Submissions
Submission Preparation Checklist
All submissions must meet the following requirements.
- It includes details on ethical aspects for studies involving human subjects.
- For articles requiring it, the consent of the patient, family, or surrogate decision-maker is attached when the images used might allow identification of his/her identity.
- It includes: disclosure of conflicts of interest, if any (employment, consultancies, stocks or options, fees, patents, and paid expert testimony) and financial linkages as necessary. Consult Publications policies.
- The document has the data requested in Spanish and English according to the self-archiving policy.
- It is indicated in the "request for publication letter" and in the text (as a footnote) if the article was presented as a conference abstract or poster.
- Note: If you have used generative AI at any stage of the preparation of your work, it must be declared in accordance with our policy. The use of AI for compiling the bibliography is discouraged, as it becomes immediately evident during the bibliographic review process.
Editorial
Editorials are requested by the Editorial Committee of the Journal in reference to an article published in the same issue of the journal. It can also be a commentary of editorial interest. The type of text should be expository-argumentative. Up to 1200 words, one table or figure and 10 references are accepted.
Original Article
The original article section contains original papers on medicine and related areas. They should not have been published (except as abstracts for presentation at conferences, in which case the author must state where it was pre-published or preprinted) or submitted for publication to another journal. This section is peer-reviewed.
Specific characteristics
- This section includes cohort, cross-sectional, case-control, and randomized clinical studies.
- The original article should follow the publication guidelines depending on the type of research study: http://www.equator-network.org.
- The article should have the following sections: Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, and Conclusion.
- The length should not exceed 3500 words (excluding the bibliography, tables, and figures).
- It should include no more than five tables and/or figures.
- The text should include no more than thirty (30) references (preferably limited to the last ten (10) years, except when the citations have historical relevance).
- It should include a structured abstract with the following sections: Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, and Conclusion. The abstract will have a maximum of 350 words.
- It should include between 4 and 10 keywords using, if possible, MESH terms.
- All original studies should include a line explaining some ethical aspects at the end of the Methods Section. For example: "The present study protocol has the authorization of the Institutional Ethics Committee of .... (protocol number XXXX), and followed the guidelines established by the modified Helsinki declaration".
Brief communications
The Brief Communications Section contains original papers on medicine and related areas. They should not have been published (except as abstracts for presentation at conferences, in which case the author must state where or when it was pre-published or preprinted) or submitted for simultaneous consideration to another journal. This section is peer-reviewed.
Specific Characteristics
- This section includes cohort, cross-sectional, case-control, and case series articles.
- The length should not exceed 1500 words(excluding the bibliography, tables, and figures).
- It should include a maximum of one (1) table and one(1) figure.
- The text should include no more than fifteen (15) bibliographic references.
- The article should have the following sections: Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, and Conclusion.
- It should include a structured abstract with the following sections: Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, and Conclusion. The abstract will have a maximum of 250 words.
- It should include between 4 and 10 keywords.
All original studies should include a line explaining some ethical aspects at the end of the Methods Section. For example: "The present study protocol has the approval of the Institutional Ethics Committee of .... (protocol number XXXX), and followed the guidelines established by the modified Helsinki declaration".
Review
The Review Articles Section includes update articles, state-of-the-art articles, and
upgrades on clinical, pathophysiologic, pharmacologic, meta-analytic, and epidemiologic themes or other relevant categories for the medical practice.
They may also comprehensively cover a particular field or focus on the review of specific aspects of an area (historical aspects, epidemiology, etiology, diagnosis, treatment, etc.). Systematic reviews, descriptions, and/or meta-analyses go to this section. This section is peer-reviewed.
Specific characteristics of a systematic review
- The length will not exceed 3500 words (excluding the bibliography, tables, and figures).
- It should include no more than five (5) tables and/or figures.
- The text should include up to 30 bibliographic references (preferably limited to the last ten years, except when the citations have historical relevance).
- The structure of the systematic review/meta-analysis should include:
- Introduction: it should emphasize the importance of the topic for the medical practice;
- Material and Methods: the methods used for the preparation of the article, including search strategies and data selection mechanisms, statistical aspects in meta-analyses, etc., should be included;
- Results and development: the organization of this section is at the discretion of each author, but the use of subtitles is preferred to allow a better didactic presentation;
- Discussion/Conclusion: Here is when the author usually contrasts different types of available articles and/or presents a summary with the key findings in the paper.
- All systematic reviews should include a PROSPERO registration number.
- The Editorial Committee recommends using PRISMA guidelines to improve understanding of the study selections of systematic reviews and meta-analysis studies.
- It should include between 4 and 10 keywords.
- It should include a structured abstract with the following sections: Introduction, Material and Methods, Results, and Conclusion. The abstract will have a maximum of 350 words.
Specific features of a narrative review, state of the art or update.
- The length shall not exceed 3.500 words (excluding bibliography, tables, and figures).
- Maximum of 5 tables and/or figures.
- Maximum of 30 bibliographic references cited in the text (preferably limited to the last ten years, except in the case of relevant historical citations).
- The structure of the narrative review/state-of-the-art/update should include:
- Introduction: it should emphasize the importance of the topic for medical practice, the objectives, and/or the research questions to address.
- State of the art: a narrative development of the proposed objectives with a reflective view. It may include subtitles for a better organization of the content.
- Discussion and Conclusion: Here is when the author usually contrasts different types of available articles and presents a summary with the key findings in the paper.
- Provide 4 to 10 keywords.
It should include a structured abstract with the following sections: Introduction, State of the Art, and Discussion/Conclusion. The abstract should have a maximum of 350 words.
Brief Review
The Review Articles Section includes update articles, state-of-the-art articles, and
upgrades on clinical, pathophysiologic, pharmacologic, meta-analytic, and epidemiologic themes or other relevant categories for the medical practice.
They may also comprehensively cover a particular field or focus on the review of specific aspects of an area (historical aspects, epidemiology, etiology, diagnosis, treatment, etc.). Systematic reviews, descriptions, and/or meta-analyses go to this section. This section is peer-reviewed.
Specific characteristics of a systematic review
- The length will not exceed 3500 words (excluding the bibliography, tables, and figures).
- It should include no more than five (5) tables and/or figures.
- The text should include up to 30 bibliographic references (preferably limited to the last ten years, except when the citations have historical relevance).
- The structure of the systematic review/meta-analysis should include: Introduction: it should emphasize the importance of the topic for the medical practice; Material and Methods: the methods used for the preparation of the article, including search strategies and data selection mechanisms, statistical aspects in meta-analyses, etc., should be included; Results and development: the organization of this section is at the discretion of each author, but the use of subtitles is preferred to allow a better didactic presentation; Discussion/Conclusion: Here is when the author usually contrasts different types of available articles and/or presents a summary with the key findings in the paper. All systematic reviews should include a PROSPERO registration number.
- The Editorial Committee recommends using PRISMA guidelines to improve understanding of the study selections of systematic reviews and meta-analysis studies.
- It should include between 4 and 10 keywords.
- It should include a structured abstract with the following sections: Introduction, Material and Methods, Results, and Conclusion. The abstract will have a maximum of 350 words.
Specific features of a narrative review, state of the art or update.
- The length shall not exceed 3.500 words (excluding bibliography, tables, and figures).
- Maximum of 5 tables and/or figures.
- Maximum of 30 bibliographic references cited in the text (preferably limited to the last ten years, except in the case of relevant historical citations).
- The structure of the narrative review/state-of-the-art/update should include:
- Introduction: it should emphasize the importance of the topic for medical practice, the objectives, and/or the research questions to address.
- State of the art: a narrative development of the proposed objectives with a reflective view. It may include subtitles for a better organization of the content.
- Discussion and Conclusion: Here is when the author usually contrasts different types of available articles and presents a summary with the key findings in the paper.
- Provide 4 to 10 keywords.
It should include a structured abstract with the following sections: Introduction, State of the Art, and Discussion/Conclusion. The abstract should have a maximum of 350 words.
Medical Education
The medical education section includes a specific educational proposal, carried out individually or collectively, discussed and/or justified from the theoretical frameworks of pedagogy and/or medical education (teaching strategies, contents, design, curricular programming, etc.). It also includes articles of quantitative or qualitative research in the educational framework. The analysis intends to make a valuable contribution and inspire other professors or specialists in university teaching in health sciences. This section is subject to peer review.
Specific characteristics
The manuscript should include the following sections:
- Introduction: background, context, the problem that motivated the article.
- Material and methods or Development: the account of the experience implemented (sequence of activities, tasks performed, etc.), place and time of the activities carried out (by teachers and/or students), including data on the institutional and/or curricular context, materials used. In the case of quantitative studies, follow the guidelines of the section: original articles.
- Results/analysis of the experience: Provide an interpretation of the experience and the problem with "the usual" and give the rationale for what was done, scopes, challenges, limitations, and results.
- Conclusions: Summarize what was analyzed, stressing its contributions to other university lecturers, questions raised, recommendations for future experiences, and proposals.
- The length shall not exceed 3.500 words (excluding bibliography, tables, and figures).
- Maximum of 5 tables and/or figures.
- The text should include no more than 30 bibliographic references cited in the text (preferably limited to the last ten years, except in the case of relevant historical citations).
- It should include a structured abstract with the following sections: Introduction, Material and Methods/Development, Results, and Conclusion. The abstract will have a maximum of 350 words.
- It should include from 4 to 10 keywords.
- All studies involving human beings must include a clause explaining ethical aspects at the end of the methods section. For example: "The protocol of the present study has the approval of the Institutional Ethics Committee of .... (protocol number XXXX) and was conducted in keeping with the guidelines outlined in the modified Declaration of Helsinki".
Clinical case
This section includes:
- Brief communications of clinical medical cases or related areas describing one to three patients or a family. They must not have been published (except as abstracts for presentation at conferences and should specify where they were presented) or submitted for publication to another journal.
- Resolution of challenges and clinical problems: manuscripts that consider a step-by-step decision-making process. Patient information shall be presented by an expert in the clinical area or by different clinicians in sequence (indicating interventions in bold) to simulate the way in which the information unfolds in daily practice. The clinician will respond as new information comes in and will or will not share his/her reasoning with the reader. The Editorial Committee recommends using visual materials, such as photographs or images.
This section is peer-reviewed.
Specific characteristics
- The text will be limited to 1500 words (excluding figures, tables, and references), it will begin with a brief summary of the case, no more than 100 words.
- A maximum of 3 tables and/or figures and up to 25 references.
- It must contain an unstructured abstract with a maximum of 150 words.
- Include between 4 and 10 keywords.
- All communications within the clinical cases section must have the written consent of the patient, family, or surrogate responsible for decision-making when the images used would allow the identification of the patient's identity.
- All studies involving human subjects should include a text explaining the ethical aspects at the end of the Methods Section. For example: "The present study protocol has the approval of the Institutional Ethics Committee of .... (protocol number XXXX), and followed the guidelines established by the modified Helsinki declaration".
- We recommend checking the guidelines for publishing case reports to comply with the requirements of this section: http://www.care-statement.org/resources/checklist.
Images in medicine
This section accepts interesting, unusual, or educational images from internal medicine and surgery. It also includes dermatological iconography. They can be radiographies, surgical or clinical photographs, microscopies, electrocardiograms, etc.
Specific characteristics
The text should not exceed 1000 words (excluding figures, tables, and references).
- It must include the case description and the commentary of the image.
- The image must have a jpg format with a resolution equal to or greater than 300 dpi.
- It can have a maximum of 5 references.
- It will begin with a brief overview of the case, no more than 100 words.
- It will include between 4 and 10 keywords.
- All communication within the clinical cases section must have the consent of the patient, family, or surrogate decision-maker when the images used would allow the identification of the patient's identity.
- We recommend checking the guidelines for publishing case reports to comply with the requirements of this section: http://www.care-statement.org/resources/checklist.
Notes on statistics and research
This section publishes articles on statistics aimed at healthcare physicians or doctors engaged in clinical research activities.
This section is peer-reviewed.
Specific characteristics
- The article should not exceed 1500 words (excluding tables, figures, and references).
- A maximum of 15 references.
- A maximum of 1 to 3 tables or figures with their respective headings.
- Must include a summary of no more than 150 words, unstructured.
- Include between 4 and 10 keywords.
Medical videos
This section accepts videos showing diagnostic or therapeutic procedures. This section is subject to peer review.
Specific characteristics
- The video file must be 2 to 3 minutes long and not exceed 10 MB.
- It can be submitted in the following formats: QuickTime, AVI, or MPEG. It may include an audio voice-over.
- Must be accompanied by an explanatory text of about 1000 words (excluding references). Do not identify studies or photographs with first name, last name, or other family data.
- All communication within the section must have the written consent of the patient, family, or surrogate decision-maker.
- Maximum of 5 references.
- In a separate file, include the authors' data, affiliation, contact e-mail, and video title.
- Abstract of no more than 150 words, unstructured.
- Include between 4 and 10 keywords.
Update and advances in research
This section mainly publishes articles on biomedical topics that are in the stage of basic or applied experimentation, with imminent clinical potential, or that, by being already in a clinical phase, their practice is not widely disseminated or is novel.
This section is subject to peer review.
Specific characteristics
- The paper does not require a scientific article structure (introduction, material, methods, etc.). Instead, it can have a flexible format, of the type of a narrative review article.
- Likewise, it does not require bibliographical references listed in the text; it will suffice to provide recommended readings in a number no greater than 10 (preferably limited to the last ten years, except in the case of relevant historical citations).
- The length may vary between 2500 and 3000 words.
- It should include tables and figures to facilitate understanding of the concepts. It should not use tables, figures, and photographs from other publications unless they have the corresponding permission.
- An unstructured abstract should be included, with a maximum of 250 words.
- Include between 4 and 10 keywords.
Humanities
This section includes:
- Original articles on historical, philosophical, and ethical topics in medical or related sciences, with a maximum length of 5000 words with the bibliography.
- The article may include some images (with the due permissions of publication when appropriate or their identification). Its structure will follow a pattern with the following sections: introduction, development, and conclusions.
- Original articles on bioethical issues that develop the problems that health professionals face today regarding complex ethical issues related to the care and treatment of diseases, patients, new technologies, and their moral, legal, religious, etc. implications. They will have a maximum length of 5000 words, including the bibliography.
- Reviews: comments or critical bibliographic reviews on publications or topics related to the history of medicine or science. It will have a maximum of 4000 words, including the bibliography and the data of the publication or work reviewed.
- Interviews with people whose life stories or backgrounds are relevant to the knowledge of the history of science or health. Up to 5000 words.
- Images: essays based on images, photographs, engravings, drawings, etc., in black and white or color, accompanied, if necessary, by captions and introductory text. Maximum 5000 words, including the bibliography.
This section is subject to peer review.
Specific characteristics
-
- The text should include not more than thirty (30) bibliographical references (preferably limited to the last ten years, except when the citations have historical relevance).
- Must include a non-structured abstract, with a maximum of 250 words.
- Include between 4 and 10 keywords.
Ateneo
This section is a forum for the presentation and discussion in an athenaeum of a novel clinical case or one that has presented a diagnostic or therapeutic challenge.
The presentation and analysis of the clinical case should include an updated review of the diagnostic or treatment strategy, with a debate based on evidence and experience, emphasizing the clinical and pathophysiologic rationale. The format may be: a) the diagnosis is pre-disclosed in advance, usually in the title, and b) the diagnosis is revealed at the conclusion.
Specific characteristics
Proposed text structure:
- Presentation of the case
- Basis for the diagnostic suspicion.
- Discussion of diagnostic methods (e.g., imaging studies, histopathology)
- Clinical diagnosis (histopathologic if available)
- Discussion of the patient's treatments initiated
- Discussion of available treatments based on current evidence
- Questions to be answered (clinical or research)
- The text will be limited to 2000 words (excluding figures, tables, and references).
- Maximum of 3 tables and/or figures, and up to 25 references.
- It must include an unstructured abstract with a maximum of 150 words.
- Include between 4 and 10 keywords.
In the case of using images that may allow the identification of the patient's identity, the author should obtain the written consent of the patient, family, or surrogate decision-maker.
Book reviews
Commentary at the request of the editors on books in the area of health sciences.
Specific characteristics:
Book title and author, number of pages, ISBN, edition data.
Title of the commentary in Spanish and English.
Dissemination paragraph: up to 50 words describing and explaining the content of the paper.
Up to one author per review: name and surname, affiliation, orcid, e-mail.
Commentary of no more than 1000 words. Recommended guidelines: include a brief mention of the author, an analytical or critical review of the book's contents (avoid comments that advertise or merely praise the work) and, as a conclusion, mention the most relevant contribution.
Letter to editor
The Letter to the Editor section includes observations and comments on papers formerly published by the Journal or brief communications on scientific topics or other areas of humanistic, ethical, educational, etc. interest. In the case of published articles, the author will have the opportunity to respond in this Section.
Specific characteristics
- The article should not exceed 750 words.
- It should not include more than one figure or table.
- It should not introduce more than five (5) references.
- The Journal Committee reserves the right of publication.
- The piece must enclose the approval number by the corresponding local ethics committee (if it is original research in humans, animals, or education).
Copyright Notice
Authors retain the copyright of the works published in the journal.
By submitting a manuscript and upon its acceptance for publication, authors grant the journal a non-exclusive license to edit, reproduce, publish, distribute, publicly communicate, and preserve the final version of the article in any format or medium for the purposes of scientific dissemination.
All contributions may be modified as necessary to conform to the Journal's editorial style and formatting requirements.
The published work may be used in accordance with the terms established by the CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 License.
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