Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine

Subjects should be covered at a level appropriate for SHOs and SpRs studying for the College's primary and final fellowship examinations. However, ANAESTHESIA and INTENSIVE CARE MEDICINE's target readership also include Consultants and other career grade anaesthetists.

STYLE

ANAESTHESIA and INTENSIVE CARE MEDICINE aims to publish up-to-date authoritative reviews that are precise and concise. The journal is addressed to trainees, therefore articles should be comprehensive and visual with use of diagrams, figures and photographs. They should be written in the active rather than the passive tense. Empty phrases such as “a full history and examination is essential”, “usual precautions must be taken” and ”full monitoring is employed” should be avoided and specific advice given. It is not journal style to use outlines, introductions or conclusions. The articles must not make unsubstantiated claims. Drug treatments must be defined precisely - phrases such as “full antibiotic prophylaxis”, “appropriate antibiotics” and “anti-tetanus prophylaxis” each need a precise description. It is preferable to give doses rather than write “titrate dose according to response”. Any list of investigations or treatments must be linked with some guidance about which are the most appropriate in particular circumstances. If alternative approaches to a problem are described, the author must give his/her views about their suitability in different circumstances. It is always desirable that the author's personal views are made clear. Always explain how to do something rather than give phrases such as “steps must be taken to prevent barotrauma”. Try to define rather than hint. Do not use phrases such as “individual hospitals have their own guidelines”.

AUTHORS

ANAESTHESIA and INTENSIVE CARE MEDICINE commissions its articles from experts who it expects will find no difficulty in meeting these conditions. It prefers articles to be written by single authors but acknowledges that time restrictions often make it more practical for two authors to work together on one article. Please note that the journal will not accept SpR's as sole authors however we are happy to have them as co-authors with a consultant. ANAESTHESIA and INTENSIVE CARE MEDICINE is unwilling to publish its review articles over the names of more than two authors.

LENGTH

ANAESTHESIA and INTENSIVE CARE MEDICINE aims to cover its topics in 3 years, to meet the current needs of UK trainees. It does this in 36 issues. Articles for ANAESTHESIA and INTENSIVE CARE MEDICINE should be written to their commissioned length. However, extra text and illustrations can be accommodated if appropriate.

TEXT

Please submit your article by e-mail to anaesthesia@medicinepublishing.co.uk.

ILLUSTRATIONS

These are of paramount importance to the “appeal” of an article and can often make a point more clearly than words. Your commissioning letter will explain how many figures are required within your article. We are happy for you to provide more figures than requested if appropriate.

Illustrations should be of good quality and good contrast. Illustrations should be submitted as JPEG or TIFF files provided they are of high enough resolution for printing (minimum 300 dpi).

All diagrams and line drawings will be redrawn, so finished artwork is not required. Your “roughs” should be explicit, with clear labelling to help our artist. If necessary, please indicate appropriate colours to be used on artwork.

DEADLINES

The publishing schedule for articles in ANAESTHESIA and INTENSIVE CARE MEDICINE is set well in advance and it is not usually possible to move articles to another issue other than the one they were commissioned for. Please ensure that you submit your article on time by the deadline mentioned in your commissioning letter. If you anticipate problems in meeting this deadline, please contact the Editorial Office as soon as possible.

ABSTRACT AND KEYWORDS

Please supply a brief (250 word) abstract of your article, together with 5–10 keywords. If possible the abstract should be a condensed version of the article, rather than a description of what the article contains.

PATIENT CONSENT

If there is any possibility that the patient could be identified from a photograph/figure submitted, please obtain written consent from the patient.

The GMC have published guidance on obtaining consent for audio and visual recording which is available at http://www.gmc-uk.org/guidance/index.asp It is your responsibility to ensure you are adhering to this guidance.

Please contact the Editorial Office if you require a consent form for any of your illustrations.

COPYRIGHT

Copyright clearance for illustrations and text previously published elsewhere must be obtained before reproduction in ANAESTHESIA and INTENSIVE CARE MEDICINE. It is the author's responsibility to approach the previous publisher for this permission. Please note that you will need to obtain full copyright permission which includes reproducing the illustration in electronic format or on the internet and CD-ROM.

Please contact the Editorial Office if you require a copyright release form for any of your illustrations.

If you wish to retain copyright for any figures submitted, this can be arranged.

HEADINGS

If possible try to introduce a heading every 200–300 words. We have four levels of heading if any confusion is likely, please indicate the relative importance of each heading by numbering from 1–4. We do not have a summary or conclusion at the end of the article.

LISTS

It is often helpful to break up the text by using lists.

UNITS

SI units should be used, although blood pressure readings are still quoted in mm Hg.

DRUGS

Dose and route of administration should be stated. ANAESTHESIA and INTENSIVE CARE MEDICINE uses the recommended non-proprietary names (rINN) for drugs. The old British Approved Name (BAN) is no longer used.

TEXT BOXES

If appropriate, clinical articles should include a list of hazards or critical incidents. If appropriate, basic science articles should include a table indicating their clinical relevance.

REFERENCES

We encourage authors to use references throughout their article (to a maximum of 10) using superscript arabic numbers (e.g. Recent research1 has shown….). If there is space, we include a further reading list of up to 3 titles at the end of each contribution. References should preferably cite peer-reviewed review articles. Further reading articles should preferably cite textbooks or websites. It may be useful to describe the contents of a website in a few words (e.g. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/hip/default.htm CDC Hospital Infection Program; US government website dealing with all aspects of hospital infections).

All references should be present in the Vancouver Style as shown:

Journal article
Scott J, Gilvarry E, Farrell M. Managing anxiety and depression in alcohol and drug dependence. Addict Behav 1998; 23: 919–31.

McGuire PK, Jones P, Harvey I, et al. Morbid risk of schizophrenia for relatives of patients with cannabis-associated psychosis. Schizophr Res 1995; 15: 277–81.

Journal supplement article
Addington J, Gleeson J. Implementing cognitive behavioural therapy for first-episode psychosis. Br J Psychiatry 2005; 187 (suppl 48): S72–76.

Unnamed author article
No authors listed: Risk factors for stroke and efficacy of antithrombotic therapy in atrial fibrillation. Analysis of pooled data from five randomised controlled trials. Arch Intern Med 1994; 154: 1449–57.

Foreign language article
Li W, Gueyffier F, Boissel JP, Girard P, Boutitie F, Cucherat M. Identification and prediction of responders to a therapy. A model and its preliminary application to hypertension. Arch Mal Coeur Vaiss 1988; 91: 1059–63. [In French].

Editorial
Editorial. One world, one response needed, but not yet forthcoming. Lancet 2005; 365: 95-96.

Book, first edition
Graham HL, Copello A, Birchwood MJ, Mueser KT, eds. Substance misuse in psychosis: approaches to treatment and service delivery. Chichester: Wiley, 2003.

Book, subsequent edition
Miller WR, Rollnick S. Motivational interviewing. Preparing people for change, 2nd edn. New York: Guilford, 2002.

Book chapter
Marsden J, Strang J, Lavoie D, et al. Drugs needs assessment. In: Stevens A, Raftery J, eds. Health care needs assessment, 2nd edn. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004.

Newspaper article
McGuire B. We need a warning system too. Guardian 30 Dec, 2004: 18.

Online document
National Self Harm Network. Self-injury: myths & common sense. http://www.nshn.co.uk/facts.html(accessed 6 Sep 2006).

Print and online publication
Department of Health. Drug misuse and dependence: guidelines on clinical management. London: Stationery Office, 1999. Also available at:
http://www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/07/81/98/04078198.pdf(accessed 6 Sep 2006).

PROOFS

Your manuscript will be edited for content, style and length by the Specialty Editors, and by the in-house editorial staff. You will be sent a copy of the edited typescript in galley form and this is your opportunity to make alterations. Shortly before publication, you will be sent final page proofs complete with redrawn illustrations and proofs of colour or black-and-white photographs. Only essential alterations can be made at this stage.

QUERIES

Your contribution will be dealt with by ANAESTHESIA and INTENSIVE CARE MEDICINE's editorial team. Please contact Anne Askey if you have an editorial query or Janet Knox if you have an administrative query.

We hope you enjoy writing for ANAESTHESIA and INTENSIVE CARE MEDICINE. Please let us know if you have any constructive suggestions for the journal, or making life easier for its contributors.