Policies and Procedures
Article process charges
Publishing with OCIDENTAL is free of charge for readers and authors. Thus, no Article Processing Costs (APC ́s) are charged for publication and accessing the articles. This includes costs of peer-review, copyediting, typesetting, long-term archiving and journal management.
Authorship
OCIDENTAL requires ORCID IDs for the authors and co-authors. For register, please visit ORCID.org (https://orcid.org/content/collect-connect).
This webjournal follows the guidelines on authorship defined by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (http://www.icmje.org/recomendations/browse/roles-and-responsibilities/defining-the-role-of-authors-and-contributors.html).
OCIDENTAL limits authorship to 6 people, in which the author has to be a resident. This journal does not support co-first authors.
Authors and co-authors must have a substantial and direct contribution in the case, participate in the design, drafting the article and revising it critically. They agree and approve on the final version to be submitted.
If the work is conducted by a multi-center group, the author and the co-authors are chosen by the group and have direct responsibility for the article.
The corresponding author is the prime correspondent with the Editorial Team, during all the process of submission and review. He must be a Surgery or Anesthesia Resident, who will act on behalf of all other co-authors. He must be identified as the corresponding author in the email sent to us. Any author or co-author can be the corresponding author, however there can be only one corresponding author. Only the corresponding author can edit the article and author names. If any changes to the list of authors are made, including the removal or addition of an author, it will require a written agreement of all authors. The new authors must also confirm that they fully comply with OCIDENTAL authorship criteria.
After publication, changes in authorship will not be allowed.
The corresponding author is the person who:
- Submits the article to the journal;
- Ensures that the article meets all the submission criteria;
- Assumes the responsibility to send corrections to all authors;
- Assures that all authors approve the final version of the article.
Peer review process
OCIDENTAL review process is completely transparent. Authors can contact us via email.
Submitting an article implies that all authors have read and agreed with its contents.
All manuscripts submitted to this journal undergo a blind review process by the Editorial Team, according to the state of the art and inclusion criteria, in which authors and reviewers do not know each other's identity.
First, the manuscript undergoes a review process by a Junior Editorial expert member assigned for each field, that check its format and some basic criteria such as scientific language, file format, citation format, etc. If it does not fulfill these requirements, it is sent back to the corresponding author for revision and modifications suggested by reviewers.
Then, if it meets these criteria, it is sent to the Editorial Team for the final review. As soon as the manuscript is approved, it becomes immediately available and open for signed peer review.
Reviewers comments are signed (ORCHID reg) and remain openly available. Responses to reviewers by the authors or readers are welcome, provided that they are signed.
Reviewers of Editorial Team assume that authors report work based on honest observations and real cases.
On the other hand, the corresponding author must identify three people and send their emails, residents or experts, to join the review of the article and comment on the article later.
Copyright and reuse policies
All articles in this journal are open access.
The authors are allowed to redistribute and reuse their articles freely, in order to improve the free spreading of scientific knowledge.
OCIDENTAL gives authors permission to self-archive and reuse their published material. Therefore, the authors have the copyright for any text, figure or video and everyone is free to share, adapt and transform the article.
On the other hand, authors are responsible for the content of the manuscripts and articles published in this journal, that can only be used for non-commercial purposes.
Manuscripts submitted for publication should be prepared in accordance with the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), updated in December 2016 (http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/).
Patient consent
The corresponding author assumes the responsibility for obtaining informed consent for each individual, namely in photographs, videos, x-rays, ultrasounds or CT-scans. Names or other forms of identification should be omitted to conceal patient ́s identity, except when epidemiologically relevant.
If it´s not possible, an informed consent should be obtained with the family of the patients.
Errata
OCIDENTAL may publish corrections to a previously published article, if any error or relevant omission is identified.
Author Guidelines
Type of publications
Case reports, case series, images and videos will be accepted.
We encourage the publication of unique or rare clinical scenarios, innovative surgical or anesthetic techniques, complications encountered during surgical or anesthetic procedures as well as lessons learned and strategies for prevention.
The article must be sent to the contact email (“Contact us” section).
General format
The article should be prepared using Microsoft Office Word format or PDF files. Manuscripts should be:
- Double-spaced, including text, tables, legends and references;
- Only one line after each paragraph;
- Times New Roman typeface for the text, number 12 and Symbols for special characters;
- Times New Roman typeface for the legends, number 9;
- Units and abbreviations can be used, with the equivalent in parentheses where appropriate.
Relevant figures should be included, with a maximum limit of 8 figures. More figures or tables are considered supplementary material. The figures must be sent in JPEG format (.jpg) and should be no larger than 125 mm (height) × 180 mm (width). PDF format is not acceptable for figures. Figures include photographs, flow charts or drawings.
For submitting videos, the length of each video is limited to 50 MB.
We accept videos compatible with Windows Media Player in MPEG (.mpg), QuickTime (.mov) format or Adobe Photoshop. It should not exceed 10 minutes. All videos have to include a clear English language voice, explaining the clinical case and/or the surgery.
Each figure, video or table should be cited and numbered sequentially in the text. They must have a short legend, describing its content, and numbered by Arabic numerals.
When tables are included, the legends should begin with the term Tab. followed by the respective number (for example, Tab. 1, both in boldface).
Figure legends should begin with the term Fig. followed by the respective number – for example Fig. 1, both in boldface.
The anonymity of the patients should be maintained in figures and in videos, unless it is relevant for the clinical case and written permission has to be provided.
Main sections
The article should include the following sections:
Title:
Only one sentence;
- Must be concise and informative;
- The title should reflect the essence of the case report;
- Avoid acronyms or abbreviations (exceptions include common abbreviations such as HIV, COVID-19, CT-Scan, MRI, etc);
- It should be different from the title of other articles published in the webjournal;
- The title should have a maximum of 150 characters, including spaces.
Authors:
- Authorship is limited to 6 people, in which the main author has to be a Resident;
- The authors ́ names should be written in order, first surname and then first
name, without abbreviations.
Abstract:
- The abstract should not exceed 1500 characters (around 150 to 250 words);
- Required elements: summarizing the case, methods, results and conclusions;
- References should be avoided. If crucial, cite the author and year.
Keywords:
- It should have 5 to 8 keywords;
- Choose simple and short keywords;
- The keywords should be as specific as possible to enhance searchability and indexing.
Introduction:
- Between 2000 and 3000 characters (around 300-500 words);
- Provide the aims of the article;
- Mention the reasons for doing the article and its relevance to the medical community;
- References should be cited with square brackets and placed at the end of a sentence (before the period).
Case presentation:
- Ranges from 3000 to 6000 characters (roughly 500-1000 words);
- Describe the case in a synthetic way;
- It should include the relevant patient demographics, history, clinical findings, diagnostic assessments and procedures;
- Detail the treatment strategies employed and the ultimate patient outcome;
- Show the most relevant photos of the surgery or CT-Scan images, for example.
Discussion:
- Between 5000 to 9000 characters (around 800-1500 words);
- Structure a thoughtful discussion that analyzes the case, compares it to existing literature and explores potential implications;
- Highlight the important characteristics of the case;
- Describe the relevance of the case to the state of art and medical literature, as well as the importance of the findings.
Conclusion:
- Typical length is 600 to 1200 characters (100-200 words);
- 2 or 3 paragraphs;
- Succinct conclusion, summarizing key findings and the impact of the case;
- Key ideas that are backed up by the case report;
- Describe simple take home message that might be important for other professionals.
Acknowledgment section:
- Collaborators who do not meet the criteria for authorship are listed in this section (example: person who provided technical help).
References:
In OCIDENTAL, we follow the Vancouver style for citing references in articles. This guide will help authors accurately and consistently include references in their submissions.
1. In-Text Citations:
- In-text citations are indicated by a number within square brackets, corresponding to the order of appearance in the text;
- Place the citation number outside periods and commas, but inside colons and semicolons.
Example: “The study revealed significant results in patient outcomes [1].”
2. Reference List:
- Compile references in numerical order at the end of the manuscript;
- Include only the references cited in the text;
- List authors’ names with initials, followed by the title of the article, journal name (abbreviated), year of publication, volume number, issue number (in parentheses) and page range.
Example:
[1] Author AB, Author CD. Title of the article. Abbrev. J. Year; Volume (Issue): Page range.
3. Journal Articles:
- Include the author(s), article title, journal name (abbreviated), year of publication, volume number, issue number (in parentheses), and page range.
Example:
[2] Smith J, Johnson M. Advances in Surgical Techniques. J Surg Res. 2020;5(2):123-135.
4. Books:
- For books, include the author(s), book title, edition (if applicable), place of publication, publisher, year of publication, and page range (if referencing a specific section).
Example:
[3] Author EF. Principles of Anesthesia. 3rd ed. New York: Medical Books; 2018.
5. Websites:
- For online sources, include the author(s), title of the page or article, website name, URL, and the date the information was accessed.
Example:
[4] Medical Association. Guidelines for Surgical Procedures. OCIDENTAL Journal. Available at: [URL]. Accessed January 1, 2023.
6. Abbreviations:
- Abbreviate journal names according to the Index Medicus. If unsure, consult the journal’s website or Index Medicus for correct abbreviations.
Authors are encouraged to adhere closely to these guidelines when preparing their manuscripts for submission to OCIDENTAL. Consistency in citation style ensures the clarity and professionalism of our published articles. For more details, refer to the Vancouver style manual or contact our editorial team for assistance.
DOI number:
- Published article will be given a digital object identifier (DOI) upon acceptance, that exclusively identifies a published article;
- This allows readers to find the online article.
Submit Here
The article must be sent using Microsoft Office Word format or PDF files, to the contact email. Don´t forget to identify the corresponding author. In the email, identify three people from the medical field to review and comment on your article. Write the emails of these three people, when you send the email.
