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European Urology

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European Urology Family
European Urology
European Urology Focus
European Urology Oncology
European Urology Open Science
Manuscript Submission
Data Sharing
Data Sharing Policy
Ethical Considerations and Registration of Clinical Trials
CONSORT Flow Diagram and Checklist
Biomarkers
Reporting of Research Using Animals
Copyediting
Authorship Form
Article Types
Original Articles
Review Articles
Surgery in Motion
Case Series of the Month
Editorials
Letters to the Editor
Brief Correspondence
Words of Wisdom
Fast Track Articles
Residents Corner Articles
Open Access
EU-ACME articles
Peer Review Process and Publication
Statistical Review
European Urology Author Conduct Code

European Urology Family

The European Urology family includes four journals published by Elsevier on behalf of the European Association of Urology (EAU), a scientific society with more than 15,000 members from 120 countries worldwide. These four journals cover the entire spectrum of urology and related fields. Through society membership benefits and institution subscriptions, the journals are available to more than 20,000 readers. The mission statements of the journal family are to improve the care of our patients through education and knowledge, and to strengthen relationships between members of the global urological community. We embrace equality and diversity.


European Urology

European Urology, 'The Platinum Journal', is the flagship journal of the EU family and has been published continuously since 1975. It is the official journal of the EAU. All published content is peer-reviewed and available in both print and online versions. The journal is sent to all the EAU members digitally and in print (upon request) and receives more than 2 million PDF download requests per year. The Editor-in-Chief is Professor James Catto. The European Urology Impact factor for 2022 is 23.4 and all articles are listed on the PubMed database. Our acceptance rate is around 10% and the average time from submission to first editorial decision after peer review is 12 days. We publish a wide variety of articles in various formats, including review articles, original articles, surgery in motion articles with an accompanying video available online, editorials, editorial comments, interviews, debates, words of wisdom, letters to the editor, and case series.

EU-ACME accredited questions are included in every issue of European Urology and can be answered at https://eu-acme.org.

Manuscripts should be submitted online via the European Urology online manuscript submission and review system at https://www.editorialmanager.com/EURUROL/


European Urology Focus

European Urology Focus (EU Focus) is a sister journal to European Urology. The Editor-in-Chief is Professor Christian Gratzke.The European Urology Focus Impact factor for 2022 is 5.4 and all articles are listed on the PubMed database. EU Focus publishes original articles, case debates, clinical practice points, opinion piece editorials, and topical reviews on all urological issues. The editorial team welcomes basic and translational research articles in the field of urological diseases. Authors may be solicited by the Editor directly and/or may approach the editorial office for advice or guidance before submission. Submitted manuscripts are peer-reviewed before being considered for publication. EU Focus is published six times per year in electronic format. Each issue includes a series of invited themed reviews, together with original reports, correspondence and introductory editorials.

Manuscripts should be submitted online via the European Urology Focus online manuscript submission and review system at https://www.editorialmanager.com/EUFOCUS/. All author instructions for European Urology as outlined here also apply to European Urology Focus. There are four additional article types published in EU Focus. Specific instructions for these can be found at https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/european-urology-focus/publish/guide-for-authors.

European Urology Oncology

European Urology Oncology (EU Oncology) is a sister journal to European Urology and the first official publication of the EAU fully devoted to the study of genitourinary malignancies. The European Urology Oncology impact factor for 2022 is 8.2 and all articles are listed on the PubMed database. The journal aims to deliver high-quality research by following a multidisciplinary approach. The journal covers a diverse but coherent set of topical fields: urology, medical oncology, radiation therapy, imaging, pathology, and basic research. Together we work towards the same final aim: improving patient care. The Editor-in-Chief is Professor Alberto Briganti.

The journal includes original articles, opinion piece editorials, and invited reviews covering clinical, basic, and translational research. The average time from submission to first editorial decision, after peer review, is approximately 12 days. Most submitted manuscripts will be peer-reviewed by a panel of experts before being considered for publication. Original articles can be directly submitted to the journal via https://www.editorialmanager.com/EUONCO/. In addition, selected manuscripts initially considered for publication in European Urology will be given the opportunity to be published in European Urology Oncology after completion of a fast and rigorous peer-review process. All author instructions for European Urology as outlined below equally apply to European Urology Oncology. Specific instructions can be found at https://euoncology.europeanurology.com/guide-authors.

European Urology Open Science

European Urology Open Science (EU Open Science) is the open access journal of the European Urology family. It is dedicated to the publication of high-quality, innovative research that will benefit patients with urological conditions, in keeping with the mission of the European Urology family. European Urology Open Science covers all fields of research in the urological field, including clinical, basic, and translational research. European Urology Open Science reflects the evolving publishing model so all published papers will have unrestricted access and be published online-only. The Co-Editors-in-Chief are Professors James Catto and Jochen Walz.

European Urology Open Science is the perfect publication vehicle for the proceedings of scientific symposia. European Urology Open Science publishes the European Urology Supplements (ISSN 1569-9056) and the EAU-EBU Update Series (ISSN 1871-2592). The European Urology Open Science Impact Factor for 2022 is 2.5 and all articles are listed on the PubMed database.

Manuscript Submission

Submission
Manuscripts should be formatted according to the journal instructions and submitted through the appropriate website (https://www.editorialmanager.com/EURUROL/) in Word or LaTeX format for text, and EPS, PDF, JPG, PNG or TIFF for illustrations. Authors may check the status of articles on the submission website. European Urology expects authors to comply with their responsibilities and ensure that they declare all conflicts of interest. We encourage authors to read and adhere to reporting guidelines. Statements in articles or opinions expressed by any contributor in any article are not the responsibility of the editors or the publishers. The publisher is not responsible for the loss of manuscripts through circumstances beyond its control.

English Language
Manuscripts should be written in English. Authors are free to choose between British English and American English in terms of spelling and grammar as long as the language style is consistent throughout the text. Authors whose native language is not English are expected to have their manuscripts proofread by a professional copyeditor of their choice before submission. Compuscript is the official copyeditor for European Urology.

Authorship Guidelines
Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All those who have made substantial contributions should be listed as co-authors. Where there are others who have participated in certain substantive aspects of the paper (e.g., language editing or medical writing), they should be recognised in the acknowledgements section.

First submission of Original Articles
Formatting for articles in European Urology is detailed below. However, for the initial submission of Original Articles we will accept manuscripts either fully formatted according to our instructions or unformatted in a broad scientific format. For the latter, we expect an Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results (with tables and figures), and Discussion within the limits (word count, number of figures/tables and references) of the journal. Reformatting according to our journal specific requirements will then be needed if your article is chosen for revision and further evaluation. We allow initial submissions to be completed with only the corresponding author's details uploaded onto our submission site. If your manuscript is selected for further review, then uploading of all additional authors will be needed at resubmission. While we will evaluate initial submissions that are not compliant with our journal instructions, we encourage authors to remember the importance of presentation, accuracy, and precision of language. For authors whose primary language is not English, we encourage either using a proofreading service or asking for help from a native English speaking colleague.

Cover Letter
Although cover letters are not mandatory for submission, authors wishing to include a cover letter with their manuscript are welcome do so. Please submit either as a separate file, or as part of the manuscript file in the comments section of the submission process. Please note that manuscript files containing a cover letter will be available for reviewers to view if the manuscript is sent for peer review. If the authors prefer to submit a letter for the Editor(s) consideration only, please include the text of the letter in the comments section of the electronic submission process.

Manuscript Components
The manuscript should include a title page, abstract, text, references, and, as appropriate, figure legends, tables, figures, take home message (for original, review, surgery in motion, and brief correspondence articles and platinum opinion editorials), and authorship form (the authorship form can be downloaded here). Start each of these sections on a new page, numbered consecutively, beginning with the title page. Please check the instructions per article type listed above.

First and last names and the institutional affiliations of all co-authors are required. Manuscripts submitted through the online system should not also be submitted by mail or e-mail. Once the manuscript is submitted online, the corresponding author will receive a manuscript number and will be able to follow the status of the manuscript through the online system.

Manuscript File Formats
For submission and review, acceptable manuscript file formats include Word, WordPerfect, EPS, Text, Postscript, or RTF format. Use 12-point font size, double-space text, and leave right margins unjustified with margins of at least 2.5 cm. Each page should be numbered in the upper right corner, beginning on p. 2. Add continuous line numbering.

Title Page
The title page should include a word count for the text and abstract separately. Authors' full names and affiliations should also be included (see list below). If an author's affiliation has changed since the work was done, the new affiliation should also be listed. For indexing purposes, three to ten keywords should be supplied in alphabetical order (see example below).

Please include:

  • Authors (first name and initials followed by surname, e.g., Juan X. Alvarez)
  • Affiliations (if multiple affiliations are listed, indicate with lowercase letter footnotes following the respective authors names)
  • Contact information for the corresponding author, including full mailing address, telephone number, fax number, and e-mail address
  • For indexing purposes, three to ten keywords should be supplied (in alphabetical order) in the following format:
    Keywords: Benign prostatic hyperplasia; Doxazosin; Lower urinary tract symptoms
  • Word count of the text: include the abstract but not the references in this count
  • Word count of the abstract (please remember that abstracts cannot exceed 250 words)

Abstracts
Include a structured abstract of no more than 250 words for original articles, review articles, and surgery in motion articles. (See the specific instructions for preparing structured abstracts.) Abstracts are not required for editorials. No information should be reported in the abstract that does not appear in the text of the manuscript.

Headings
Do not use automatically generated numbering or bulleting systems or hidden text (e.g., for headings, references, footnotes, lists).

Units of Measurement
Units of measurements must conform to the Systeme International (SI): year(s), yr; month(s), mo; days, d; hours, h; minutes, min; seconds, s; grams, g; litres, l; metres, m; sample size, n; probability, p.

Numerals and Abbreviations
Use numerals for all values greater than ten and those followed by a unit; otherwise, spell out (e.g., 18 patients, 0.8 g/ml, 47%, 37°C, six cases). Spell out numbers at the beginning of a sentence. Abbreviations must be defined at first use in each of the following: abstract, text, tables, and figure legends.

Tables
Please see our guidance for the creation of tables and figures at https://www.europeanurology.com/article/S0302-2838(20)30316-X/fulltext. Tables for publication should highlight the most significant data. Try not to duplicate text in tables and vice versa. Tables should be provided as editable Word files and should fit on A4 or letter-sized paper in a font no smaller than 10 point. The column structure should be simple for clarity, and internal gridlines should be hidden. Please make sure that there are not too many columns or rows, and that each contains important data for the report and not too many characters.

Authors should ensure tables are presented in a format suitable for publication. Larger or more complex tables can be made available online as supplementary material. It is impossible to further stipulate an exact table size or content, but consider using supplementary online tables for large datasets or those that may be unsuitable or too large for publication on one journal page.

References
References should be listed in the order in which they are cited in the text and follow a modified American Medical Association (AMA) format. List all authors for publications with up to six authors. For publications with more than six authors, list the first three authors followed by et al.

Example:
[4] Rassweiler JJ, Knoll T, Khrmann KU, et al. Shock wave technology and application: an update. Eur Urol 2011;59:784-96.

Data references
The journal encourages you to cite underlying or relevant datasets in your manuscript by including a data reference in your reference list. Data references should include the following elements: author name(s), dataset title, data repository, version (where available), year, and global persistent identifier. Add [dataset] immediately before the reference so we can properly identify it as a data reference. This identifier will not appear in your published article.

Example of a dataset reference:
[5] Oguro M, Imahiro S, Saito S, Nakashizuka T. Mortality data for Japanese oak wilt disease and surrounding forest compositions, Mendeley Data, v1; 2015. http://dx.doi.org/10.17632/xwj98nb39r.1

Privacy Protection and Informed Patient Consent Please see Ethical Considerations and Registration of Clinical Trials. Our human participant policy conforms to the uniform requirements of the ICMJE:

"Patients have a right to privacy that should not be infringed without informed consent. Identifying information should not be published in written descriptions, photographs, and pedigrees unless the information is essential for scientific purposes and the patient (or parent or guardian) gives written informed consent for publication. Informed consent for this purpose requires that the patient be shown the manuscript to be published.

Complete anonymity is difficult to achieve, and informed consent for publication should be obtained if there is any doubt. If data are changed to protect anonymity, authors should provide assurance that alterations of the data do not distort scientific meaning.

When informed consent has been obtained it should be indicated in the published article."

For papers that include information or images that could identify or potentially identify individuals, then authors must provide evidence of a proper consent form that the patient, parent, or guardian has signed acknowledging the potential for publication and their awareness of the content. They should be informed about Elsevier publishing policy, in which images and text will be published online and in print and are available for any lawful purpose. The signed consent form should be filed securely in the patient's case notes and the article submitted to European Urology should include this statement indicating that specific consent for publication was obtained: "The patients in this manuscript have given written informed consent to publication of their case details. The editorial office will not store or collect consent forms but reserves the right to enquire about or audit their presence, through proper and legal means.

Funding/Support and Role of Sponsor
All financial and material support for the research and work must be clearly and completely identified as part of the submission process. The specific role of the funding organisation or sponsor in each of the following should be specified: ''design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; and preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript.'' The corresponding author is responsible for acknowledging this on the authorship form at the time of submission.

Supplementary Files and Data
Information necessary for the article that is in excess of the manuscript restrictions will be considered for online publication or storage. Examples include extensive methodological descriptions, tables of data that are supplementary to the main article thread, details of reporting standards (such as CONSORT flow charts), and other useful figures. This information is to be submitted with the main manuscript and clearly labelled as supplementary material. It will be reviewed by the editorial office and peer reviewers to ensure that it is well presented in an acceptable format and that the contents are necessary. Please use the European Urology formatting style for references and presentation. There is no specific file name for supplementary tables or figures. These may be uploaded under the file name table, figure, or illustration. All Supplementary material must be uploaded in one single file (except for Excel documents, and/or video files, which can be submitted as a separate file). Please note, manuscripts not adhering to this will be sent back to the Author for reformatting.

Data Access and Responsibility
For all reports (regardless of funding source) containing original data, at least one named author (e.g., the principal investigator) who is independent of any commercial funder should indicate that she or he ''had full access to all the data in the study and takes responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis.'' This exact statement will be requested as part of the submission process. Modified statements or generic statements indicating that all authors had such access are not acceptable.

For authors reporting molecular results derived using high-throughput technologies, we support the use of minimum reporting standards. For example, for microarrays we support the use of the MIAME 2.0 standards, for deep sequencing we support MIN-Seq, and for real-time PCR we support the MICQ guidelines. Details of these are available at http://miqe.gene-quantification.info/. We require that datasets derived from these experiments and used for reports within European Urology are deposited online at the appropriate repositories, such as ArrayExpress (http://www.ebi.ac.uk/arrayexpress/) or GEO (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo/).

Duplicate/Previous Publication or Submission
Manuscripts are considered with the understanding that they have not been published previously in print or electronic format and are not under consideration by another publication or electronic medium. Copies of related or possibly duplicative materials (i.e., those containing substantially similar content or using the same or similar data) that have been previously published or are under consideration elsewhere must be provided at the time of manuscript submission. Publication of the work at an scientific meeting, in abstract form or on a pre-print server that does not conflict with submission to European Urology is allowed but should be disclosed at submission.

Ethical Approval of Studies and Informed Consent
For human or animal experimental investigations, formal review and approval, or review and waiver, by an appropriate institutional review board or ethics committee is required and should be described in the Methods section. For investigators who do not have formal ethics review committees, the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki should be followed. For investigations in human subjects, state in the Methods section the manner in which informed consent was obtained from the study participants (i.e., oral or written).

Personal Communications and Unpublished Data
A signed statement of permission should be included from each individual identified as a source of information in a personal communication or as a source for unpublished data, and the date of communication and whether the communication was written or oral should be specified.

Previous Presentation or Release of Information
A complete report following presentation at a meeting or publication of preliminary findings elsewhere (e.g., an abstract) is eligible for consideration for publication.

Unauthorised Use
Published manuscripts become the permanent property of the EAU and may not be published elsewhere in whole or in part without written permission. Unauthorised use of the European Urology name, logo, or any content for commercial purposes or to promote commercial goods and services (in any format, including print, video, audio, and digital) is not permitted by the EAU.

Data Sharing

We expect authors to freeze datasets at the time of publication and to keep copies of this frozen data for up to 5 years. If the dataset continues to increase, we request that authors maintain the copied, frozen original data necessary for publication. We expect that anonymised versions of this dataset are made available upon request from the editorial office, if necessary, for methodological review or data validation. We also encourage authors to make anonymised data available following reasonable requests from other authors or investigators. We recognise that legal requirements differ between countries and respect such obligations for the submitting authors.

Data Sharing Policy
1. Researchers need to include a data sharing statement: :
a. Data are freely available at a data archive (include web address)
b. Data are available for bona fide researchers who request it from the authors
c. Data are not available to other researchers
2. Option c (data not available to other researchers) is not available for human clinical trials (experimental treatment) without prior agreement of the editors.
3. If data are not available to other researchers, then the authors need to give a reason:
a. Publicly available data
b. Vulnerable population
c. Registry or institutional database of patients providing routinely collected data
d. Other
4. Preparation of this paper did not involve analysis of data.

Ethical Considerations and Registration of Clinical Trials

Trial Registration: As a member of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), European Urology requires, as a condition of consideration for publication, prospective registration of all trials in a public trials registry that is acceptable to the ICMJE and that requires the minimum registration data set as described by the ICMJE.

Acceptable trial registries include the following:

http://www.clinicaltrials.gov
http://isrctn.org
http://www.umin.ac.jp/ctr

For this purpose, a clinical trial is any study that prospectively assigns human subjects to intervention or comparison groups to evaluate the cause-and-effect relationship between a medical/surgical intervention and a health outcome. All clinical trials, regardless of when they were completed, and secondary analyses of original clinical trials must be registered before submission of a manuscript based on the trial. For clinical trials starting patient enrolment after July 2005, trials must be registered before the onset of enrolment. The trial registry name, registration identification number, and the URL for the registry should be included at the end of abstract.

All randomised controlled trials require proof of protocol. Authors are expected to provide relevant protocol information upon request. Authors who would not able to provide this information should contact the editorial office upon submission.

CONSORT Flow Diagram and Checklist

Manuscripts reporting the results of randomised controlled trials should include a CONSORT flow diagram showing the progress of patients throughout the trial. The CONSORT checklist should also be completed and submitted with the manuscript and can be found at http://www.consort-statement.org/consort-statement/checklist.

Biomarkers

For manuscripts reporting biomarkers and biological markers, European Urology encourages adherence to the REMARK reporting criteria. Please refer to REMARK guidelines.

Reporting of Research Using Animals
European Urology asks authors to refer to the ARRIVE guidelines when reporting research were animals were involved. Access the ARRIVE guidelines here.

Copyediting

Accepted manuscripts will be copyedited to make sure they conform to the journal style. The final version of the manuscript following copyediting will be sent back to the author only if specific queries need clarification.

Authorship Form

The authorship form can be downloaded here). Please ensure this is submitted as a PDF file.


The Use of Generative AI and AI-assisted Technologies in Scientific Writing

This policy has been triggered by the rise of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies which are expected to increasingly be used by content creators. The policy aims to provide greater transparency and guidance to authors, readers, reviewers, editors and contributors. Elsevier will monitor this development and will adjust or refine this policy when appropriate. Please note the policy only refers to the writing process, and not to the use of AI tools to analyze and draw insights from data as part of the research process.

Where authors use generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process, these technologies should only be used to improve readability and language of the work. Applying the technology should be done with human oversight and control and authors should carefully review and edit the result, because AI can generate authoritative-sounding output that can be incorrect, incomplete or biased. The authors are ultimately responsible and accountable for the contents of the work.

Authors should disclose in their manuscript the use of AI and AI-assisted technologies and a statement will appear in the published work. Declaring the use of these technologies supports transparency and trust between authors, readers, reviewers, editors and contributors and facilitates compliance with the terms of use of the relevant tool or technology.

Authors should not list AI and AI-assisted technologies as an author or co-author, nor cite AI as an author. Authorship implies responsibilities and tasks that can only be attributed to and performed by humans. Each (co-) author is accountable for ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved and authorship requires the ability to approve the final version of the work and agree to its submission. Authors are also responsible for ensuring that the work is original, that the stated authors qualify for authorship, and the work does not infringe third party rights, and should familiarize themselves with our Ethics in Publishing policy before they submit.

For further information please find the use of AI and AI-assisted writing technologies in scientific writing FAQs.

Disclosure Instructions

Authors must disclose the use of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process by adding a statement at the end of their manuscript in the core manuscript file, before the References list. The statement should be placed in a new section entitled `Declaration of Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process?. Statement: During the preparation of this work the author(s) used [NAME TOOL / SERVICE] in order to [REASON]. After using this tool/service, the author(s) reviewed and edited the content as needed and take(s) full responsibility for the content of the publication.

This declaration does not apply to the use of basic tools for checking grammar, spelling, references etc. If there is nothing to disclose, there is no need to add a statement.

Article Types

Original Articles
These manuscripts typically report on basic and translational research, epidemiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis, medical or surgical treatment, and minimally invasive therapy related to urological diseases.

Each manuscript should clearly state an objective or hypothesis; the design and methods (including the study setting and dates, patients or participants with inclusion and exclusion criteria and/or participation or response rates, or data sources, and how these were selected for the study); the essential features of any interventions; the main outcome measures; the main results of the study; a discussion section placing the results in context with the published literature and addressing study limitations; and the conclusions. Data included in research reports should be as timely and current as possible.

We encourage authors to report outcomes and complications in a structured manner. We advise the use of peer-reviewed documents to guide this, such as Mitropoulous et al. Reporting and Grading of Complications After Urologic Surgical Procedures: An ad hoc EAU Guidelines Panel Assessment and Recommendations or other recognised reporting structures.

Please see our guidance on First submission of Original Articles (above). At first submission, we will accept manuscripts fully formatted according to our instructions or unformatted in a broad scientific format. For the latter, we expect an Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results (with tables and figures), and Discussion within the limits (word count, number of figures/tables and references) of the journal. Reformatting according to our journal specific requirements will then be needed if the article is chosen for revision and further evaluation. We allow initial submissions to be completed with only the corresponding author's details uploaded onto our submission site. If the manuscript is selected for further review, then uploading of all additional authors will be needed at resubmission.

Text
The text of the manuscript should be divided as follows: Introduction; Materials (Patients) and Methods; Results; Discussion; Conclusions.

Word count
The maximum word count is 2750, including the abstract but not including the references, tables, figures, or legends (i.e., abstract maximum 250 words and overall text maximum 2500 words). The number of references should be limited to 40.

Take Home Message
Two or three sentences (no more than 40 words) summarising the main message expressed in the article should be uploaded as a separate file or included at the end of the manuscript text. This separate file will be mandatory when uploading the revised version. The format of the original article should be as follows:

Provide a structured abstract no longer than 250 words with the following sections: Background and Objective; Methods; Key Findings and Limitations; Conclusions and Clinical Implications. For brevity, parts of the abstract may be written as phrases rather than complete sentences. Limitations of the study should be acknowledged.

Advancing practice: New section where Authors are required to include the following:

  • What does the study add?: In 3?4 sentences, the authors should summarize the added knowledge produced from this study;
  • Patient Summary: Please include at the end of the abstract two or three short sentences in plain English to describe your findings to a nonmedical audience. For example: "In this report we looked at outcomes for invasive bladder cancer in a large European population. We found that outcomes varied with patient age and treating centre. We conclude that the best outcomes are seen in younger patients treated at high-volume hospitals." You will also be asked to include this summary as an additional submission file as part of the submission process.

Original articles must be no longer than 2750 words (250 abstract + 2500 body not including what does the study add, patient summary, reference list, tables, figures, or legends). References are limited to 40. Please limit tables and figures to five in total. Each Figure may have a maximum of four subparts. Additional tables, figures, or appendices should be submitted as supplementary material, All additional supplementary material will be published online only in a single file. For brevity, parts of the abstract may be written as phrases rather than complete sentences. Each section should include the following content (see abstract structure details below):

  • Background and Objective: The abstract should begin with a sentence or two explaining the clinical (or other) importance of the study question. State the precise objective or study question addressed in the manuscript (e.g., ''To determine whether ?''). If more than one objective is addressed, the main objective should be indicated, and only key secondary objectives stated.
  • Methods: Describe the basic design of the study and the study setting to assist readers in determining the applicability of the report to other circumstances, for example, general community, a primary care or referral centre, private or institutional practice, or ambulatory or hospitalised care. State the clinical disorders and important eligibility criteria. The numbers of participants and how they were selected should be provided. For selection procedures, these terms should be used, if appropriate: random sample (where random refers to a formal, randomised selection in which all eligible individuals have a fixed and usually equal chance of selection); population-based sample; referred sample; consecutive sample; volunteer sample; convenience sample. The essential features of any interventions (surgical or medical) should be described. The nonproprietary drug or device names should be used unless the specific trade name is essential to the study. Finally, indicate the primary and secondary study outcome measurement(s) and the main statistical analysis.
  • Key Findings and Limitations: The key findings of the study should be reported and quantified. Complications or sequelae of the interventions used must be detailed. Particular attention must be paid to estimates of the treatment effect and confidence intervals and not just to p values. All randomised controlled trials should include the results of intention-to-treat analysis, and all surveys should include response rates. Limitations of the study should be acknowledged.
  • Conclusions and Clinical Implications: Provide only conclusions from the study directly supported by the results, avoiding speculation and overgeneralisation. The clinical implications of the findings should be provided (e.g., These finding support a change in clinical practice by??) Indicate whether additional studies are required before the results should be used in routine clinical settings. Give equal emphasis to positive and negative findings of equal scientific merit.
  • Please include at the end of the abstract two or three short sentences in plain English to describe your findings to a nonmedical audience. For example: "In this report we looked at outcomes for invasive bladder cancer in a large European population. We found that outcomes varied with patient age and treating centre. We conclude that the best outcomes are seen in younger patients treated at high-volume hospitals." You will also be asked to include this summary as an additional submission file.

Review Articles

European Urology aims to publish mainly systematic reviews (and meta-analyses, whenever appropriate). These are reviews that systematically find, select, critique, and synthesise evidence relevant to well-defined questions about diagnosis, prognosis, therapy, and prevention. The systematic review protocol should be registered with PROSPERO. Moreover, manuscripts reporting a systematic review and meta-analysis should comply with the latest PRISMA statement. Manuscripts that do not adhere to these requirements may not be considered for peer review. The format of the review article should be as follows:

Abstract Please see an example of a Review Article Abstract). Provide a structured abstract no longer than 250 words with the following sections:

  • Background and Objective: Include one or two sentences describing the clinical question or issue and its importance in clinical practice or public health. State the precise primary objective of the review. Describe the clinical question and its importance in clinical practice. State the precise primary objective of the review. Indicate whether the review emphasises factors such as cause, diagnosis, prognosis, therapy, or prevention.
  • Methods: Describe the data sources used, including the search strategies, years searched, and other sources of material, such as subsequent reference searches of retrieved articles. Formulate a clear research question, including information about the specific population, intervention (or exposure), comparator(s) and outcomes (or tests) that are being reviewed. Methods used for inclusion and quality assessment of identified articles should be explained.
  • Key Findings and Limitations: The major findings of the review with clinical impact should be addressed in an evidence-based, objective, and balanced fashion, with the highest-quality evidence available receiving the greatest emphasis. In case of a meta-analysis, report heterogeneity and publication bias.
  • Conclusions and Clinical Implications: The conclusions should clearly answer the question posed (if applicable) and be based on available evidence. It should also be reported how clinicians should apply the knowledge generated by the systematic review.

Advancing Practice: New section where Authors are required to include the following:

  • What does the study add?: In 3?4 sentences, the authors should summarize the added knowledge produced from this study;
  • Patient Summary: Please include at the end of the abstract two or three short sentences in plain English to describe your findings to a nonmedical audience. For example: "In this report we looked at outcomes for invasive bladder cancer in a large European population. We found that outcomes varied with patient age and treating centre. We conclude that the best outcomes are seen in younger patients treated at high-volume hospitals." You will also be asked to include this summary in the Additional Information section of the submission process You will also be asked to include this summary as an additional submission file.
Word count Review articles must be no longer than 3750 words (250 abstract + 3500 body not including what does the study add, patient summary, the reference list, tables, figures, or legends). References are limited to 60. Please limit tables and figures to five in total. Each Figure may have a maximum of four subparts. Additional tables, figures, or appendices may be submitted as supplementary material as a single file, and will be published online only.

Text The text of the manuscript should be structured as follows: : Introduction; Methods; Results; Discussion; Conclusions.

Take Home Message Two or three sentences (no more than 40 words) summarising the main message expressed in the article should be uploaded as a separate file or included at the end of the manuscript text. This separate file will be mandatory when uploading the revised version.

Word, tables, figures and reference limits The maximum word count is 3750, including the abstract but not including the references, tables, figures, or legends. The number of references should be limited to 60. Please limit tables and figures to five in total. Each Figure may have a maximum of four subparts. Additional tables, figures, or appendices should be submitted as supplementary material, All additional supplementary material will be published online only in a single file.

Authors are requested to include only two types of supplementary materials: i) a document that includes anything that a reader might want to read: text, tables, figures. This should be incorporated into the main document, clearly labelled as supplementary; ii) documents that provide additional information for further research, such as primary data, or lists of genes. Only (ii) should be a separate document, uploaded separately.

Rapid Reviews

These manuscripts consist of short reviews which may focus on basic, translational, or clinical data and can include all aspects of urological care. The format is shorter than formal reviews, usually covering more specific topics well as clinical implications of novel approches in the diagnosis, treatment an follow-up of the major urological diseases. These contributions do not include original data. Articles for this section may be directly submitted or invited by the editorial team following a previously submitted original article.

The format of the manuscript comprises an unstructured abstract (up to 200 words) that should introduce and briefly summarise the work and a patient summary (two or three short sentences in plain English to describe your findings to a nonmedical audience.

The main report is also unstructured but should lead the reader from the concept through completion and a conclusion of the work. The manuscript is limited to 1,000 words (excluding abstract, references, and legends), two figures or tables, and 10 references. Supplementary online content is welcomed for this work and is likely to be necessary. Rapid Review articles also require a two or three sentence take home message (no more than 40 words) summarising the main message expressed in the article, which must be uploaded as a separate file.

Surgery in Motion

Authors are welcome to submit manuscripts describing particular surgical techniques. In addition to describing the technique in detail, early and long-term results and complications must be reported as well. Mandatory requirements include a minimum number of 10 patients who have undergone the procedure being discussed and with a minimum of 1-yr follow-up for all patients. As this is an illustrative and demonstrative section of the journal, preference will be given to manuscripts that include illustrative images and sketches. Authors are encouraged to include professional sketches describing the key steps of the surgical procedures. If you need assistance in finding an artist, please contact the editorial office at [email protected]. Examples of suitable sketches can be found here.

The same preference is given to videos that include high-quality, well-edited clips and images. European Urology will not provide editing services but suggests that authors in need of assistance contact mediAVentures http://www.mediaventures.be/.

In order to be considered eligible for the Surgery in Motion section, each manuscript must be accompanied by an explanatory video that includes narration of the surgical procedure. Please ensure you upload the video files in mp4 format no bigger than 150MB with the manuscript files in the EEM system. When uploading, the video file should be listed under the "video" description tag. If the system will not accept your file or you have any questions or concerns, please contact the editorial office at [email protected].

A second option is to send your video (max 150 MB) via WeTransfer. If you are not familiar with this service, please visit https://wetransfer.com/about.

The format of surgery in motion manuscripts should follow the guidelines for original articles with the exception of the abstract.

Abstract
The format of Surgery in Motion manuscripts should follow the guidelines below.

Abstract Provide a unstructured abstract no longer than 250 words.

Advancing Practice: New section where Authors are required to include the following:

  • What does the study add?: In 3?4 sentences, the authors should summarize the added knowledge produced from this study;
  • Patient Summary: Please include at the end of the abstract two or three short sentences in plain English to describe your findings to a nonmedical audience. For example: "In this report we looked at outcomes for invasive bladder cancer in a large European population. We found that outcomes varied with patient age and treating centre. We conclude that the best outcomes are seen in younger patients treated at high-volume hospitals." You will also be asked to include this summary as an additional submission file.

The main report is also unstructured but should lead the reader from the concept through completion and a conclusion of the work. The manuscript is limited to 1500 words (excluding abstract, what does the study add, patient summary, references, and legends), two figures or tables, and 10 references. Supplementary online content is welcomed for this work and is likely to be necessary.

Take Home Message Two or three sentences (no more than 40 words) summarising the main message expressed in the article should be uploaded as a separate file or included at the end of the manuscript text. This separate file will be mandatory when uploading the revised version. The Surgery in Motion Video Guideline (30 KB) can be downloaded for reference.

Case Series of the Month

Please note that we no longer consider single case studies. This section is dedicated to publishing promising studies that have only preliminary results to date. We ask that a Case Series manuscript reports on no more than 10 patients and includes illustrative images.

The format for Case Series is as follows: an unstructured abstract of no more than 200 words, the case series, a discussion, and a maximum of 10 references. The text must be accompanied by four to six figures or photos, which will be published on the front cover of the journal. The 1500 word count limit includes the abstract and the body but not the figures, tables, legends, or references.

Please also include a continuing medical education (CME) question with four multiple choice answers. The question will be published at the end of the article and made available on our dedicated CME website. The questions and answers will not be published in the same issue but will be available on https://eu-acme.org

Editorials

Platinum Priority Editorials
These are invited commentaries on current topics or on papers published elsewhere in the issue. The word count limit is 1000 and 10 references are allowed. Please limit illustrations (figures or tables) to one. We kindly ask that the number of authors be limited to no more than three. We will allow supplementary material to be submitted and reviewed, but this material will be available online only if accepted. All editorials are solicited by the editors and should not be submitted without prior written approval. The editorial should include a link to the related manuscript with a phrase such as "In this issue of European Urology, Smith et al ?" The editorial should briefly review the findings, highlight good and bad points of the work, and set the place of this work within the scientific community. The most interesting editorials are opinionated but balanced. The authors are given the right to a brief (less than 500 words) reply to most Platinum Priority Editorials.

Platinum Opinion Editorials

Platinum Opinion Editorials are stand-alone opinion pieces that discuss an important and contemporary element of urological care. They should highlight current problems in this field, and identify potential solutions.

A Platinum Opinion Editorial has no abstract. The report is unstructured, but should lead the reader from concept to conclusion. The manuscript is limited to 1,000 words (excluding references, and legends), two figures or tables, and 10 references. Supplementary online content is welcomed for the work and is likely to be necessary. We kindly ask that the number of authors be limited to no more than three.

Platinum Opinion Editorials require a take home message of two or three sentences (no more than 40 words) summarising the main message expressed in the article that must be uploaded as a separate file or included at the end of the manuscript.

Letters to the Editor

Letters to the Editor are considered for publication (subject to editing and abridgment) provided they do not contain material that has been submitted or published elsewhere. They must be submitted online via Editorial Manager at https://www.editorialmanager.com/EURUROL/ .

Please note that European Urology considers two different types of Letters to the Editor:

1) Letter to the Editor about a recent journal article
Letters referring to a recent journal article must be received within three months of its publication. For example, a letter referring to an article published in the January issue must be submitted online no later than March 31st. Letters submitted after the allowed time will not be considered. The text, not including references, must not exceed 500 words. A maximum of three authors and five references are allowed. Neither tables nor figures are allowed. Subheadings are not permitted for this article type.

2) Research Letter
Original research that is of interest but does not fulfil all the requirements needed for publication as a full-length manuscript can be submitted as a letter to the editor. There is no limit to the number of authors but the letter must have a title and can include a figure. The text, not including references, tables, figures, or legends, must not exceed 500 words. No more than five references and either one table or one figure are allowed.

Brief Correspondence

These manuscripts report novel, exciting urological research. The focus may be basic, translational, or clinical and can include all aspects of urological care. The format is shorter than original articles and so articles best suited are those with concise presentation. These articles are not suited to pilot or incomplete studies with insufficient material for a full manuscript. Articles for this section may be directly submitted or invited by the editorial team following a previously submitted original article.

The format of the manuscript comprises an unstructured abstract (up to 200 words) that should introduce and briefly summarise the work and a patient summary (two or three short sentences in plain English to describe your findings to a nonmedical audience. For example: "In this report we looked at outcomes for invasive bladder cancer in a large European population. We found that outcomes varied with patient age and treating centre. We conclude that the best outcomes are seen in younger patients treated at high-volume hospitals.").

The main report is also unstructured but should lead the reader from the concept through completion and a conclusion of the work. The manuscript is limited to 1000 words (excluding abstract, references, and legends), two figures or tables, and 10 references. Supplementary online content is welcomed for this work and is likely to be necessary. Brief Correspondence articles also require a two or three sentence take home message (no more than 40 words) summarising the main message expressed in the article, which must be uploaded as a separate file.

Words of Wisdom

Words of Wisdom contributions are by invitation only. If you are interested in submitting a piece for consideration in this section, please contact the editorial office at [email protected].

Fast Track Articles

For new findings of sufficient importance to justify accelerated review and publication, a fast-track submission process for original articles is available. In the comments section of the submission process, authors should explicitly request this option. If the editors agree that the manuscript is worthy of fast-track publication, the authors will receive an invoice for €1000 with payment instructions from Elsevier. If accepted for fast-track submission, an article will be reviewed within 72 h (otherwise, authors will be informed that the paper will be handled within the normal peer-review process). If accepted, a fast-track submission will appear in the first available issue of the journal. Please note that payment for the Fast Track process is applied regardless of the final decision after peer review.

Residents Corner Articles

This section is reserved for original articles for which the first author is a resident in training or fellow. Authors should provide official certification of resident or fellow status when submitting an article for this specific section of the journal. This certification can be in the form of a letter on official institution letterhead signed by the head of the department and uploaded as an additional file with the manuscript.

Manuscripts must adhere to the author instructions for original articles (see above).

The two best papers published in this section during the calendar year will be awarded a special prize during the EAU annual meeting.

Open Access

European Urology offers authors a choice in publishing their research as open access. Articles are freely available to both subscribers and the wider public with permitted reuse. An open access publication fee is payable by authors or on their behalf, for example, by their research funder or institution. Regardless of how you choose to publish your article, the journal will apply the same peer review criteria and acceptance standards.

The open access fee for this journal is $5250, excluding taxes. Learn more about the Elsevier pricing policy at http://www.elsevier.com/openaccesspricing.

Elsevier has established a number of agreements with funding bodies that allow authors to comply with their funder's open access policies. Some authors may also be reimbursed for associated publication fees. To learn more about existing agreements please visit http://www.elsevier.com/fundingbodies.

After acceptance, open access papers will be published under a noncommercial license. Authors requiring a commercial Creative Commons CC BY license can apply after a manuscript is accepted for publication.

For more information please visit http://www.elsevier.com/about/open-access.

EU-ACME articles

Three articles per issue are selected by the Editor-in-Chief as EU-ACME articles. These articles are highlighted as such in the table of contents of both the printed and online versions of the journal and on the first page of the article. Upon request, authors must provide six EU-ACME questions based on the information provided in the article with the submission. Four possible answers must be provided for each question, only one of which should be correct. The correct answer should be explained in text limited to 50 words; up to three references are allowed to support this explanation. (Specific dedicated instructions for authors for these questions and answers will be provided.) The questions and answers will not be printed in the journal but will be available on the website https://eu-acme.org.

Peer Review Process and Publication

Authors will be sent notifications of the receipt of manuscripts and editorial decisions by e-mail. During the review process, authors can check the status of their submitted manuscript via the online manuscript submission and review system.

Editorial Review
All submitted manuscripts are initially reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief and assigned to the most appropriate Associate Editor. Manuscripts submitted for the surgery in motion section will also undergo peer review, supervised by the Editor-in-Chief and the Surgery Editor, and must be submitted along with an accompanying video (see above). Around 50% of submissions undergo full peer review before an editorial decision is reached. Although rare, it is possible for an exceptional manuscript to be accepted upon submission.

External Peer Review
Manuscripts considered to be of interest by the editors will be peer reviewed by internationally recognised experts on the subject. Typically, between three and eight reviewers are selected according to their expertise. Our reviewer database is constantly being updated to ensure the reviewer profile matches that of the topic being discussed in the manuscript. We welcome suggestions for reviewers from the author, although these may or may not be considered.

Reviewers are allotted 10 days to complete their reviews. The reviewers are not blinded to the names of the authors or the institution from which the manuscripts have been submitted. Manuscripts are evaluated according to the following criteria:

  • Is the work original: does the study add to our field, does it fit our mission statements, and will it be of interest to our readership?
  • Is the study methodologically sound: are the methods clear and appropriate, could the work be reproduced by others, is the sample size sufficient?
  • Does the study follow appropriate ethical guidelines (please see our reporting instructions and ethical guidance)?
  • Are results clearly presented and do they support the conclusions: are the results clear and well illustrated, do they make sense, and do they alter how we treat our patients?
  • Does the manuscript correctly reference previous relevant work: are the references relevant, up to date, and correct?
  • Is the manuscript aimed at the journal's target readership?
  • Reviewers are not expected to correct or copyedit manuscripts. Language correction is not part of the peer-review process.

    Please refer to the Structured Review Template or the Reviewer Guidelines.

    Open Peer Review
    We embrace open peer review and will publish the editorial decision letter, reviews (in anonymized form), and the authors' rebuttal along with the article.

    Response to Reviewers
    The response to reviewers should be provided in the template provided below. It is mandatory to use the same file for all subsequent revisions. This file should be provided only in .doc or .docx formats (word format) only. This template helps the reviewers and editors to quickly assess the revisions or rebuttals made by the authors against each reviewer comment.

    Response to Reviewers Template

    Statistical Review

    Statistical Analysis, Reporting, and Interpretation
    The European Urology family considers statistical review an essential part of the peer review process. Papers containing statistical results are reviewed by one of our statistical editors beginning at the R1 stage. As part of the statistical review process, the statistical editors use the following 3 sets of guidelines as a framework for review:

    • https://www.europeanurology.com/article/S0302-2838(18)31002-9/fulltext contains guidelines for reporting of statistics, including common statistical errors
    • https://www.europeanurology.com/article/S0302-2838(20)30316-X/fulltext includes journal requirements for presentation of figures and tables
    • https://www.europeanurology.com/article/S0302-2838(23)02789-6/fulltext includes a discussion on proper handling for the reporting of causality

    In order for your paper to pass statistical review, you will need to comply with all guidelines except in the case where there is a compelling scientific reason to do so (see guideline 1 in the common statistical reporting errors). Manuscripts with deviations from these guidelines should include the scientific rationale for the deviation. The large majority of statistical review comments can be avoided were the authors to implement these guidelines before submission. Papers will not be accepted for publication until signed off by a statistical editor.

    Submission of Statistical Code
    There is a strong consensus amongst statisticians that fully annotated and high-quality programming code is essential for implementing accurate and reproducible statistical analyses. It is also widely accepted that for many papers published in the biomedical literature, such code is either of poor quality or even missing altogether.
    Calls for the publication of statistical code, as well as raw data, alongside research results are based on the rationale that such publication clearly aids attempts at replication, a key criterion of science. It has also been argued that publication of code and data would improve the scientific process: when researchers know that their code and data will be reviewed by their peers, they are more likely to write better code and make sure that their data are clean and accurate.

    European Urology has therefore implemented the following policies:

    • All authors are asked to submit any statistical analysis code at the time that their research paper is accepted for publication.
    • Authors have three choices:
      a. State that no or only trivial code was used in the analyses
      b. Decline to provide code
      c. Submit their analytic code
    • The authors' choice is published alongside author contributions and funding details.
    • If authors decide to submit code, it is entirely up to them what code they submit. For instance, they may decide to submit only the code used for a subset of key analyses, or a more complete set of code, including code used to clean the data set and prepare it for analysis.
    • We do not expect that preparing code for archiving should take more than a few minutes in terms of choosing the subset of programming files to submit and perhaps writing a brief "README.TXT" document explaining features such as user-written macros.
    • Code submitted by authors is archived by the journal to be released on reasonable request by any interested party.

    Final Editorial Decision
    The final decision to accept, revise, or reject a manuscript is made by the Editor-in-Chief after carefully considering the opinion of the Associate Editor(s) handling that particular manuscript. The decision is sent to the author along with any recommendations made by the reviewers and editors.

    Publication
    Before submitting a manuscript to European Urology, authors must ensure that each requirement listed below is met. Manuscripts that do not meet these requirements will be returned to the author without review.

    Copyright
    Upon acceptance of an article, authors will be asked to complete a journal publishing agreement (for more information on this and copyright, see http://www.elsevier.com/copyright). An e-mail will be sent to the corresponding author confirming receipt of the manuscript together with a journal publishing agreement form or a link to the online version of this agreement.

    Subscribers may reproduce tables of contents or prepare lists of articles including abstracts for internal circulation within their institutions. Permission from the publisher is required for resale or distribution outside the institution and for all other derivative works, including compilations and translations (please consult http://www.elsevier.com/permissions). If excerpts from other copyrighted works are included, the author(s) must obtain written permission from the copyright owners and credit the source(s) in the article. Elsevier has preprinted forms for use by authors in these cases: please consult http://www.elsevier.com/permissions.

    Editing
    Accepted manuscripts are edited in accordance with the journal in-house style, which is based on a modified AMA style. Authors are expected to be responsible for all statements made in their work, including changes made during editing and production that are subsequently authorised by the corresponding author.

    Corrections
    Requests to publish corrections should be sent to the editorial office. Corrections are reviewed by editors and authors, published promptly, and linked online to the original article.

    Offprints
    Offprints may be ordered when the edited typescript is sent for approval to the corresponding author. Additional copies (minimum 100) can be ordered at prices quoted on the order form that will be sent with the acknowledgment letter.

    European Urology Author Conduct Code

    Author Responsibilities
    European Urology recognises the importance of making sure that all authors participate fully in each study and do not conduct themselves in a manner that may be misleading or duplicitous. Authors who do not follow the journal's authorship responsibility rules will be disciplined accordingly. This section outlines each author's responsibilities and the potential penalties that can be applied under warranted circumstances. European Urology adheres to the guidelines on authorship established by the National Library of Medicine (NLM; https://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/policy/authorship.html) and follows the ICMJE recommendations for the conduct, reporting, editing, and publication of scholarly work in medical journals (http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/).

    Corresponding Author's Roles and Responsibilities
    The corresponding author is responsible for completion and inclusion of the authorship responsibility, financial disclosure, and acknowledgment forms. Submission is an obligatory step for original, review, surgery in motion, and brief correspondence articles. A standard disclosure stating conflicts of interests, if any, can be uploaded for letters to the editor, editorials, words of wisdom, and case reports. If the disclosure form is not completed as instructed, the manuscript may not be considered for peer review and will not be published until completed. This form, along with a complete explanation of the role of the corresponding author, can be found in the Resources for Authors section of http://www.europeanurology.com and here: authorship form. The corresponding author must submit this completed form on behalf of all co-authors, if any.

    The corresponding author takes responsibility for the integrity of the work as a whole, from inception to published article. Each collaborating author should have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for appropriate portions of the content. Authorship credit should be based on: substantial contributions to conception and design, acquisition of data, analysis and interpretation of data, drafting of the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content, statistical analysis, obtaining funding, administrative, technical or material support, supervision, and any other specifics to be declared at publication. The corresponding author is obliged to indicate the co-authors' contributions to the manuscript in the appropriate field in the said form. Each co-author's specific contribution for reports of original data and systematic reviews will be included with the published manuscript.

    The corresponding author will serve on behalf of all co-authors as the primary correspondent with the editorial office during the submission and review process. If the manuscript is accepted, the corresponding author will review an edited typescript and proof and will be identified as the corresponding author in the published article. The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all information included in the authorship responsibility, financial disclosure and funding support form and the acknowledgment section, if any, is complete and has been agreed on by all authors. Acknowledgment is the general term for the list of contributions, credits, and other information included at the end of the text of a manuscript before the references.

    Group Authorship
    If authorship is attributed to a group (either solely or in addition to one or more individual authors), all members of the group must meet the full criteria and requirements for authorship as described above. If that is not the case, a group must designate one or more individuals as authors or members of a writing group who meet full authorship criteria and requirements. Other group members who are not authors may be listed in an acknowledgment or appendix.

    Declaration of Interest and Financial Disclosures
    A conflict of interest may exist when an author (or the author's institution or employer) has financial or personal relationships or affiliations that could influence (or bias) the author's decisions, work, or manuscript.

    Authors are expected to provide detailed information about all relevant financial interests and relationships or financial conflicts (e.g., employment/affiliation, grants or funding, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, royalties, or patents filed, received, or pending), particularly those present at the time the research was conducted and through publication, as well as other financial interests (such as patent applications in preparation) that represent potential future financial gain.

    For example, authors of a manuscript about prostate cancer should report all financial relationships they have with all manufacturers of products used in the management of prostate cancer, and not just those relationships with companies whose specific products are mentioned in the manuscript.

    Although many universities and other institutions have established policies and thresholds for reporting financial interests and other conflicts of interest, European Urology requires complete disclosure of all relevant financial relationships and potential financial conflicts of interest, regardless of amount or value. Downloads: authorship form.

    If authors are uncertain about what constitutes a relevant financial interest or relationship, they should contact the editorial office.

    Failure to include this information in the manuscript will prohibit commencement of the review process of the manuscript.

    For all accepted manuscripts, each author's disclosures of conflicts of interest and relevant financial interests and affiliations and declarations of no such interests will be published.

    The policy requesting disclosure of conflicts of interest applies for all manuscript submissions. If an author's disclosure of potential conflicts of interest is determined to be inaccurate or incomplete after publication, a correction will be published to rectify the original published disclosure statement.

    Authors are also required to report detailed information regarding all financial and material support for the research and work, including but not limited to grant support, funding sources, and provision of equipment and supplies as part of the submission process. For all accepted manuscripts, each author's source of funding will be published.


    Correction of Published Work
    The primary methods used for correcting the literature are errata and retractions:

    • Errata. Published changes or emendations to an earlier article, frequently referred to as corrections or corrigenda, are considered by the NLM to be errata, regardless of the nature or origin of the error. The NLM does not differentiate between errors that originated in the publication process and errors of logic or methodology.
    • Retractions. Retractions identify a citation that was previously published and is now retracted through a formal issuance from the author, publisher, or other authorised agent. The NLM does not differentiate between articles that are retracted because of honest error and those that are retracted because of scientific misconduct or plagiarism. If the notification in the journal is labelled as a retraction or withdrawal, NLM will index it as a retraction.
    • Expressions of Concern. This indexing term was introduced by the ICMJE and incorporated into the NLM system in 2004. Expression of concern is a label that an editor may use to draw attention to possible problems, but it does not go as far as retracting or correcting an article.

    Author Misconduct Potential author misconduct may arise from both submitted manuscripts and published articles. Definitions of misconduct are as follows:

    • Plagiarism, or attempting to use another's work as one's own.
    • Fabrication or falsification of data (including deliberate misrepresentation of results and their implications).
    • Publication of content that corresponds substantially with previously printed or electronically published content without recognition, referencing, and explanation of this overlap and the advances of the current work.
    • Failure to reference a contributing author or removing an author without written consent from the author in question and the contributing co-authors.
    • Inappropriately giving credit to an author who did not contribute to the drafting, revision, or supervision of the article and therefore does not meet the authorship requirements as stated in the authorship responsibility, financial disclosure, and acknowledgment form. For further information see the Authorship Factsheet .
    • Failure to disclose relationships in accordance with the European Urology conflict of interest policy, as listed in the resources for authors at http://www.europeanurology.com.

    Author misconduct does not include honest errors or differences of opinion, which may be managed through the journal's errata process.

    Journal Response to Potential Author Misconduct Once the editor and/or publisher has been informed of possible author misconduct, a comprehensive internal investigation will be carried out to determine whether or not and to what degree an author has breached the responsibility contract. If misconduct is identified, the editor will contact the author to discuss the concern and explain the determined consequences according to the NLM. If the author refuses to comment or respond to the allegation of misconduct, that same author will assume responsibility with no further discussion.

    If instead, at any point during the journal's investigation, an author admits to misconduct or provides a satisfactory explanation, the journal will conclude its investigation and consider appropriate actions to take.

    Penalties
    If misconduct is verified or admitted, the journal may apply an appropriate penalty against the author(s) at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief and the publisher. The level and length of the penalties may vary, depending on the severity of the misconduct and whether the manuscript in question was submitted or published. Authors will be notified in writing.

    Examples of possible punishment may include but are not limited to:

    • Letter of reprimand to the author(s) of a submitted or published manuscript.
    • Notice to the authors' institution and/or the institution where the research was conducted.
    • Restriction of the author(s) from publishing in European Urology for a specified period of time.
    • European Urology reserves the right to reject a submitted manuscript and to retract or publish an erratum or statement of concern about a published article, as appropriate.
    • European Urology reserves the right to inform editors and publishers of peer-reviewed journals publishing in similar or identical fields.