The Journal of the European Federation of the International Association for the Study of Pain chapters (EFIC) ^®



IMPORTANT MESSAGE
Articles can only be submitted online via the Elsevier Editorial System at http://ees.elsevier.com/eurjpain . Before you can upload your manuscript you will need to register to the program as an author. An individual username and a password will be sent to you. Please make sure that your manuscript is in accordance with the Guide for Authors given below.

Any queries or questions may be sent to ejp@meditos.de

Ethics
All experimental work should be in accordance with the ethical standards of a responsible committee, the Helsinki Declaration and IASP's guidelines for pain research in animals (Pain 1983;16:109-110) and humans (Pain 1995;63:277-278).

Author Agreement Form and Comments
The author agreement form must be downloaded while submitting the manuscript on line, signed by all authors, and sent to the Editorial Office via fax or the scanned form via email. If an abstract of the work has been published, or if the content of it has been published in another language, then this fact should be made clear in the "comments" field while submitting the manuscript on line. You can also give the names of potential reviewers in the comments field.

Manuscript Preparation
The manuscript must be written in English and submitted online in an established word processor, not as a PDF file. Each section should begin on a new page and all the pages should be numbered serially.
Due to the space restriction in the printed version of the journal, the size of the published papers has to be restricted. The authors are, however, encouraged to publish additional material online only. In the printed version they are replaced by a reference note. Authors are encouraged to transfer in particular long tables to "online only", even if the space restriction is not exhausted (instructions how to submit material to be published online only see below).

Manuscript length:
The following limits should be regarded:
Abstract: 250 words
Introduction: 500 words
Methods, Results and Discussion (together): 6000 words. References are not included. Their number must not exceed 80 in Original Articles Papers / Research Papers. In reviews some more references may be allowed. If figures and tables are included, then the space covered should be reduced from the 6000 words allowed for the body of the paper. For example, a figure or table covering 1/2 of a printed page (including figure legend) requires an equivalent of 500 words.

Original Articles Papers
Manuscript Structure (each of the following sections should begin on a new page):

• Manuscript:
  • (i) Title page (see content below)
  • (ii) Abstract (should not exceed 250 words)
  • (iii) Text:
    • Introduction (should not exceed 500 words)
    • Methods
    • Results
    • Discussion and conclusions
    Methods, Results and Discussions including figures and tables should not exceed 6000 words
  • (iv) Acknowledgements
  • (v) References
  • (vi) Legends for illustrations
• Tables (to be uploaded as separate files)
• Figures (to be uploaded as separate files)
• Appendices (additional material that will be published online only)

Reviews
Short review articles on precisely defined and actual topics which have not been covered recently in other international journals are welcome. Any topic will be considered, but priority will be given to those addressing a major current problem and those with up-to-date literature reviews. Reviews will be subjected to the usual refereeing process.

Manuscript Structure (each of the following sections should begin on a new page):

• Manuscript:
  • (i) Title page (see content below)
  • (ii) Abstract (should not exceed 250 words)
  • (iii) Text:
    • Introduction (should not exceed 500 words)
    • Literature Search Methods
    • Results
    • Discussion and conclusions
    Methods, Results and Discussions including figures and tables should not exceed 6000 words
  • (iv) Acknowledgements
  • (v) References
  • (vi) Legends for illustrations
• Tables (to be uploaded as separate files)
• Figures (to be uploaded as separate files)
• Appendices (additional material that will be published online only)

Title Page
The title page should give:
(i) The title of the article, this should be short and is not allowed to contain any acronyms
(ii) The authors' names (first name, middle initial and last name of each author) and institutes of origin
(iii) The name, address, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail address of the author responsible for correspondence
(iv) The category for which the manuscript is being submitted (original article, review, short communication)
(v) About five key words

Abstract
The abstract should not exceed 250 words and should describe the background, the aims, the methods, the results and the conclusions reached. It should contain only standard abbreviations and no references.

Reference Format
References should be typed with double spacing. In the text, references should be cited at the proper point (in parentheses) by author(s) and year in chronological order. References with two authors should include an "and" (e.g. Mustola and Baer, 1995). References with more than two names should be cited by the first author, the abbreviation "et al.," and year (e.g. Mustola et al., 1998). If two or more references with the same first author and year are cited, use lower-case letters a, b, etc., after the year both in the text and in the reference list. References to cited materials should be listed in alphabetical order at the end of the article.

The sequence for a journal article should be author(s), title of paper, journal name abbreviated as in Index Medicus (written in full if no abbreviation quoted), year of publicaiton, volume number, first and last pages. Include all authors. Do not use "et al." except in text. The sequence for a book is: chapter author(s), chapter title, editor(s) or compiler(s), book title, edition number, place of publication, publisher's name, year of publication, first and last pages (if relevant).

Example 1: Mustola ST, Baer T, Metsa-Ketela T, Laippala P. A District General Hospital pain management programme: first year experiences and outcomes. Anaesthesia 1995;50:114-117.

Example 2: Stubhaug A, Breivik H. Post-operative analgesic trials: some important issues. In: Breivik H, editor. Post-operative Pain Management. London: Balliere Tindall Ltd; 1995. p. 555-584.

Quotations of papers with two authors should include both names in full, e.g. Mustola ST and Baer T, A District General Hospital pain management programme: first year experiences and outcomes. Anaesthesia 1995;50:114-117. References with two authors should include an "and" (e.g. Mustola and Baer, 1995).

Personal communications, manuscripts in preparation and other unpublished data should not be cited in the reference list but may be mentioned in the text in parentheses.

Citing and listing of Web references: As a minimum, the full URL should be given. Any further information, if known (DOI, author names, dates, reference to a source publication, etc.), should also be given. Web references should be listed separately (e.g., after the reference list) under the heading "Web references".

Titles of publications in any European language should be provided in the original language of the article. Titles in extra-European languages should be complemented by an English translation. If the original title is not written in Latin characters, the title should be transcribed and complemented (or replaced) by an English translation in brackets.

Figures
All colour illustrations will be published free of charge. The European Journal of Pain does not charge authors for colour reproduction.

All illustrations must be cited in sequence and uploaded as separate files. Please follow the artwork instructions. The legends for illustrations should be listed on a separate page in numerical order and should contain brief but comprehensible explanations.

All authors wishing to use illustrations already published must first obtain the permission of the author, publisher and/or copyright holders and give precise reference to the original work. This permission must include the right to publish in electronic media.

Tables
Tables should be numbered in series and must be cited in the text in sequence. Each table, with an appropriate brief legend, comprehensible without reference to the text, should be typed on a separate page. For footnotes, use superscripts 'a', 'b', 'c', etc., not asterisks or other symbols.

Acknowledgements
The acknowledgements section should specify acknowledgement of technical help, sources of financial and material support. A 'Declaration of Interests' should be added in which support from commercial sources is specified.

Material to be published online only
To submit any material to be published online only please do the following:
- choose the item "table" or "figure" as usual when uploading the files of tables or figures
- choose the item "manuscript" if you want to publish certain parts of the manuscript online only and upload the related word file
- scroll down the page and enter in the "description"-box the kind of material you want to submit online only.
Please use the following terms:
- for tables: "tableS1", "tableS2" etc.
- for figures: "figureS1, "figureS2" etc. The figure legends should be included in the figure's file.
- for parts of the manuscript's text: "methodsS1", resultsS1" or "discussionS1" (please note that it is not possible to publish additional material for the introduction)
- please indicate and cite clearly in your manuscript the online only material using the terms given above

Units & Abbreviations
Abbreviations, numbers and SI lengths, measurements of length, height and volume should be reported in metric units (metre, kilogram, litre). Temperatures should be given in degrees Celsius and blood pressures in millimetres of mercury or kPa with the alternative units in parentheses. All other measurements including laboratory measurements should be reported in the metric system in terms of the International System of Units (SI).

Abbreviations should be limited and defined after the first use of the term.

Drug Names
Generic names of drugs should be used where possible. When quoting from specific materials on proprietary drugs, authors must state in parentheses the name and address of the manufacturer.

Clinical and Experimental Notes and Short Communications
The guidelines for the preparation of the manuscripts are the same as those for original articles, as far as applicable. The abstract is limited to 250 words, the body of the paper should not exceed three printed pages (3000 words including references as appropriate and tables or figures). However, full length articles are preferred and short communications or notes will only be accepted if they are of broad interest.

Clinical trials
All intervention and treatment studies need to be prepared following the CONSORT recommendations. In particular, a flow chart depicting patient flow needs to be included. In addition, authors should consider describing the outcome measures following the IMMPACT recommendations (Dworkin et al., Pain 2005:113;9-19).

Translations
Mere translations of questionnaires into another language will not be considered for publication except if the study provides information and insights that go beyond the issue of translation. Such data include for example comprehensive validity analyses including factorial validity, divergent and convergent validity or findings with regard to the clinical usefulness of a particular questionnaire.

Language Editing
International Science Editing and Asia Science Editing can provide English language and copyediting services to authors who want to publish in scientific, technical and medical journals and need assistance before they submit their article or, before it is accepted for publication. Authors can contact these services directly: International Science Editing and Asia Science Editing or, for more information about language editing services, please contact authorsupport@elsevier.com who will be happy to deal with any questions. Please note Elsevier neither endorses nor takes responsibility for any products, goods or services offered by outside vendors through our services or in any advertising. For more information please refer to our terms and conditions: Language Polishing.

Qualitative studies
While European Journal of Pain has a strong focus on quantitative research, qualitative studies are also published. However, qualitiative reports will only be considered for publication if they address research questions which are new or have not been extensively addressed in the empirical-quatitative literature. The findings should provide new insights.

Letters to the Editor
Letters containing critical assessment of papers recently published in the European Journal of Pain will be considered for publication in the correspondence section. Letters should not exceed one printed page (1000 words including references as necessary, one table or one figure). Letters should be typed in double spacing, should have a heading and no abbreviations. If related to a previously published article, the article should be identified by title, author(s), and volume/page numbers. All letters are subject to editorial review. At the Editor's discretion, a letter may be sent to authors of the original paper for comment, and both letter and reply may be published together.

Revisions
Revised manuscripts must follow the instructions for authors given above.

Proofs
The Publisher reserves the right to charge the authors the cost of changes made to the text or the figures at the proof stage when such changes are extensive. No charge will, of course, be made for correction of errors made during the editorial process or by the printer.

Offprints
The corresponding author, at no cost, will be provided with a PDF file of the article via e-mail, or alternatively, free paper offprints. The PDF file is a watermarked version of the published article and includes a cover sheet with the journal cover image and a disclaimer outlining the terms and conditions of use.