Acta Médica Costarricense - Instructions to authors

Manuscripts submitted to the Editorial Committee for publication in AMC should be structured in accordance with “Requisitos uniformes para manuscritos sometidos a revistas biomédicas” developed by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, whose latest version can be accessed at www.ICMJE.org . Manuscripts prepared in an inappropriate manner are returning to the author have not been reviewed.

Articles accepted for publication in AMC become the property of the College of Physicians and Surgeons, and must not have been published in whole or in part in any other journal, although in another language (except in abstract form). Manuscripts should be submitted in triplicate (one original and 2 complete copies, including all figures) and in digital format (Word for Windows ®). The work should be submitted printed double-spaced on letter-size bond paper, written on one side and all pages numbered consecutively (including tables and figures). We recommend a maximum of 15 pieces, but works of greater length may be considered in special cases. In certain circumstances, the EC can publish a longer version, with more figures and tables in the electronic version of the magazine.

Authors must complete and submit the manuscript along with the 'checklist of authors' rights and the transfer and release of liability. Examples of these notes at the bottom of these instructions. All copies of the manuscript was delivered to the office of the Editorial Committee of AMC, in the building of the Colegio de Médicos y Cirujanos, or sent to PO Box 548-1000, San José, Costa Rica.

The manuscript is organized as follows: title page, abstract in English and Spanish, text, acknowledgments and contributors, references, tables, figures and legends for figures.

1. Title page:
Title: Spanish and English, concise but informative. Must include information necessary to allow for efficient electronic retrieval. Should not contain abbreviations. In case of animal studies must include the species.

Authors: first name and surname of all authors and their institutional affiliations. Should be listed as authors who contributed substantially in study design, acquisition of information or analysis of this, writing of the manuscript and critical revision and approval of the final version. It must specify the contribution of each author to work, according to these identified areas.

Name of department (s) and institution (s) where the work was done and who should be allotted.

Descriptors: 3 to 5 keywords in English and Spanish (keywords) included in the list of descriptors of Health Sciences (http://decs.bvs.br).

Abbreviations: all that are used in the text, listed alphabetically. Only abbreviated terms used in more than 3 times the abbreviation should be defined after the first mention. It is not necessary to define the abbreviations accepted by the magazine, whose list is attached and can be reviewed at the Website.

Short title: Maximum 45 characters.
List number: pages, figures and tables.
Correspondence: name and postal address, phone number and fax of the author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sources of support: list of those who contributed financially, with equipment, medicines and others.
Conflict of interest: detailed statement of all potential conflicts of interest that may have the authors.

2. Abstract: maximum 250 words in Spanish and English, structured using the following headings: Objective and rationale, methods, results and conclusion (background and aim, methods, results and conclusion). Should not be used abbreviations, references or footnotes.

3. Body of work:
Introduction: it expresses the intention of the article. Place the subject within the existing knowledge. Ultimately, the objective in a clear and precise.
Materials and methods clearly described the study design, method of selection of subjects (inclusion and exclusion criteria), instruments, laboratory, or other procedures used in sufficient detail to be reproducible by the reader. Manuscripts that report information obtained in humans should include a note in the section of methods, to ensure that the study met the requirements of the Ethics Committee of the Scientific-center. Manuscripts that report animal experiments must include a note that ensure compliance with recommendations for the management and care of experimental animals and accurately identify the drugs and chemicals used, including generic name, dosage and route of administration must also describe clear statistical analysis and the software used, and use units of measurement adopted conventional (IU or SI).

Results: We report the results in logical sequence in the text, tables and illustrations. Not repeated in the text data in tables or illustrations, nor discussed any results.

Discussion: does not repeat information given in another section (introduction, results or materials); mentioned new and important aspects provided by the study and the conclusions that can be obtained from the results. Should compare and contrast the results with other relevant reports in the literature. Indicates the limitations of the study and referred to the impact on other current or future investigations. No conclusions are derived from studies not completed or proposed findings are not based on the results.

4. Acknowledgments and partners: lists all the financial support or otherwise received for conducting research. Persons who are to thank or mention must be given written approval for the publication of his name.

5. References: follow the recommended system for biomedical journals (www.ICMJE.org). Be numbered consecutively in the order in which they are first mentioned in the text. The title of journals should follow the abbreviation mentioned in Medline (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?db=journals). Lists all authors up to 6, if, after the sixth writes et al o and cols.

All items in the list of references must be cited in the text and references cited in text must appear in the list. The author should be able to provide complete copy of all the articles cited. Do not use quotations from personal communications or unpublished material (including theses and conference materials), these can be written in parentheses (eg.: Thesis, title, author, date, author's personal communication). Review articles should include at least 35 citations, and the original 15.

Example:
Journal article:

• Zalaquett S. Canulación arterial axilar para circulación extracorpórea. Rev med Chile 2003, 131: 390-396

• Lohse N, Hansen ABE, Pedersen G, Kronborg G, Gerstoff J, Sorensen HT, et al. Survival of persons with and without HIV Infection in Denmark. Ann Intern Med 2007;146:87-95

Book: Ramírez J. Cirugía cardiaca. Seg. ed. Bogotá: Editorial Científica, 1994.

Book Chapter:

• Piel G ¿Qué es un artículo científico? En: Day Ra, ed. Cómo escribir y publicar trabajos científicos. Washington: OMS, 1990: 8-14.

• Freedman M Inherited forms of bone marrow failure. In: Hoffman R editor. Hematology: Basic Principles and Practice. 4th edition Pennsylvania: Churchill Livingstone, 2005: 234-238

Electronic Citation:
• Aguilar M. Anestesia para cirugía laparoscópica. 17 páginas. Recuperado el 12 de febrero de 2007, de http://www.monografias.com

• 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. En: http://www.house.gov/reform/min/inves_tobacco/index_accord.htm.)

6. Tables: self, numbered consecutively in the text with Arabic numerals, and each presented individually in a separate sheet with the number and title centered and any explanatory note at the bottom, all double spaced.

7. Legend Figures: printed double-spaced on a separate sheet and numbered according to the order in which they are cited in the text. Must provide enough information to interpret the figures without the need to refer to the text.

8. Figures: should be delivered 3 groups of figures, all illustrations should be marked on the back with the number, the orientation (top) and the author's name. The illustrations must be numbered in Arabic numerals consecutively, according to its first mention in the text. It is recommended that graphics and other computer normally are printed on a laser printer quality.

9. Short communications will be considered only concise work, original in its final version, of great scientific importance. These manuscripts should not exceed 3000 words and include no more than 2 tables and 2 figures.

10. Case Report: Only accepted in exceptional cases that pose a significant contribution in the understanding of the pathophysiology, clinical features, treatment or other aspects of the pathology, or provide material or information relevant to future research. Not recommend more than 4 authors, but include those directly responsible for the case. The presentation format is as follows: Summary unstructured maximum of 250 words in Spanish and English, introduction of no more than 2 paragraphs; case presentation in summary form, discussion including diagnosis, recommended treatment, treatment options and prognosis; references, no more than 10, according to the format and recommended. The full text for a clinical case is 5 double-spaced pages, with a limit of 30 lines per page, maximum 3 figures or tables.

11. Reviews: The Editorial Board will ask the majority of reviews by experts in the area and assess articles submitted for review without request, provided that it includes an author
clinical experience or research in the area that deals with the article. Not recommend more than three authors.

12. Letters to the editor: mainly those related to articles published in AMC will be considered for publication. Shall promote scientific discussion on medical topics, and addressed to the Editorial Committee, indicating which are considered as correspondence and not as original article. May contain a figure or table and no more than 500 words and references 5, or be signed by more than three authors. The editors reserve the right to edit letters to abbreviate or classify its content.