The Editors of the Annals of Saudi Medicine welcome contributions from our readers. The Annals will consider for publication manuscripts from any part of the world, but most particularly manuscripts that would be of interest to readers in the Middle East. We publish scientific reports on human subjects in the form of original articles, brief reports, case reports and letters. We also accept review articles, special communications and editorials. All submissions are subject to review by the Editorial Board and by referees in appropriate specialties.

Submission of manuscripts

Manuscripts are received with the understanding that they have not been published (in print or online) or are not under simultaneous consideration by another publication. If an abstract of the work has previously been published or if manuscripts using the same database or relating to the same topic have been published or submitted by any of the authors, this should be disclosed. Authors who violate these requirements will be subject to an extended publication ban. An abstract published prior to a full report is not regarded as a duplicate publication. Accepted manuscripts may not be published elsewhere without the Annals’ permission. Manuscripts should be submitted online (http://www.journalonweb.com/asm), but if you have difficulty with online submission you may mail us an electronic copy of the manuscript on floppy disk or CD. To ensure that peer review is double blinded, there should be no title page in the file of the manuscript that is submitted online. The file name should not include the author’s name or other identifying text. Portions of the submission (photographs, artwork, etc.) may be sent by mail if necessary, but we prefer that these be prepared in digital form and submitted online. If you have difficulty, contact us by email at
admin @ saudiannals . com

Manuscript preparation

The format of the Annals of Saudi Medicine complies with “Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals” published by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (see http://www.icmje.org). We encourage the use of reporting guidelines such the CONSORT statement for randomized, controlled trials and the STROBE statement for observational studies (see http://www.equatoranetwork.org/). Manuscripts, including tables, references, and figure legends, must be prepared using a word processing program and submitted online (http://www.journalonweb.com/asm). Before submitting a manuscript, create an account on the Manuscript Central website. When you submit the manuscript online, a current email address must be provided for all authors. We publish original articles, review articles, mini reviews, brief reports, case reports, special communications, perspectives (opinion), editorials and letters. Word count limits are 2000 for brief reports, case reports, and mini reviews, and 750 for letters. Generally, original articles should not exceed 3500 words. The word count should include the references. The number of authors should be limited to four on brief reports, case reports and letters. Abstract. All original articles must contain a structured abstract of not more than 250 words. Usually, the abstract should be divided into: Background and Objectives, Patients (or Subjects) and Methods, Results, and Conclusion. Manuscript Format. Most original articles have the following format: Introduction (the question the paper intends to answer, what remains unknown, how patients could benefit from the answer); Methods (study design and methods, operational definitions of major variables, description of the patient or subject population, and laboratory and statistical methods); Results (pertinent findings in a logical sequence with tables and figures as necessary); and Discussion (conclusions based on the findings, evidence from the literature that supports the conclusions, conflicting evidence, applicability of the conclusions, limitations of the study, and implications for future research or clinical applications). Authors might consult recent issues of the Annals for examples of appropriate style and format. References. List references in consecutive numerical order (the order of citation in the manuscript, and not alphabetically).

Once a reference is cited, all subsequent citations should be to the original number. All references must be cited in the text or tables. References to journal articles should be formatted in the style recommended by the National Library of Medicine (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/citingmedicine). References to material on the Internet should include the date of access. Manuscripts with incorrectly formatted citations will be returned to the author for correction. The author is responsible for the accuracy and completeness of the references and for their correct textual citation. In text reference
numbers should be superscripted and placed after the period (not in parentheses), as at the end of this sentence.1 Units of measurement. With the exception of blood pressure, all units of measurement and laboratory values must be expressed in SI units; conventional units may be included parenthetically. Authors are referred to Annals of Internal Medicine (1987;106[1]:114a29) for guidance in the use of SI units. Illustrations. Photographs, scientific graphs and other illustrations should be uploaded as separate files, not embedded in Microsoft Word. The format should be .TIF or .EPS at 300 dpi (dots per inch) or greater resolution (please see http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/about/image_quality_table.html). File saving options can be found in most software in the ‘Save As’ or ‘Export’ commands under the ‘File’ menu. Save original files in the event that submitted files are not suitable for publication. Graphs must be digitally scanned, if not prepared initially as an electronic file in a scientific graphing program. Simple line and bar charts are usually sufficient. Avoid 3D charts. The resolution of images prepared in Microsoft Powerpoint (72 dpi) is not usually sufficient for print publication. Subjects in pictures should not be identifiable.

Written permission must accompany any illustration that has been previously published. All illustrations must be numbered as cited in the text in consecutive numeric order. For photomicrographs, the legend should include the original magnification and stain used. Tables. Tables should be prepared using the table function in Microsoft Word or other software. Verify tabular statistics to make sure they tally and match data cited in the text.

Responsibilities of authors

The authors are entirely responsible for accuracy of all statements and data (including drug dosages) contained in the manuscript, accuracy of all reference information, and for obtaining and submitting permission from the author and publisher of any previously published material included in the submitted manuscript. The author should identify any financial support for the research in an acknowledgment in the manuscript. The corresponding author of accepted manuscripts will receive an edited manuscript for “final author approval.” The author should review this carefully, as he is responsible for all changes in his work, including those made in final editing.

Informed consent

All manuscripts reporting the results of experimental investigation involving human subjects should include a statement confirming that informed consent was obtained from each subject or subject’s guardian, after approval of the experimental protocol by a local human ethics committee. (Revised January 2008)