Guidelines

Manuscript preparation:

1- Summary

Title page, including title of the article, authors’ names, affiliations, and detailed information of corresponding authors; Phone and Fax number, Email, and Postal Address should be supplied and submitted as a separate file.

Manuscript text file should be prepared according to specific research reporting guidelines (See table). In addition, Appendix section including acknowledgment, funding, and authors’ contribution, should be addressed at the end of the manuscript text in all types of the above-mentioned articles. All clinical trials should be registered in a registry of clinical trials approved by the World Health Organization (WHO) or the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). As an option, the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT) is one of the suggested registries.

Table: Standard Reporting Guidelines

2- Details

The journal adheres to the recommendations of International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). The main manuscript should carry the title, abstract, main text, acknowledgment, funding, authors’ contribution, references, figures, and tables of the paper. The preferred word processing format for the manuscript file is Microsoft Word version 2003 or newer. Manuscripts should be double-spaced, with 2.5 cm margins on all sides. All abbreviations must be spelled out the first time used, followed by the abbreviated form in parentheses. Units of measurement must be complied with the International System of Units (SI). For indexing, three to five key words should be typed at the end of the abstract for each manuscript. These words should be identical to the medical subject headings (MeSH)that appear in the Index Medicus of the National Library of Medicine.

Observational Studies

Cohort, case control, and cross-sectional studies should be arranged based on Strengthening the Reporting of Observational studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) statement and checklist as: Abstract, Keywords, Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion, Acknowledgements, References, Tables, and Figures. A structured abstract (with the subheadings title, introduction, methods, results, and conclusion) should appear on the first page of the manuscript and should not exceed 350 words. The main text (excluding the abstract and references) should not exceed 3500 words.

Clinical Trials

Original research papers that report a randomized controlled trial, should comply with the guidelines provided by the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) group. In addition, supplying the manuscript with a CONSORT flowchart diagram is highly encouraged. Researchers who would like to publish their clinical trial reports in PreferPub are strongly encouraged to register their studies in a registry of clinical trials, which meets the criteria of WHO or ICMJE. As an option, the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT) is a registry suggested by WHO.

Reviews

Review articles should be composed of systematic critical assessments of literature and data sources pertaining to clinical topics, emphasizing factors such as cause, diagnosis, prognosis, therapy, or prevention. They should have unstructured abstracts. All articles and data sources should include information about the specific types of study or analysis, population, intervention, exposure, and tests or outcomes. Authors of review articles should be expert and have contributions in the field of the addressed subject. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses on clinical trials and observational studies should be prepared based on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) and Meta-analysis of observational studies in epidemiology (MOOSE), respectively.

Case Reports

Case reports should be arranged in accordance with Consensus-based Clinical Case Reporting (CARE) as follows: Abstract (unstructured, not exceeding 200 words), Introduction, Case Report, Discussion, References, and Figures. The length should not exceed 1000 words.

Brief Reports

Original research papers can also be published in a brief format. Submitted papers that are of interest but not acceptable as a full-length original/research article, are offered by the editor to be published in this section. The authors can also primarily submit their papers for consideration of publication in this section. An unstructured abstract no longer than 200 words is required for this section. The body of the manuscript should not exceed 2000 words, and no heading or subheading should be used. The number of tables and/or figures should be limited to 2 and references to a maximum of 15.

Letters to the Editor

All correspondence will be considered for publication if it contains constructive criticism on previously published articles in PreferPub’s journals, the authors of which will have the right of reply. In addition, reports of limited research or clinical experiences can be submitted in the form of a letter. The length should not exceed 700 words.

Photo Quiz

Photo quiz should be arranged as follows: patient’s imaging(s), brief case presentation followed by a question as “what is your diagnosis”, diagnosis, and discussion. It may be up to 1500 words. The maximum number of imagings is six. Number of references should not exceed ten.

Appendix:

Conflict of Interest

Authors are expected to disclose any commercial associations or sources of support that might pose a conflict of interest regarding the submitted article. All funding sources supporting the work must be declared in the appendix section at the end of the manuscript. Whole affiliations with or financial involvement in any organization on entity with a direct financial interest in the subject matters or materials of the research discussed (examples: employment, consultancies, stock ownership or other equity interest, patent-licensing arrangements) should be cited as conflict of interest at the end of manuscript text file.

Authorship

Based on the ICJME recommendations “all those designated as authors should meet all four criteria for authorship, and all who meet the four criteria should be identified as authors. Those who do not meet all four criteria should be acknowledged”.

Any change in authorship (i.e. order, addition, and deletion of authors) after initial submission must be approved by all authors via written confirmation, in line with COPE guidelines. It is the corresponding author’s responsibility to ensure that all authors confirm they agree with the proposed changes. If there is disagreement amongst the authors concerning authorship and a satisfactory agreement cannot be reached, the authors must contact their institution(s) for a resolution. It is not the journal editor’s responsibility to resolve authorship disputes. A change in authorship after publication of an article can only be amended via publication of an Erratum.

References:

Our reference style requirements are in accordance with the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals by the ICMJE. The references should be numbered in the order in which they appear in the text. In the text, tables, and legends, identify references using Arabic numerals in parentheses.

Note: List all authors when they are six or fewer; when they are seven or more, list the first three, followed by “et al”

Samples:

– Articles in journals

Stratton SJ. Should Helicopters Dispatched for EMS Trauma Response Be Grounded?. Ann Emerg Med. 2013; 61 (2): 167–74.

–  Articles in journals with more than six authors

Newgard CD, Schmicker, RH, Hedges JR, et al. Emergency medical services intervals and survival in trauma: assessment of the “golden hour” in a North American prospective cohort. Ann emerg med. 2010; 55 (3):235-46.

–  Article In press

Sakles JC, Patanwala AE, Mosier JM, Dicken, JM. Comparison of video laryngoscopy to direct laryngoscopy for intubation of patients with difficult airway characteristics in the emergency department. Int Emerg Med. 2013. [In press].

– Article In other language

Gholami A, Barati M, Vahdani M, Vahdani H, Karimi M. Pattern of Empirical Antibiotic Administration in Emergency Department of an Educational Hospital in Tehran. Razi Journal of Medical Sciences. 2011; 18(82):17-23. [Persian].

–  Books and other monographs

Marx JA, Hockberger RS, Walls RM, Adams GA. Rosen’s emergency medicine: concepts and clinical practice. 6th ed. Philadelphia: Mosby Incorporated; 2010. p. 1215-75

Figures and tables:

Figures and tables should be kept to a minimum necessary and presented at the end of the manuscript file after the references, numbered (with Arabic numbers), and have a title. Include double-spaced legends (maximum length, 60 words) on separate pages.

Responsibility and ethical requirements:

Author(s) should certify that neither the submitted manuscript nor another one with substantially similar content under their authorship has been published in any language or being considered for publication elsewhere. Author(s) should take responsibility for the integrity of the work as a whole, from inception to published article. In the event that an author is added or removed from the list of authors, written acceptance, signed by author(s), must be submitted to the editorial office. Sources of financial support for the project should be acknowledged. If the study involves human beings, the author(s) must include a statement that the study was approved by the local ethical committee and that written informed consent was obtained from the study participants. For those who do not have formal ethics review committees, the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki should be followed. Also, the compliance of maintenance and care of experimental animals with National Institutes of Health guidelines for the human use of laboratory animals, should be declared in text. All relevant permissions to use unpublished observations of others must be obtained by the manuscript author(s) and stated in the text citing the names of the original author(s) should be declared. Also, permission must be obtained to reproduce or adapt any figures or tables that have been published previously and declared in the legend/footnote. PreferPub conforms to the international regulations against scientific misconduct including fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, and etc. PreferPub is an official member of Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) since 2015 and any cases of suspected misconduct will be assessed during the peer-review and publication process based on COPE guidelines.