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As the official open-access journal of two of the largest American associations in its specialty, Annals of Thoracic Surgery Short Reports enjoys outstanding editorial leadership and maintains rigorous selection standards, brought to you by the same Editorial Board of The Annals of Thoracic Surgery.
Aims & Scope:
Annals of Thoracic Surgery Short Reports ("Annals Short Reports") welcomes a wide range of short-form original research related to clinical advances, current surgical methods, controversial topics and techniques, case and image reports, for adult acquired and congenital cardiovascular disease, thoracic surgery, cardiothoracic transplantation, mechanical circulatory support, perioperative medicine, as well as education and training, with a special emphasis on digital media and supplemental content, designed for easy and open sharing of data, results, and content across our social media and other channels in coordination with our publisher, Elsevier.
Annals Short Reports aims to attract sound science-emerging data, pilot studies, clinical trial protocol and design studies, new technologies, techniques, education curriculums, and methodology and case reports. Annals Short Reports is committed to providing a new venue for cardiothoracic surgeons to relate experiences in a modern approach which will help improve patient care.
The electronic issue posted at https://www.journals.elsevier.com/annals-of-thoracic-surgery-short-reports is the journal of record.
Editorial Office Contact
Joanna Chikwe, MD
Editor-in-Chief, The Annals of Thoracic Surgery & Annals of Thoracic Surgery Short Reports
The Society of Thoracic Surgeons
633 N St. Clair Street, 21st Floor
Chicago, IL 60611-3658
PHONE: (312) 202-5808
Email: [email protected]
Electronic submission of all manuscripts is required through our Editorial Manager (EM) online manuscript and peer review tracking system.
Submission Guidelines
Author Contribution
Annals Short Reports follows International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) criteria for authorship. Each author is required to certify by completing their co-author verification issued from the manuscript system that he or she has participated sufficiently in the work to take responsibility for a meaningful share of the content of the manuscript, and that the following ICMJE criteria are met by each listed author:
- Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND
- Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; AND
- Final approval of the version to be published; AND
- Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
The corresponding author is responsible ensuring that each author confirms their authorship, as well as confirming all authors had complete freedom of investigation in all aspects of the study (full control of the design of the study, methods used, outcome parameters and results, analysis of data, and production of the written report) and that no undisclosed writers contributed to the report. During the submission process, the corresponding author will also, on behalf of the authors, vouch for the accuracy and completeness of all data reported in the manuscript.
Author Conflict of Interest/Disclosures
In the interest of transparency, we ask all authors to disclose all relationships/activities/interests that are related to the content of your manuscript. "Related" means any relation with for-profit or not-for-profit third parties whose interests may be affected by the content of the manuscript. Disclosure represents a commitment to transparency and does not necessarily indicate a bias. If you are in doubt about whether to list a relationship/activity/interest, it is preferable that you do so.
The author's relationships/activities/interests should be defined broadly. For example, if a manuscript pertained to the epidemiology of hypertension, authors should declare all relationships with manufacturers of antihypertensive medication, even if that medication is not mentioned in the manuscript.
Authors will be required to complete a Declaration of Interest Statement using Elsevier's Declaration Tool, which is modeled from the ICMJE recommendations for the disclosure of commercial interests. Authors here must report any potential conflicts of interest/disclosures (personal fees, funding, patents, etc.) Authors must fully disclose all commercial financial relationships. A video guide for how to complete the declaration process is provided here.
By completing and attaching the Declaration of Interest Statement, the corresponding author is thus responsible ensuring that all authors report their disclosures prior to submission, and that all conflicts/disclosures reported via the statement are comprehensive and accurate.
If no disclosures exist, authors must still complete the declaration process and upload the statement explicitly stating there are no disclosures associated with the manuscript.
A statement of author declarations, with or without disclosures, will be published at the end of each published article.
Authorship Order
All author listings must be identical and consistently up-to-date. The order of authors as provided on the title page must match the order of authors as inputted into the Editorial Manager system. At revision, please ensure that any changes to author listings are made consistently across the entire submission.
Post-Acceptance Changes in Authorship
Once a manuscript is accepted for publication, a) authors cannot be removed from or added to the author list, and b) the order of the authors cannot be changed without written permission (email confirmation and/or PDF signatures are permitted) from each of the co-authors and approval by the editor/editorial staff.
Informed Consent and Consent to Publish
Annals Short Reports adheres to the principles set forth in the Helsinki Declaration, which requires that all published reports concerning human participants are conducted in accordance with its universally accepted principles.
Human Investigation
Institutional Review Board (IRB), Ethics Review Board (ERB), Ethics Committee (EC), or a comparable group must approve all articles that contain information about human subjects. The local IRB also decides whether or not patient consent is required or waived. The IRB, ERB, or EC, not the author, makes review decisions for every study involving human subjects or information about human subjects. The investigator should retain, but not submit the decision letter granting IRB approval. Study approval and patient consent or waiver of the need for consent must be stated in the first paragraph under the Patients and Methods section. Authors will also confirm this approval, if applicable, during the submission process.
Patient Identification
Patients have a right to privacy. Therefore, identifying information, including patients' images, names, initials, or hospital numbers, should NOT be included in videos, recordings, written descriptions, photographs, and pedigrees unless the information is essential for scientific purposes, and you have obtained written informed consent from the patient for publication in print and electronic form from the patient (or parent, guardian, next of kin, or other legally authorized representative). If consent is subject to conditions, the editorial office must be informed.
For case reports or any submissions discussing single human subjects, it is expected that the authors of the manuscript obtained signed authorization from the patient/subject or the patient/subject's legal representative (in cases where the subject is deceased) as consent to publish the information disclosed in the report. Most reports should avoid identifiable information, which should be included only in the very rare instances in which such images are essential to the manuscript. However, if any patients are identifiable from imaging, illustrations, photographs, detailed clinical data, or case report information, authors will confirm their possession of informed written consent for publication during the submission process. Informed consent to publish means that the patient must enter into the agreement to publish voluntarily and with a full understanding of the implications for the subject. If such consent has not been obtained, personal details of patients included in any part of the paper and in any supplementary materials (including all illustrations and videos) must be removed before submission.
All papers discussing patient data (even retrospectively) should contain a statement about informed written consent for publication from the patient(s), whether on the title page or in the Methods or Case Report/Description section.
Humane Animal Care
When animals are used as subjects, institutional approval of the protocol is necessary and authors should include a statement in the Methods indicating that investigators complied with the 2011 "Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals" (https://www.nap.edu/catalog/12910/guide-for-the-care-and-use-of-laboratory-animals-eighth), recommended by the U.S. National Institutes of Health, or with equivalent guidelines administered by the author's governmental regulatory body. When no formal ethics review process is available, authors must state that humane care was provided in animal experiments, in accordance with either of the above guidelines.
Scientific Responsibility
The Society of Thoracic Surgeons and Annals Short Reports require all authors to adhere to the highest ethical standards of our profession. Ethical breaches include scientific misconduct (falsification or fabrication), plagiarism, and redundant publication and are described more fully in Ann Thorac Surg. 1999;68:1, Ann Thorac Surg. 2007;84:717-719, Ann Thorac Surg. 2012;93:9-10, and Ann Thorac Surg. 2015;100:784.
Annals Short Reports follows the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Guidelines for issues of fraud, image manipulation, and duplicate publication. Briefly, the Editor will consider retracting a publication if:
- there is clear evidence that the findings are unreliable, either as a result of misconduct (eg, data fabrication) or honest error (eg, miscalculation or experimental error)
- the findings have previously been published elsewhere without proper crossreferencing, permission or justification (ie, cases of redundant publication)
- it constitutes plagiarism
- it reports unethical research
More information on the COPE Retraction Guidelines can be found at https://publicationethics.org/files/retraction%20guidelines.pdf.
Permissions
Written permission must be obtained from the appropriate copyright holder to reproduce previously published or copyrighted material in Annals Short Reports. The original source of the material must be properly cited in the accompanying figure/table legend. The corresponding author is responsible for providing written permission, which must be sent to Annals Short Reports upon manuscript submission via email ([email protected]).
You can obtain permission to reproduce Annals Short Reports content from ScienceDirect by following these steps:
- Search for the material you wish to use on https://www.sciencedirect.com
- Click on the "get rights and content" link on the article's landing page
- You will then be redirected to the Copyright Clearance Center RightsLink page where you will follow the prompts to request permission
- Once your permission request is approved, send the Elsevier License Terms and Conditions to Annals Short Reports via email ([email protected]).
Elsevier is a signatory to the STM (International Association of Scientific, Technical & Medical Publishers) Permissions Guidelines, last updated March 2015.The Guidelines encourage the granting of permission by one STM signatory publisher to another to re-use limited amounts of material from published works in subsequent publications. Permission will be granted by one signatory publisher to another free of charge to:
- Use up to three figures (including tables) from a journal article or book chapter, but:
- not more than five figures from a whole book or journal issue/edition;
- not more than six figures from an annual journal volume;
- not more than three figures from works published by a single publisher for an article;
- not more than three figures from works published by a single publisher for a book chapter; and in total not more than thirty figures from a single publisher for republication in a book, including a multi-volume book.
- Single text extracts of less than 400 words from a journal article or book chapter, but:
- not more than a total of 800 words from a whole book or journal issue/edition.
Permission automatically includes re-use for electronic versions of the work as well as for subsequent editions and translations, except as outlined on the STM website. When granting permissions, STM publishers will not request a complimentary copy of the new work except in limited circumstances. For further information please visit the STM website or visit the Permissions Helpdesk.
Some STM signatory publishers, including Elsevier, do not require written notification for re-use of material that falls within these limits outlined above by other STM signatory publishers, which means that permission is automatically granted subject to the borrowing publisher's proper acknowledgement of the original source of the material. The updated list of STM publishers who have opted out of notifications for permission requests within the specified limits is available on the STM website.
NIH Initiative
The United States National Institutes of Health (NIH) requires that all investigators funded by the NIH submit or have submitted for them an electronic version of their final, peer-reviewed manuscripts upon acceptance for publication. The electronic manuscript is sent to the National Library of Medicine's PubMed Central (PMC) (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc), where it is made publicly available no later than 12 months after the official date of publication (http://publicaccess.nih.gov).
If your article is ultimately accepted, Elsevier will submit the electronic version of the final, peer-reviewed manuscript to PMC on behalf of the authors. For this process to take place, however, the corresponding author should disclose NIH funding on the Elsevier Rights and Access form, which will be sent to authors upon manuscript transmittal. The following process takes place after authors indicate on this form that their article is NIH-funded:
- Manuscript is released to PMC.
- PMC generates their own PDF file and sends to the Author to approve.
- NIHMS ID # allocated.
- Once the Corresponding Author approves the PDF file generated by PMC/NIH helpdesk, a PMC ID # will then be allocated to the manuscript.
Randomized Controlled Trials
Annals Short Reports follows the ICMJE recommendations for the conduct, reporting, editing, and publication of scholarly work in medical journals by both endorsing the CONSORT Statement regarding randomized controlled trials (http://www.consort-statement.org) and supporting mandatory registration of all publicly or commercially funded clinical trials as a condition for publication. Annals Short Reports also recommends that investigators who plan to publish their clinical trial work review the CONSORT E-Flowchart and Checklist (available at http://www.consort-statement.org/consort-2010) before enrollment of subjects begins. Authors are also encouraged to submit their CONSORT checklist and diagram at the time of submission, leaving blank the page number of any item that wasn't done as part of the study; no study is expected to have addressed all the items on the checklist. These documents are intended to be used for review purposes only, and will not be published. Authors will see "CONSORT checklist/diagram" file type during the submission process.
Randomized controlled trials should be free of bias and of misleading information due to, for example, insufficient numbers of subjects and failure to define primary and secondary endpoints. The Checklist succinctly and comprehensively defines the attributes of a well-designed and reported randomized controlled trial.
Registration of Clinical Trials
Annals Short Reports supports mandatory registration of all publicly or commercially funded clinical trials, including Phase I and II trials, as a condition for publication. Information regarding requirements for registration of a clinical trial may be found at http://www.icmje.org/#clin_trials. Information for registering a clinical trial is available at http://clinicaltrials.gov. The trial registration number should appear at the end of the abstract. Authors will be prompted to confirm the registration number during the submission process.
Licensing Statement
After manuscript acceptance, the publisher will issue an author licensing agreement for publication in Annals Short Reports. The corresponding author shall promptly respond and complete the form agreeing to grant The Society of Thoracic Surgeons an exclusive publishing and distribution license in the manuscript and any tables, illustrations or other material submitted for publication as part of the manuscript (the "Article") in print, electronic and all other media (whether now known or later developed), in any form, in all languages, throughout the world, for the full term of copyright, and the right to license others to do the same, effective when the Article is accepted for publication. This license includes the right to enforce the rights granted hereunder against third parties. By completing the form, authors warrant that the article is an original work without fabrication, fraud, or plagiarism; does not infringe on any copyright or the proprietary right of any third party; is not under consideration by another publication; and has not been previously published. Authors also warrant that they each meet the requirements for authorship enumerated in Annals Short Reports' Information for Authors (above) and understand that if the paper or part of the paper is found to be faulty or fraudulent, each author shares the responsibility.
Annals Short Reports and Elsevier support responsible sharing. Find out how you can share your research published in Elsevier journals.
Peer Review and Editor Authorship Policy
Annals Short Reports operates a single anonymized review process. All contributions will be initially assessed by the Editor-in-Chief for suitability for the journal. Original research papers deemed suitable are then typically assigned to a handling editor and/or sent to a minimum of 2 independent expert reviewers to assess the scientific quality of the paper. "Feature" type manuscripts (Case Reports, How to Do Its, and Images in CT Surgery) may be reviewed solely by an Associate Editor or sent to a minimum of 1-2 independent expert reviewers to assess its novelty and impact. The Editor-in-Chief is responsible for the final decision regarding acceptance or rejection of articles, and their decision is final. More information on types of peer review.
Editors of Annals Short Reports may submit manuscripts for consideration for publication. However, Editors are not involved in assignment or decisions about papers which they have co-written themselves or have been written by family members or colleagues, or which relate to products or services in which the editor has an interest. Any such submission is subject to all of the journal's usual procedures, with peer review handled independently of the relevant editor and their research groups.
Archiving Policy for Submissions
Any manuscript files, unpublished or published, will be removed from the online manuscript and peer review system after 12 months.
Reporting sex- and gender-based analyses
Reporting guidance
For research involving or pertaining to humans, animals or eukaryotic cells, investigators should integrate sex and gender-based analyses (SGBA) into their research design according to funder/sponsor requirements and best practices within a field. Authors should address the sex and/or gender dimensions of their research in their article. In cases where they cannot, they should discuss this as a limitation to their research's generalizability. Importantly, authors should explicitly state what definitions of sex and/or gender they are applying to enhance the precision, rigor and reproducibility of their research and to avoid ambiguity or conflation of terms and the constructs to which they refer (see Definitions section below). Authors can refer to the Sex and Gender Equity in Research (SAGER) guidelines and the SAGER guidelines checklist. These offer systematic approaches to the use and editorial review of sex and gender information in study design, data analysis, outcome reporting and research interpretation - however, please note there is no single, universally agreed-upon set of guidelines for defining sex and gender.
Definitions
Sex generally refers to a set of biological attributes that are associated with physical and physiological features (e.g., chromosomal genotype, hormonal levels, internal and external anatomy). A binary sex categorization (male/female) is usually designated at birth ("sex assigned at birth"), most often based solely on the visible external anatomy of a newborn. Gender generally refers to socially constructed roles, behaviors, and identities of women, men and gender-diverse people that occur in a historical and cultural context and may vary across societies and over time. Gender influences how people view themselves and each other, how they behave and interact and how power is distributed in society. Sex and gender are often incorrectly portrayed as binary (female/male or woman/man) and unchanging whereas these constructs actually exist along a spectrum and include additional sex categorizations and gender identities such as people who are intersex/have differences of sex development (DSD) or identify as non-binary. Moreover, the terms "sex" and "gender" can be ambiguous—thus it is important for authors to define the manner in which they are used. In addition to this definition guidance and the SAGER guidelines, the resources on this page offer further insight around sex and gender in research studies.
Open access
Please visit our Open Access page for more information.
- Prepare manuscripts in Microsoft Word using 11 point Arial or Times New Roman fonts. Do NOT submit your manuscript in PDF format, as it cannot be processed by the online manuscript tracking system. Manuscripts should be typed double-spaced throughout (including title page, abstract, text, references, tables, and legends) with one inch (2.5 cm) margins all around.
- Arrange manuscript as follows: (1) title page, (2) abstract, (3) text, (4) acknowledgments, (5) disclosures of all co-authors (or a statement indicating there are no disclosures if applicable), (6) references (do not use EndNotes), (7) tables, and (8) figure legends.
- Number pages consecutively, beginning with the title page as page 1 and ending with the page of figure legends. Do not use manuscript line numbers. Do not embed tables in the body of the text; they should appear after the references. "Order of Content Within Manuscripts" is described below.
- Cite references, illustrations, and tables in the order in which they are mentioned in the text.
- Abbreviations. Consult the American Medical Association Manual of Style, 10th edition, for recommended abbreviations. Define abbreviations at first appearance in the text. If 8 or more abbreviations or acronyms are used, provide a separate table of abbreviations and acronyms.
- Measurements and weights should be given in standard metric units.
Follow the "Guidelines for Data Reporting and Nomenclature" published in Annals of Thoracic Surgery (1988;46:260.1) for guidance on statistical nomenclature and data analysis. Statistical models and formulas used in the analysis of data should be stated in the last paragraph(s) of "Patients and Methods." - Footnotes. Type footnotes at the bottom of the manuscript page on which they are cited.
- Suppliers. Credit suppliers of drugs, equipment, and other commercial material mentioned in the article within parentheses in text by providing the company name, city and state (or city and country if outside the United States).
Manuscript Components
Title Page Elements
Article Title
Provide a concise, informative title, with no unnecessary words. Do not use abbreviations or commercial names/brand names in titles. Original titles are required for all manuscripts, including Commentaries, Letters to the Editor, and Reply Letters to the Editor. Please ensure titles are short and provide only the essential information. Titles should be no more than 100 characters.
- Certain article types also require a short title/running head of no more than 40 characters.
Author Information
List all authors' full names, up to 2 academic degrees, and affiliations (including institution, department, and division). If there is no division, please list the author's specific subspecialty. Following each author's full name, add a superscript number that corresponds to their appropriate affiliation.
- Annals Short Reports adheres to ICMJE guidelines for attributing authorship.
COI Statement and Separate Funding Statement
All possible disclosures, conflicts of interest, and sources of funding for the work for each author should be listed on the title page, including explicit statements that there is no conflict and/or no funding if that is the case. The Declaration of Interest Statement using Elsevier's Declaration Tool will also be provided with the submission and appear in the peer-reviewed PDF.
Informed Patient Consent/Consent to Publication
For any manuscript with human subjects, provide confirmation informed patient consent was obtained (including IRB/ERB approval date) or provide waiver statement if not required.
For case reports or any submission discussing single human subjects, it is expected that the authors of the manuscript obtained signed authorization from the patient/subject or the patient/subject's legal representative (in cases where the subject is deceased) as consent to publish the information disclosed in the case report. Authors will confirm this during the submission process, and submit a Patient Consent Statement with the submission and appear in the peer-reviewed PDF.
Meeting Presentation
If the paper has been or is to be presented at the annual meeting of The Society of Thoracic Surgeons or the Southern Thoracic Surgical Association, or any other meeting, provide the full name, location, and dates of the meeting.
Article Word Count
On the title page, list the article word count (all inclusive). Please see the Article Types for specific word count limits.
Corresponding Author Contact Information
The title page must list the Corresponding Author's full name, exact postal address (with zip/postal code), institution, department, division, and email address. The corresponding author must have a graduate degree; accept responsibility for the integrity of the submitted work; and attest that no undisclosed authors contributed to the manuscript.
Abstract/Visual Abstract
"Short Report" and "Mini-Review" Articles. Provide a structured abstract, no longer than 250 words, divided into four sections: Background, Methods, Results, and Conclusions.
These subject headings are not part of the following sentence, which must be a complete sentence. Avoid abbreviations and acronyms. Indicate the abstract word count below the abstract.
In addition, authors of original research articles and reviews are encouraged to submit a Graphical/Visual Abstract. A Visual Abstract (VA) is a single, concise, pictorial and visual summary of the main findings of the article. This could be a figure that is specially designed for this purpose, which captures the content of the article for readers at a single glance. These are displayed in online search results, as well as with the online article and its content page.
Should the manuscript be accepted for publication, Annals Short Reports does not guarantee the VA will also be accepted or used. Subject experts on our Editorial Board work with authors to improve and strengthen their VAs, and we have created an online resource page for authors, which includes a "primer" on VA creation and provides free templates for authors to use in creating their VAs. For more information on how to create a VA, and to access our more than 100+ VA templates, please see our online resource page: https://www.annalsthoracicsurgery.org/va-onlineresource .
Text
Text should be organized as follows: Introduction, Patients and Methods (or Material and Methods), Results, and Comment.
Acknowledgments
Grants, financial support, and technical or other assistance are acknowledged at the end of the text before the references. All financial support for the project must be acknowledged and will be printed in the article. Author disclosures of commercial interest will appear at the end of the article.
A disclosure/funding statement is required for all studies that received financial, property, or intellectual aid from a commercial source for all categories of articles published in Annals Short Reports. The disclosure statement must state the source(s) of all funds used to support the study or to perform an evaluation and whether or not property or tested technology was purchased, borrowed, or donated to the study.
Authors may also include in the Acknowledgment any contributions from individuals who do not fully meet ICMJE authorship criteria.
References
Identify references in the text in consecutive numeric order by means of superscript Arabic (1-3, etc) numerals (comma between numbers; use a hyphen for a series of 3 or more). Do not cite personal communications, manuscripts in preparation, or other unpublished data as references.
Type references double-spaced after text or acknowledgments beginning on a separate sheet. Number consecutively in the order in which they appear in the text. The references must NOT be linked to the manuscript with EndNotes because that formatting is not compatible with automated publication production processes.
Journal references should provide inclusive page numbers; book references should cite specific page numbers.
Authors are solely responsible for accuracy, completeness, and nonduplication of references and for the correct spelling of names of all authors.
Journal abbreviations should conform to those used in PubMed. The style and punctuation of the references should follow AMA (please see the formats outlined in the examples below):
Journal Article
Miller CB, Rowlings PA, Zhang MJ, et al. The effect of graft purging with 4-hydroperoxycyclophosphamide in autologous bone marrow transplantation for acute myelogenous leukemia. Exp Hematol. 2001;29:1336-1346. (List all authors if 6 or fewer; otherwise list first 3 and add "et al.")
Chapter in Book
Boushey CJ. Application of research paradigms to nutrition practice. In: Coulston AM, Boushey CJ, Ferruzzi MG, eds. Nutrition in the Prevention and Treatment of Disease. 3rd ed. Academic Press; 2013:99-105.
Website/Webpage
Recommendations for primary care practice. US Preventive Services Task Force. Accessed March 9, 2022. https://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/Page/Name/recommendations
Tables
For best results, Tables should be created using the Table tool in a Word document. Limit one table per page. Each table should be numbered (Arabic) and have a title above. Legends and explanatory notes should be placed below the table. Abbreviations used in the table follow the legend in alphabetic order. Lower case letter superscripts beginning with "a" and following in alphabetic order are used for notations regarding statistics. For P values less than .001, report as "P < .001"; for P values between .001 and .01, report the value to the nearest thousandth; for P values greater than or equal to .01, report the value to the nearest hundredth; and for P values greater than .99, report as "P > .99." Do not list NS ("not significant") for any values. Tables should be self-explanatory, and tabulated data should not be duplicated in the text or illustrations. Tables must be submitted as part of the text file and not as illustrations.
Figure legends
Figure legends should be numbered (Arabic) and typed double-spaced in order of appearance beginning on a separate sheet. Identify (in alphabetical order) all abbreviations appearing in the illustrations at the end of each legend. Give the type of stain and magnification power for all photomicrographs.
Figures/Illustrations
Images or figures are submitted as one or more separate files that may contain no more than four images per file. Within each file containing images, use the figure number (eg, Figure 1A) as the image filename. The system accepts image files formatted in TIFF and EPS.
Line art (black and white or color) and combinations of gray scale images and line art should be at least 1000 DPI. Line art, such as Kaplan-Meier curves, also includes any bar graphs, line graphs, scatter plots, etc. Color images and gray scale halftones must be at least 300 DPI.
For further information on figure preparation, please see https://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions. Symbols should be of a similar size. Images should be tightly cropped. Please obtain technical help if you are unfamiliar with image files. Annals Short Reports editorial staff is available during business hours 9am-5pm, Central time U.S., Monday through Friday, to help answer questions.
Illustrations may not be separately copyrighted or have a copyright logo. Illustrations may have a discrete signature of the artist if permitted by the payer of the illustrative work. As a condition for publication, copyright for all art is ceded to The Society of Thoracic Surgeons.
Symbols, letters, numbers and contrasting fills must be distinct, easily distinguished, and clearly legible when the illustration is reduced in size. Most illustrations will be reproduced at a width of one column (8.25 cm; 3-1/4 inches). The lettering on artwork should be no smaller than 10 point font for normal text. Smaller lettering will not be legible. Black, white, and widely crosshatched bars are preferable; do not use stippling, gray fill, or thin lines.
Written permission for publication from any patients (masked or unmasked) appearing in photographs must be obtained by the authors and will be confirmed/declared by the corresponding author during the submission process.
Color illustrations. Color illustrations do not incur a color surcharge and are usually preferable over black and white illustrations. All photomicrographs must be submitted in color.
Original illustrations. If your manuscript is accepted for publication and the art you have submitted online is not acceptable for reproduction purposes, staff may notify you to send a set of original illustrations. These illustrations will not be returned.
Supplemental Material
Supplemental material (including any supplemental tables, text, figures, or videos) should be uploaded by authors during the submission process. For any supplemental tables, text, and figures, authors should select the "Supplemental/Appendix material" file type at submission. For videos only, authors should select the "Supplemental Video" file type.
Please note: The maximum file size for any peer-reviewed video is 300MB. You will need to reduce your file size if it is over this limit. Authors will be required to comply with requests to remove material if it is deemed excessive.
Article Types
Annals Short Reports welcomes a wide range of short-form original research related to surgery for adult acquired and congenital cardiovascular disease, thoracic surgery, cardiothoracic transplantation, and mechanical circulatory support, as well as papers on new and evolving technology, basic science, perioperative medicine, education, and training.
The primary feature and article type for this journal is the "Short Report", which is aimed at delivering concise and meaningful delivery of original research in our field.
Authors are requested at submission to categorize their articles appropriately to ensure proper editor and reviewer assignment. The following topics are available for author selection for most article types:
- Aorta
- Coronary
- Valve
- Congenital & Pediatric
- Lung
- Mediastinum & Esophagus
- Transplant & Mechanical Support
- Perioperative & Critical Care
- Science & Research Methods
- Policy & Ethics
- Education & Professional Development
- Global Health
Authors can submit manuscripts under the following article types:
- Short Report*
- Mini-Review
- New Technology
- Case Report
- How to Do It
- Images in Cardiothoracic Surgery
- Editorial
- Letter to the Editor
* Short Report Submission Requirements should be used when submitting manuscripts presented at STS or STSA Meetings (e.g., STS Oral and Poster Presentations) that were either referred to Annals Short Reports from The Annals of Thoracic Surgery or submitted directly. Please select the appropriate article type when submitting a meeting paper; the article type should correspond with the meeting at which your abstract was presented.
The following article types are invited manuscripts and cannot be submitted through Editorial Manager without an invitation: Invited Expert Review, Invited Perspective, How I Teach It, Commentary, and Reply to Letter to the Editor. If you would like to submit a proposal for an invited article type, please inquire at [email protected].
Short Report
| Manuscript Word Limit | 2500* |
|---|---|
| Abstract (type/Word limit) | Structured / 250 |
| Visual Abstract | Encouraged at submission |
| Title | Creative Title recommended; 100 character limit |
| Key Messages/Takeaways | 2-3 items; ≤ 75 word max |
| Tables and Figures | 4 combined; further may be provided as supplemental material |
| References | ≤10 |
| Authors | 10; if beyond, justification |
| Supplemental Material | May be included without restriction (subject to editor discretion) but each supplemental component (video, figure, or table) must be identified (called out) |
| IRB/ERB/EC Approval (if applicable) | Included if applicable on title page & methods section |
| Informed Consent Statement | Included if applicable on title page & methods section |
| Author Contribution and Disclosures | • The corresponding author is required to upload a Declaration of Interest Statement for all author disclosures via the Elsevier Declaration tool upon submission. • Upon submission, each co-author will verify authorship and attest to meeting ICMJE author criteria. • Revised manuscripts will not be assigned to the handling editor until all co-authors have verified authorship |
Submissions that do not meet the submission requirements of the corresponding article type will be returned to the corresponding author for appropriate revision prior to editorial review.
Mini Review
| Manuscript Word Limit | 3500* |
|---|---|
| Abstract (type/Word limit) | Structured / 250 |
| Visual Abstract | Encouraged at submission |
| Title | Creative Title recommended; 100 character limit |
| Key Messages/Takeaways | 2-3 items; ≤ 75 word max |
| Tables and Figures | 6 combined; further may be provided as supplemental material |
| References | ≤40 |
| Authors | 10; if beyond, justification |
| Supplemental Material | May be included without restriction (subject to editor discretion) but each supplemental component (video, figure, or table) must be identified (called out) |
| IRB/ERB/EC Approval (if applicable) | Included if applicable on title page & methods section |
| Informed Consent Statement | Included if applicable on title page & methods section |
| Author Contribution and Disclosures | • The corresponding author is required to upload a Declaration of Interest Statement for all author disclosures via the Elsevier Declaration tool upon submission. • Upon submission, each co-author will verify authorship and attest to meeting ICMJE author criteria. • Revised manuscripts will not be assigned to the handling editor until all co-authors have verified authorship |
Mini-Reviews originate with authors and are peer reviewed. Reviews must have a Methods section that describes the sources (databases, prior publications, etc.) that were searched. Topics should be reasonably broad (as opposed to rare diseases) and preferably ones about which there is doubt or controversy regarding management. Authors should seek to integrate data learned from the review and not merely provide one line precis of prior publications.
Meta-analyses and Systematic Reviews are required to be cleared via a proposal and completion of the Meta-Analysis and Systematic Review Pre-Submission Form. Please submit your form and proposal to the [email protected], and you will receive an answer either declining or confirming an invitation to submit. Approved requests are guaranteed external review but not acceptance of your manuscript. Meta-analyses/systematic reviews that are submitted and did not receive pre-submission clearance will be returned to you without review. Meta-analysis and systematic reviews should conform to PRISMA guidelines for transparent reporting (http://www.prisma-statement.org/), and a completed PRISMA Checklist and PRISMA Flow Diagram should be included as attachments along with your pre-submission form. A systematic review answers a defined research question by collecting and summarizing all empirical evidence that fits pre-specified eligibility criteria and uses a clearly defined search strategy. A meta-analysis is the use of statistical methods to summarize the results of these published studies.
Invited Expert Reviews are solicited at the Editor's discretion.
New Technology
Abstract Structure (no more than 175 words):
- Purpose
- Description
- Evaluation
- Conclusions
Manuscript Structure: Technology, Technique, Clinical Experience, and Comment.
| Manuscript Word Limit | 2500* |
|---|---|
| Abstract (type/Word limit) | Structured / 175 |
| Visual Abstract | Encouraged at submission |
| Tables and Figures | ≤3 tables; ≤6 figures; further may be provided as supplemental material |
| References | ≤10 |
| Authors | 7; if beyond, justification |
| Supplemental Material | May be included without restriction (subject to editor discretion) but each supplemental component (video, figure, or table) must be identified (called out) |
| IRB/ERB/EC Approval (if applicable) | Included if applicable on title page & methods section |
| Informed Consent Statement | Included if applicable on title page & methods section |
| Author Contribution and Disclosures | • The corresponding author is required to upload a Declaration of Interest Statement for all author disclosures via the Elsevier Declaration tool upon submission. • Upon submission, each co-author will verify authorship and attest to meeting ICMJE author criteria. • Revised manuscripts will not be assigned to the handling editor until all co-authors have verified authorship |
New Technology articles require a "Freedom of Investigation" statement. Please provide a statement noting whether the tested technology was purchased, borrowed, or donated to the study. In addition, you must state that the authors had full control of the design of the study, methods used, outcome parameters, analysis of data, and production of the written report. This statement will appear after the Acknowledgments and before the References in your manuscript.
Feature Articles
Case Report/How To Do It
Case reports should have both high clinical and educational value, and should contain novel information for our readers. While a case may be rare, if it does not contain unreported presentations, diagnoses, and/or management of a new and emerging disease, it is likely not of high enough priority for publication in Annals Short Reports. In addition, Case Reports should NOT be combined with any reviews of the literature.
For case reports or any submission discussing single human subjects, it is expected that the authors of the manuscript obtained signed authorization from the patient/subject or the patient/subject's legal representative (in cases where the subject is deceased) as consent to publish the information disclosed in the case report. Authors will confirm this during the submission process, and authors should state this in the first paragraph of the "Case Report/Description" section of their manuscript.
How to Do It articles should be a description of a useful surgical technique and contain descriptive, illustrative material describing the innovation.
| Manuscript Word Limit | 1500* |
|---|---|
| Abstract (type/Word limit) | Unstructured/100 |
| Visual Abstract | N/A |
| Tables and Figures | No tables; ≤3 figures; further figures may be provided as supplemental material |
| References | ≤8 |
| Authors | 10 |
| Supplemental Material | May be included without restriction (subject to editor discretion) but each supplemental component (video or figure) must be identified (called out) |
| IRB/ERB/EC Approval (if applicable) | Included if applicable on title page & methods section |
| Informed Consent Statement | Included if applicable on title page & methods section |
| Author Contribution and Disclosures | • The corresponding author is required to upload a Declaration of Interest Statement for all author disclosures via the Elsevier Declaration tool upon submission. • Upon submission, each co-author will verify authorship and attest to meeting ICMJE author criteria. • Revised manuscripts will not be assigned to the handling editor until all co-authors have verified authorship |
Images in Cardiothoracic Surgery
| Manuscript Word Limit | 300* |
|---|---|
| Abstract (type/Word limit) | N/A |
| Visual Abstract | N/A |
| Tables and Figures | No tables; ≤3 figures; further figures may be provided as supplemental material |
| References | ≤5 |
| Authors | 7; if beyond, justification required |
| Supplemental Material | May be included without restriction (subject to editor discretion) but each supplemental component (video or figure) must be identified (called out) |
| IRB/ERB/EC Approval (if applicable) | Included if applicable on title page & methods section |
| Informed Consent Statement | Included if applicable on title page & methods section |
| Author Contribution and Disclosures | • The corresponding author is required to upload a Declaration of Interest Statement for all author disclosures via the Elsevier Declaration tool upon submission. • Upon submission, each co-author will verify authorship and attest to meeting ICMJE author criteria. • Revised manuscripts will not be assigned to the handling editor until all co-authors have verified authorship |
Images in Cardiothoracic Surgery showcase interesting photographs or images (CTs, MRIs, polysomnographic tracings, OR setups, etc) from unusual cases.
All feature articles (Case Reports, How to Do Its, and Images in Cardiothoracic Surgery) will be submitted to and published in Annals Short Reports unless otherwise recommended by the Editor in very rare instances. In those cases, a feature article submitted to Annals Short Reports may be recommended for transfer to The Annals. Authors will no longer be able to submit features directly to The Annals.
Editorials
- 2,500 word maximum
- Up to 2 tables/figures combined
- 10 reference maximum
Letters to the Editor
- 500 word maximum
- 5 reference maximum (1 of which must be the article under discussion)
Article Transfer From The Annals of Thoracic Surgery
Authors who have submitted to The Annals parent site may be offered transfer to Annals Short Reports if the manuscript is not appropriate for or does not achieve sufficient priority for publication.
The decision to transfer will be offered to certain rejected manuscripts that have undergone full or partial peer review to The Annals, or for those that are deemed of insufficient priority for Annals but recommended for reformatting to a "Short Report" to be potentially published in Annals Short Reports. Authors would then be required to modify their paper to accommodate the specifications for an Annals "Short Report" (eg, shortening their paper to meet the 2,500 word limit).
Papers submitted to The Annals and for those in consideration for Annals Short Reports will receive the same peer review from the same Editorial Board and reviewer pool to meet our exacting standards.
NOTE: All feature articles (Case Reports, How to Do Its, and Images in Cardiothoracic Surgery) will be submitted to and published in Annals Short Reports unless otherwise recommended by the Editor in very rare instances. In those cases, a feature article submitted to Annals Short Reports may be recommended for transfer to The Annals. Authors will no longer be able to submit features directly to The Annals.
Article Processing Charges by Article Type
- "Short Report", "Mini-Reviews", and "New Technology" manuscripts:
•$975 USD; $488 USD if the corresponding author is an STS Member. - Feature Articles/short communication manuscripts:
•$975 USD; $488 USD if the corresponding author is an STS Member. - Editorials, Invited Commentaries, and Correspondence
•no charge
Updated February 22, 2023
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