives no governmental, educational, charitable, or any other kind of funding. We do not accept advertisements and, therefore, require authors to pay the article-processing fees. Submission of a manuscript and peer-review processes are free of charge. A publication-processing fee of 2,400 EUR applies to accepted manuscripts prior to proof. This covers the cost of open-access, journal production, web hosting, CMS, database, online repository, archiving, XML conversion, reference formatting, an unlimited number of color figures, and extensive English editing.