The Editorial Process

A manuscript will be reviewed for possible publication with the understanding that it is being submitted to journal alone at that point in time and has not been published anywhere, simultaneously submitted, or already accepted for publication elsewhere. The journal expects that authors would authorize one of them to correspond with the Journal for all matters related to the manuscript. All manuscripts received are duly acknowledged. On submission, editors review all submitted manuscripts initially for suitability for formal review. Manuscripts with insufficient originality, serious scientific or technical flaws, or lack of a significant message are rejected before proceeding for formal peer-review. Manuscripts that are unlikely to be of interest to the journal readers are also liable to be rejected at this stage itself.

Manuscripts received from Editorial Board members will be screened by the Editor in Chief and sent to external peer reviewers. The editorial board members who are authors will be excluded from publication decisions.

Manuscripts that are found suitable for publication in journal are sent to two or more expert reviewers. During submission, the contributor is requested to provide names of two or three qualified reviewers who have had experience in the subject of the submitted manuscript, but this is not mandatory. The reviewers should not be affiliated with the same institutes as the contributor/s. However, the selection of these reviewers is at the sole discretion of the editor. The journal follows a double-blind review process, wherein the reviewers and authors are unaware of each other’s identity. Every manuscript is also assigned to a member of the editorial team, who based on the comments from the reviewers takes a final decision on the manuscript. The comments and suggestions (acceptance/ rejection/ amendments in manuscript) received from reviewers are conveyed to the corresponding author. If required, the author is requested to provide a point by point response to reviewers’ comments and submit a revised version of the manuscript. This process is repeated till reviewers and editors are satisfied with the manuscript. Manuscripts accepted for publication are copy edited for grammar, punctuation, print style, and format. Page proofs are sent to the corresponding author. The corresponding author is expected to return the corrected proofs within three days. It may not be possible to incorporate corrections received after that period. The whole process of submission of the manuscript to final decision and sending and receiving proofs is completed online. To achieve faster and greater dissemination of knowledge and information, the journal publishes articles online as ‘Ahead of Print’ immediately on acceptance.

Processes for appeals

The authors do have the right to appeal if they have a genuine cause to believe that the editorial board has wrongly rejected the paper. If the authors wish to appeal the decision, they should email the editorial office (email:) explaining in detail the reason for the appeal. The appeals will be acknowledged by the editorial office and will be investigated in an unbiased manner. The processing of appeals will be done within 6 – 8 weeks. While under appeal, the said manuscript should not be submitted to other journals. The final decision rests with the Editor in Chief of the journal. Second appeals are not considered.

Anti-plagiarism policy

Plagiarism includes duplicate publication of the author’s own work, in whole or in part without proper citation or mispresenting other’s ideas, words, and other creative expression as one’s own. The Journal follows strict anti-plagiarism policy. All manuscripts submitted to journal undergoes plagiarism check with commercially available software. Based on the extent of plagiarism, authors may be asked to address any minor duplication, or similarity with the previous published work. If plagiarism is detected after publication, the Journal will investigate. If plagiarism is established, the journal will notify the authors’ institution and funding bodies and will retract the plagiarised article. To report plagiarism, contact the journal office (email:)

Clinical trial registry

Journal favours registration of clinical trials and is a signatory to the Statement on publishing clinical trials in Indian biomedical journals. Journal would publish clinical trials that have been registered with a clinical trial registry that allows free online access to public. Registration in the following trial registers is acceptable: http://www.ctri.nic.in/; https://www.anzctr.org.au/; http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/; http://isrctn.org/; http://www.trialregister.nl/trialreg/index.asp; http://www.umin.ac.jp/ctr. This is applicable to clinical trials that have begun enrolment of subjects in or after June 2008. Clinical trials that have commenced enrolment of subjects prior to June 2008 would be considered for publication in journal only if they have been registered retrospectively with clinical trial registry that allows unhindered online access to public without charging any fees.

Authorship Criteria

Authorship credit should be based only on substantial contributions to each of the three components mentioned below:

1. Concept and design of study or acquisition of data or analysis and interpretation of data
2. Drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content; and
3. Final approval of the version to be published.

Participation solely in the acquisition of funding or the collection of data does not justify authorship. General supervision of the research group is not sufficient for authorship. Each contributor should have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for appropriate portions of the content of the manuscript. The order of naming the contributors should be based on the relative contribution of the contributor towards the study and writing the manuscript. Once submitted the order cannot be changed without written consent of all the contributors. The journal prescribes a maximum number of authors for manuscripts depending upon the type of manuscript, its scope and number of institutions involved (vide infra). The authors should provide a justification, if the number of authors exceeds these limits.

Contribution Details

Contributors should provide a description of contributions made by each of them towards the manuscript. Description should be divided in following categories, as applicable: concept, design, definition of intellectual content, literature search, clinical studies, experimental studies, data acquisition, data analysis, statistical analysis, manuscript preparation, manuscript editing and manuscript review. Authors' contributions will be printed along with the article. One or more author should take responsibility for the integrity of the work as a whole from inception to published article and should be designated as 'guarantor'

Conflicts of Interest/ Competing Interests

All authors of articles must disclose any and all conflicts of interest they may have with publication of the manuscript or an institution or product that is mentioned in the manuscript and/or is important to the outcome of the study presented. Authors should also disclose conflict of interest with products that compete with those mentioned in their manuscript.

General guidelines  

• The merit of the publication lies in its quality and content.
• Contributions are invited on any aspect of Pulmonary and critical care medicine.
•  Articles are accepted on the basis of significance, scientific perfection and practical applicability.
• Authors are requested to base their papers on the basis of original work carried out by themselves or their groups.
• Manuscripts should not be submitted to more than one journal at a time.
• All articles are subjected to a peer review process.
• Each article is assessed by one or more members of the editorial board for its suitability for publication in the journal.
• Then the article is sent to independent section editors for double blinded peer review.
• Based on their comments article are accepted, rejected or sent back for revision.
• The Editor's decision is final on accepting or rejecting an article.

The types of articles published in the journal are as follows

• Editorials
• Original research articles
• Review articles
• Case reports/Case series
• Image review
• Updates
• Research letters
• Letters to editor

Manuscripts should be submitted online through the journal website. Hard copies will not be accepted unless otherwise specified.

Reporting Guidelines for Specific Study Designs

The reporting guidelines for other type of studies can be found at https://www.equator-network.org/reporting-guidelines/. 

Requirements for submission of manuscript

Presentation of manuscripts should conform with the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals (Refer Ann Intern Med 1997;26:36-47).

The manuscript should be accompanied by

1. Covering letter
2. Copyright form.

Covering Letter

The covering letter should explain why the paper should be published in the journal. One of the authors could be identified as the corresponding author of the paper, who will bear the responsibility of the contents of the paper. The name, address, and telephone number of the corresponding author should be provided for all future communication related with the publication of the article. The letter should give any additional information that may be helpful to the editor, such as the type of article and whether the author(s) would be willing to meet the cost of reproducing color illustrations.

Undertaking by Author(s)

It is necessary that all the authors give an undertaking (in the format specified by the journal) indicating their consent to be co-authors in the sequence indicated on the title page. Each author should give his or her names as well as the address and designation at the time the work was done, plus a current address for correspondence including telephone and fax numbers and email address. A senior author may sign the Undertaking by Authors for a junior author who has left the institution and whose whereabouts are not known and take the responsibility. (Format for submission of undertaking is provided at the end of the session.)

Copyright form

Author(s) will be asked to sign a transfer of copyright agreement, which recognizes the common interest that both journal and author(s) have in the protection of copyright. It will also allow us to tackle copyright infringements ourselves without having to go back to authors each time. (Format for submission of copyright is provided at the end of the session.)

Manuscript

Manuscripts should be presented in a concise form, typewritten in double space and numbered consecutively. The contents should be arranged in the following order:

• Title page,
• Abstract,
• Key words,
• Introduction,
• Objectives
• Material & Methods,
• Results,
• Discussion,
• Conclusion
• Acknowledgement
• References ( Follow Vancouver style).
• Legends and Figures should be submitted separately

Title Page

The title page should carry 

1. The title of the article,
2. The name by which each author is known, with his or her highest academic degree and institutional affiliation,
3. The name of the department(s) and institution(s) to which the work should be attributed
4. Disclaimers, if any 
5. The name and address of the author responsible for correspondence and to whom requests for reprints should be addressed
6. Source(s) of support in the form of grants, equipment, drugs, or all of these.

Title of the article should be short, continuous (broken or hyphenated titles are not acceptable) and yet sufficiently descriptive and informative so as to be useful in indexing and information retrieval. A short running title not exceeding 6-7 words to be provided at the foot of the title page.

Abstract

All manuscripts should have a structured abstract (not more than 250 words) with subheadings of Background & objectives, Methods, Results interpretation and Conclusions. Abstract should be brief and indicate the scope and significant results of the paper. It should only highlight the principal findings and conclusions so that it can be used by abstracting services without modification. Conclusions and recommendations not found in the text of the articles should not be inserted in the abstract. A set of suitable key words arranged alphabetically may be provided.

Introduction

Introduction should be brief and state precisely the scope of the paper. Review of the literature should be restricted to reasons for undertaking the present study and provide only the most essential background.

Material & Methods

The procedures adopted should be explicitly stated to enable other workers to reproduce the results, if necessary. New methods may be described in sufficient detail and indicate their limitations. While reporting experiments on human subjects and animals, it should be clearly mentioned that procedures followed are in accordance with the ethical standards laid down by the national bodies or organizations of the particular country. Scanned certificate of ethical clearance should be provided along with manuscript manuscripts in relevant context. The drugs and chemicals used should be precisely identified, including generic name(s), dosage(s) and route(s) of administration.

The statistical analysis done and statistical significance of the findings when appropriate should be mentioned. Unless absolutely necessary for a clear understanding of the article, detailed description of statistical treatment may be avoided.

Results

Only such data as are essential for understanding the discussion and main conclusions emerging from the study should be included. The data should be arranged in a unified and coherent sequence so that the report develops clearly and logically. Data presented in tables and figures should not be repeated in the text. Only important observations need to be emphasized or summarized. The same data should not be presented both in tabular and graphic forms. Interpretation of the data should be taken up only under the Discussion and not under Results.

Discussion

The discussion should deal with the interpretation of results without repeating information already presented under Results. It should relate new findings to the known ones and include logical deductions. It should also mention any weaknesses of the study.

Conclusions

The summary should provide a brief account of most of the relevant observations and conclusions based on the observed data only. This should be linked with the objectives of the study. Statements and conclusions not supported by the data should be avoided. Claims of ongoing studies should also be avoided.

Acknowledgment

Acknowledgment should be brief and made for specific scientific/technical assistance and financial support only and not for providing routine departmental facilities and encouragement or for help in the preparation of the manuscripts (including typing or secretarial assistance).

References

References should be typed on a separate page after the text. The total number of References should normally be restricted to a maximum of 30. They should be numbered consecutively in the order in which they are first mentioned in the text. In the text they should be indicated above the line (superior). As far as possible avoid mentioning names of author(s) in the text. Identify references in text, tables, and legends by Arabic numerals in parentheses. References cited only in tables or figures or legends should be numbered in accordance with the sequence in which they appear in the manuscript.

Style of citing references

Use the style of the examples below. The titles of journals should be abbreviated according to the style used in Index Medicus. Avoid citing personal communication, unless it provides essential information not available from a public source, in which case the name of the person and date of communication should be cited in parentheses in the text. For scientific articles, authors should obtain written permission and confirmation of accuracy from the source of a personal communication. Please refer http://www.icmje.org/ for further details.

All references must be verified by the author(s) against the original documents.

1. Standard journal article

List the first six authors followed by et al. The usual style is surname followed by initials as shown below

Vega KJ, Pina I, Krevsky B. Heart transplantation is associated with an increased risk for pancreatobiliary disease. Ann Intern Med 1996; 124:980-3.

2. Organization as author

The Cardiac Society of Australia and NewZealand. Clinical exercise stress testing. Safety and performance guidelines. Med J Aust1996; 124:282-4.

3. Books and other Monographs

Ringsven MK,Bond D. Gerontology and leadership skills for nurses. 2nd ed. Albany (NY): Delmar Publishers; 1996.

4. Editor(s), compiler(s) as author

Norman IJ, Redfern SJ. editors. Mental health care for elderly people. New York: Churchill Livingstone; 1996.

5. Chapter in a book

Philips SJ, Whisnant JP Hypertension and stroke. In: Laragh JH, Brenner BM, editors. Hypertension: pathophysiology, diagnosis, and management. 2nd ed. New York: Raven Press; 1995. p.465-78.

6. Unpublished Material in press

LeshnerAl. Molecular mechanisms of cocaine addiction. N Engl J Med. In Press 1996.

7. Journal article in electronic format

Morse SS. Factors in the emergence of infectious diseases. Emerge Infect Dis [serial online] 1995 Jan-Mar (cited 1996 Jun 5); 1 (1): [24 screens]. Available from: URL: https://www.nc.cdc.gov/eid/eid.html.

Tables

Type each table with double spacing on a separate sheet of paper. Do not submit tables as photographs. Number the tables consecutively (in Arabic numerals) in the order of their first citation in the text and supply a brief title for each. Give each column a short or abbreviated heading. Place explanatory matter as footnotes, and not in the heading. For footnotes use the following symbols, in this sequence: *, t, ~, §, 11, ~[, **, tt, —. Explain in footnotes all abbreviations that are used in each table.

Illustrations (Figures)

Figures should be either professionally drawn and photographed, or submitted as photographic-quality digital prints. For x-ray films, scans, and other diagnostic images, as well as pictures of pathology specimens or photomicrographs, send sharp, glossy, black-and-white or color photographic prints, usually 127 x 173 mm (5 x 7 inches).

Letters, numbers, and symbols on figures should be clear and consistent throughout, and large enough to remain legible when the figure is reduced for publication. Photomicrographs should have internal scale markers.

Symbols, arrows, or letters used in photomicrographs should contrast with the background.

Figures should be numbered consecutively according to the order in which they have been cited in the text. Titles and explanations should be provided in the legendsnot on the illustrations themselves. Each figure should have a label pasted on its back indicating the number of the figure and the running title. Do not write on the back of figures, scratch, or mark them by using paper clips.

Legends for Illustrations (Figures)

Type or print out legends for illustrations using double spacing, starting on a separate page, with Arabic numerals corresponding to the illustrations. When symbols, arrows, numbers, or letters are used to identify parts of the illustrations, identify and explain each one clearly in the legend. Explain the internal scale and identify the method of staining in photomicrographs.

If a figure has been published previously, acknowledge the original source and submit written permission from the copyright holder to reproduce the figure. Photographs of potentially identifiable people must be accompanied by written permission to use the photograph.

Color printing requires additional cost that will be communicated to the author.

An electronic version of the figures in JPEG or GIF should be provided for the web version. The authors should review the images of such files on a computer screen before submitting them to be sure they meet their own quality standards.

Units of Measurements

Measurements of length, height, weight, and volume should be reported in metric units (meter, kilogram, or liter) or their decimal multiples. Temperatures should be given in degrees Celsius. Blood pressures should be given in millimeters of mercury. All hematologic and clinical chemistry measurements should be reported in the metric system in terms of the International System of Unts (SI). Editors may request that alternative or non-SI units be added by the authors before publication.

Abbreviations and Symbols

Use only standard abbreviations. Avoid abbreviations in the title and abstract. The full term for which an abbreviation stands should precede its first use in the text unless it is a standard unit of measurements.

Proofs and reprints

Authors of accepted articles are supplied printer's proofs either by post or through email. Corrections on the proof should be restricted to printer's errors only and no substantial additions/deletions should be made. No change in the names of the authors is permissible at the proof stage. Reprints up to 10 would be supplied as per request of the corresponding author.

Protection of Patients' Rights to Privacy  ​

Identifying information should not be published in written descriptions, photographs, sonograms, CT scans, etc., and pedigrees unless the information is essential for scientific purposes and the patient (or parent or guardian, wherever applicable) gives informed consent for publication. Authors should remove patients' names from figures even if they have obtained informed consent from the patients in order to protect patient privacy. The journal abides by ICMJE guidelines:

1. Authors, not the journals nor the publisher, need to obtain the patient consent form before the publication and have the form properly archived. The consent forms are not to be uploaded with the cover letter or sent through email to editorial or publisher offices.
2. If the manuscript contains patient images that preclude anonymity, or a description that has obvious indication to the identity of the patient, a statement about obtaining informed patient consent should be indicated in the manuscript.
3. In order to protect the patient’s identity, the recognizable facial features not related to the study should be digitally blurred 
4. Written informed consent is the preferred method for obtaining consent. If verbal consent is obtained, the authors must ensure that the verbal consent is recorded in the medical case record of the patient and duly signed by witness.

Manuscript submission, processing and publication charges

Journal does not charge the authors or authors’ institutions for the submission, processing and/or publications of manuscripts.

Copyrights

The entire contents of the journal are protected under Indian and international copyrights. The Journal, however, grants to all users a free, irrevocable, worldwide, perpetual right of access to, and a license to copy, use, distribute, perform and display the work publicly and to make and distribute derivative works in any digital medium for any reasonable non-commercial purpose, subject to proper attribution of authorship and ownership of the rights. The journal also grants the right to make small numbers of printed copies for their personal non-commercial use under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International Public License. 

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.

Contributors' form

Click here to download instructions

Click here to download copyright form

These ready to use templates are made to help the contributors write as per the requirements of the Journal.

Save the templates on your computer and use them with a word processor program. 
Click open the file and save as the manuscript file.

In the program keep 'Document Map' and 'Comments' on from 'View' menu to navigate through the file. 


Download Template for Original Articles/ABSTRACT Reports. (.DOT file)

Download Template for Case Reports.  (.DOT file)

Download Template for Review Articles.  (.DOT file)

Download Template for Letter to the Editor.  (.DOT file)