Elaboration of manuscripts

The Editorial Team of the journal reserves the right to make corrections in order to ensure a uniform presentation.

The whole text, references, legends of figures and tables must be double-spaced in an electronic document (preferably Microsoft Word). The text should be in Times New Roman 11 font. Figures and tables must be in separate documents. A maximum of 3 tables or figures is recommended.

Figures must be correctly centered, of high quality (at least 5 megapixels). In the case of case report manuscripts, any indication by which the patient can be recognized must be eliminated. In the event that it can be identified, the authors must attach to the submission the signed permission of the patient to publish the photo.

All pages of the manuscript should be numbered at the top right of each sheet, consecutively, starting with the title page.

The digital version of the manuscript must be sent in Microsoft Word format through the journal's web page (http://rmedicina.ucsg.edu.ec), a copy with the names of the authors and another version without the names.

Types of articles

Original papers

It must have a maximum of 2700 words, 3 tables or figures, between 15 and 35 references, and a maximum of six authors.

Title: it must not contain acronyms, it must have up to 160 characters, in English and Spanish.

Abstract: it must be structured, presented with the same content in English and Spanish, and must not have more than 275 words with the following headings and information: Background, Objectives: it must express the main objective of the study. Materials and methods: it will expose all the essential aspects of the methodology and materials used for the investigation. Results: describe the main results and indicate the exact level of statistical significance. Highlight the achieved results that are novel. Conclusion: explaining the primary conclusions and their implications and suggesting when appropriate what future investigations will or could be carried out.

Keywords: a minimum of three and a maximum of five must be provided, in English and Spanish, according to the DeCS/Mesh descriptors, for which the authors must refer to the following electronic address: https://decs.bvsalud.org/es/.

Introduction: it must contain a maximum of three paragraphs, the first with information regarding the context, the background of the study or information already known about the subject. The second paragraph should state the nature of the problem and its importance or what is unknown about the subject; and, the last one, must specify the objective and/or hypothesis of the research that is tested in the study or observation. Only strictly pertinent references must be used. All comments or ideas exposed in the introduction must have their corresponding reference. Exclude data or conclusions from the research being presented.

Methods: Identify the methods and procedures in sufficient detail to allow others to reproduce the research. Specify the place and date in which the study was carried out; include the design, condition to be studied, definition of the population (describe in detail the selection of subjects, object of observation, selection and exclusion criteria), demonstration technique, sample size. In the case of randomized clinical trials, detail the used masking techniques, variables and the statistical procedures. Operationalization of the variables, that is, define how they were measured and justify their relevance. Measurements must use conventional measures, preferably those of the International System.

Describe statistical methods in sufficient detail to allow the verification of the presented results. Depending on the case, quantify the findings and present them with the appropriate error or uncertainty measurement indicators (such as confidence intervals), present statistical hypothesis verification test values (such as p values). The p value should normally be two-tailed, if it is greater than 0.01 it should be reported with two decimal places, those between 0.01 and 0.001 with three decimal places and those less than 0.001 are reported as p < 0.001. Define statistical terms, abbreviations, and most symbols. Specify the used software.

This section ends by commenting on whether the study complied with ethical standards, followed the recommendations of the Declaration of Helsinki, whether informed consent was used, and whether it was approved by a human research ethics committee.

Regarding informed consent, the authors must mention in the Methods section that the procedures used and the tests or explorations performed on participating subjects of the study have been performed after obtaining the corresponding informed consent. In the event that the type of study does not require such consent, the authors must provide a reason for justification.

NOTE: Without being a sine qua non requirement, supplementary materials (data collection sheet, surveys, etc.) and technical details can be attached as an annex.

Results: present results following a logical sequence in the text, summarize or highlight the most important observations; if applicable, refer to the tables and figures with their numbering. In the numerical results, not only the derivatives (for example, percentages) must be presented, but also the absolute values from which they were calculated, and specify the statistical methods used to analyze them. Limit the maximum number of tables and figures to six to illustrate the topic of the article. Use graphs as an alternative to tables with many entries, do not duplicate data in graphs and tables. Avoid non-technical use of statistical terms.

Discussion: briefly summarize the main results, then explore possible mechanisms or explanations for these findings, compare and contrast the results with those of other relevant studies, state the limitations of the study, and state the implications of the results for future research and for clinical practice. Highlight the newest and most important aspects of the study and the conclusions drawn from them, which must be duly supported by the data, contextualizing them in the most accessible set of evidence. Do not present statements about aspects of the investigation that have not been completed. It is possible to establish new hypotheses when they are based, clearly qualifying them as such. All comments or ideas presented in the discussion must have their corresponding references.

Recommendations and conclusions: relate the conclusions (written in a maximum of one paragraph) with the objectives of the study, avoid making strong statements that are not duly supported by the data.

References: list between 15 and 35 references of the relevant articles that have been used in the document. The numbering in the text must be done consecutively, following the order in which the reviews are mentioned for the first time in the text, using Arabic numerals, not superscript and between parentheses; for example: Obesity is a chronic condition (1). Cite the references according to the established recommendations of the "International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE)". Authors should refer to the instructions found at the following electronic address: https://www.icmje.org/icmje-recommendations.pdf

Identify references to text, tables, and legends with Arabic numerals in parentheses. References that are only cited in tables or in figure legends should be numbered based on the sequence established by the first identification of the text of a specific table or figure. The titles of the journals should be abbreviated as it is done in the list of Indexed Journals for MEDLINE, you can use the search engine at the following link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nlmcatalog. The authors are responsible for checking that none of the references correspond to retracted articles.

For the references listed at the end, Vancouver standards should be used. List all authors if there are six or fewer authors. When there are seven or more, list the first three followed by “et al”. Some examples are given below:

1. Shapiro AMJ, Lakey JRT, Ryan EA, et al. Islet transplantation in seven patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus using a glucocorticoid-free immunosuppressive regimen. N Engl J Med 2000;343:230-238.
2. Goadsby PJ. Pathophysiology of headache. In: Silberstein SD, Lipton RB, Dalessio DJ, eds. Wolff's headache and other head pain. 7th ed. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 2001:57-72.
3. Kuczmarski RJ, Ogden CL, Grammer-Strawn LM, et al. CDC growth charts: United States. Advance data from vital and health statistics. No. 314. Hyattsville, Md.: National Center for Health Statistics, 2000. (DHHS publication no. (PHS) 2000-1250 0-0431.)

4.U.S. positions on selected issues at the third negotiating session of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Washington, D.C.: Committee on Government Reform, 2002. (Accessed March 4, 2002, at http://www.house.gov/reform/min/inves_tobacco/index_accord.htm

Tables: number the tables consecutively following the order of the first time they are cited in the text and assign them a specific title. Each column should be headed by a short or abbreviated title. Explanations of the content are included in footnotes to the table, not in the title. If necessary, use the following symbols in this order: * † ‡ § || ¶ ** †† ‡‡. §§, ||||, ¶¶. Explain, in these notes, the unusual abbreviations. In the text, each table must have its corresponding citation. Additional tables containing extensive supporting data may be published in an appendix or made available to readers through the authors.

Figures: figures must be of high quality, clear and explanatory. The letters, numbers and symbols in the figures must be easy to interpret, completely uniform and of sufficient size so that when they are incorporated into the document for publication, they remain legible. They must be numbered consecutively according to the order of their appearance in the text. Photographs of potentially identifiable individuals must be accompanied by the corresponding written authorization to use them. For x-rays, scans and other images of diagnostic techniques, as well as for photographs of images of pathological samples or microphotographs, they must be clear, in black and white or in color and in digital format. It must include: number, title, description of the figure, explanation of the symbols, arrows, numbers or letters used to identify parts of the illustrations. Figures must be correctly centered, of high quality (at least 5 megapixels).

Case reports or series of cases

It must have a maximum of 1500 words, 3 tables or figures, between 10 and 15 references, and a maximum of 4 authors. If there are more than 4 authors, the reason must be justified.

Case reports that meet the following conditions are accepted:

New condition or disease.

Rare, infrequent and poorly reported condition; or a previously eradicated disease that re-emerges.

Unusual or atypical presentation of a common disease.

Unexpected association between unusual symptoms or signs.

Impact of one disease on the evolution of another.

Unusual evolution or unexpected event in the course of an observation.

Impact of treating one condition on another.

Unexpected complications of procedures or treatments (side effects not described).

Describe a rare or new adverse drug reaction. They describe a complication of some treatment or drug.

Describe the effect of a drug in pregnancy or lactation.

New and unique diagnostic procedures or treatment. They exemplify a practical and novel approach to the diagnosis or management of a disease.

Report of new medical errors or errors in a patient's medication.

Report of malfunction of a medical device that causes harm to the patient.

Positional or quantitative variation of anatomical structures.

They show some important clinical application.

They help to clarify the pathophysiology of the disease.

They relate the pathophysiology with the presence of undescribed signs and symptoms.

They show a previously undescribed relationship between two diseases.

They represent essential psychosocial aspects in the approach, management, or prevention of the problem or disease.

They assess the costs of a poor diagnostic or therapeutic approach.

They illustrate syndromes that have not been recognized or are of low prevalence but of great importance.

Title: in English and Spanish, it must not contain acronyms, it must have up to 160 characters and, if possible, specify that it is a case report.

Summary: it must be between 100 and 200 words long, unstructured, including in a narrative way the introduction, objective, presentation of the case with the most important data that will generates interest in it, discussion, and conclusion.

Introduction: it must have between two or three paragraphs, with concise information on the subject to be dealt with, background, justification of the value or relevance of the case, explaining why it is new or deserves its dissemination. In one or two sentences, describe the clinical case to be presented to generate interest to readers. In this section it is recommended not to write a summary of the articles published on the subject or an extensive description of the disease; this should be reserved for discussion. All the comments or ideas exposed in the introduction must have their corresponding reference.

Case Report: make a synthesis of the case in a narrative form, taking care that the events keep a chronological order and causal relationship. Cite demographic data (age, sex, weight, height and others, if relevant such as race, occupation, etc.). Avoid patient identification. Describe the reason for consultation, current illness, relevant family and social history, pathological history, list of medications (dosage, pharmaceutical form, and dates of administration) before admission and during the course of the case (including herbs, vaccines, deposit injections, with and without medication) and the state of the patient using them. Physical examination, laboratory values with reference values, which support the case.

Diagnostic procedures that are relevant. Include photographs of the patient with the corresponding permission, histopathology, study images or others that are related to the case. Omit necessary details. Finally explain the outcome of the case, hospitalization time and conditions in which the patient was found when he was discharged. If possible, add maximum follow-up time and evolution or post-discharge management.

Discussion: explain the importance of the case and its usefulness to readers. Provide a brief synthesis of previously published and reviewed literature with which to make comparisons and contrast the nuances of the case. Explain or justify the similarities and differences. Reinforce the importance of the already mentioned case. Justify the singularity of the case. All comments or ideas presented in the discussion must have their corresponding reference.

Recommendations and conclusions: they must be brief (maximum one paragraph), justified and based on the information previously presented. Describe how the gained knowledge through the clinical case can be applied to future emergencies.

References: apply the rules previously established in this guideline.

Other types of design

Review articles: usually commissioned by the editor, but unpublished received reviews can also be considered. It must have a maximum of 3000 words, 3 tables or figures, between 25 and 40 references and a maximum of three authors. If there are more than 3 authors, the reason must be justified.

Meta-analysis: they are of high interest to the journal and all those received are considered. It must have a maximum of 3000 words, there is no limit in tables or figures or in number of references. Maximum six authors.

Medical care guidelines or protocols: they are of high interest to the journal and all those received are considered. They must be original guidelines or protocols recognized by a hospital or medical society in Ecuador. It must have a maximum of 3000 words, there is no limit in tables or figures or in the number of references. Maximum six authors.

Editorials: usually commissioned by the editor, but unpublished received editorials are occasionally considered. It must have a maximum of 750 words, without abstract, without tables or figures and can have a maximum of 10 references. Maximum two authors.

Special articles: are those that are not included in the previously used classification. They are usually requested by the editor, but unpublished received articles are also considered. It must have a maximum of 2700 words, 3 tables or figures, between 15 and 35 references and a maximum of six authors.

Publication costs

The Medicina journal does not allocate publication expenses for the authors.