What Categories of Articles Does Annals Publish?

Annals publishes the following types of articles:

Research:

Review or Literature Summary Articles:

Commentary:

Other:


Original Research

Original investigations in areas relevant to emergency medicine. Maximum 4,000 words, 7 tables and/or figures. Additional material may be placed in web-only appendices. Please review Annals'preferences for specific study designs.

Brief Research Reports

Original reports of preliminary data and findings or studies with small numbers demonstrating the need for further investigation. Maximum 2,000 words, 10 references, 3 tables and/or figures. Please review Annals'preferences for specific study designs.

Clinical Review Articles

Reviews without rigid structure that address a specific question or issue that is relevant to clinical emergency medicine. Such articles should identify and summarize current research relevant to the questions they address, be evidence-based to the extent possible, be balanced, and should detail the importance of the clinical question or issue. Include a narrative abstract. Do not combine a case report with your review. Maximum 5,000 words.

Systematic Reviews / Meta-Analyses

Systematic Reviews are critical assessments and evaluations of research (not simply summaries) that attempt to address a focused clinical question using methods designed to reduce the likelihood of bias. Meta-analyses combine this with aggregate analyses. Such articles must be compliant with relevant guidelines, not exceed 4,000 words, and include a narrative abstract.

Evidence-Based Emergency Medicine

Articles that use a simplified form of systematic review methodology to address clinical questions. Click here for detailed information about such manuscripts, and view an example manuscript ICOhere.

Systematic Review Snapshot

Articles that summarize and highlight the clinical relevance of systematic reviews from the current literature. Click here for detailed information about such manuscripts, and view example manuscripts here.

Best Available Evidence

Articles that critically appraise the literature for specific emergency medicine clinical questions that lack sufficient evidence to support a formal meta-analysis or systematic review. Maximum 2,000 words. See an example manuscript ICOhere.

Clinical Controversies

Opposing authors provide succinct, authoritative discussions of controversial issues in emergency medicine, with a maximum of 750 words and 10 references each. Authors are provided the opportunity to review and comment on opposing presentations, and an accompanying editor's note summarizes important concepts. See an example manuscript ICOhere.

Editorials

Authoritative comments or opinions on controversial matters with significant implications for emergency medicine; or, qualified, thorough analysis and criticism of articles appearing in Annals. Maximum 1,500 words.

Brief Commentaries

Brief discussion focusing on 1 or 2 key points about a single study—strengths, weaknesses, where it fits in the context of other studies, controversies, how it should or should not change our clinical practice, or how it illustrates some important principle of science or methodology. Maximum 750 words.

Concepts

Descriptions of clinical and nonclinical problems and solutions; descriptions of novel approaches to planning, management, or provision of emergency services; and practical "how-to" articles describing aspects of emergency medicine management. Include a narrative abstract. Maximum 4,000 words.

Case Reports

Annals publishes very few case reports, and only those we regard as of unusual clinical importance. Cases must be brief descriptions of a previously undocumented disease process, a unique unreported manifestation or treatment of a known disease process, or unique unreported complications of treatment regimens. Entities previously reported in the emergency medicine literature will not be considered, and those reported elsewhere must be extremely important or pertinent to be considered. Include an abstract, introduction, narrative, and a discussion focusing on the implications of the case reported. Do not review the literature in detail. Maximum 1,500 words, 15 references, and 2 figures.

Change of Shift

Original personal essays or poetry reflecting the human experience of emergency medicine. Selection for this section will be based on originality of concept, eloquence, and suitability for our readership. Maximum 1,500 words. See an example manuscript ICOhere.

Correspondence (Letters to the Editor)

Discussion, observations, opinions, corrections, and comments on topics appearing in Annals; very brief reports or other items of interest. See our detailed ICOinstructions. Letters discussing an Annals article should be received within 8 weeks of the article's print publication. The original authors will be given the opportunity to reply. Accepted letters referring to online papers will be held until after print publication of the article. Letters of political or other topics unrelated to the science of medicine, as well as those containing personal criticisms, will not be published. Maximum 500 words, 5 references.

Images in Emergency Medicine

Photographs of interesting or classic presentations of disease, accompanied by a 1 paragraph description of the patient's presentation and a 1-2 paragraph discussion of the final diagnosis and relevant teaching points (250 words maximum total). Images may include radiographs or microscopy, but not ECGs. See an example entry ICOhere. Please see our instructions for image quality and our photo consent form. At the discretion of the editor, images may appear in the electronic version of the journal only.

News and Perspective

Annals News and Perspective explores topics relevant to emergency medicine, in particular those in which our specialty interacts with the political, ethical, sociologic, legal and business spheres of our society. Discussion of specific clinical problems and their management will be rare. By design, it will not be a "breaking news" section with the latest (and undigested) developments, but instead a reflective investigation of recent and emerging trends. Articles are by invitation only, but to submit ideas for new topics or feedback, please e-mail the section editor.

Residents' Perspective

The Residents' Perspective section provides a peer-reviewed venue for manuscripts on topics pertinent to residents and education that have not been well-covered elsewhere. This includes informative instructional pieces, educational research, referenced position papers, and uniquely resident perspectives on current emergency medicine topics.

Please first perform a literature review on your chosen topic to ensure that it has not recently been covered elsewhere. Assuming not, then e-mail our section editor the proposed title, author(s), and an article outline (maximum 300 words) including the background and significance of the topic to residents and emergency medicine. If your topic is promising, we will invite you to prepare a submit a full-length manuscript, which would then undergo our standard review and consideration process.


Return to home page.