The Mexican Journal of Orthopedics is the official journal of the Federación Mexicana de Colegios de Ortopedia y Traumatología (FEMECOT).
The aim of the journal is to disseminate scientific knowledge and technological developments for innovation in diagnostic and therapeutic approaches with original articles on basic and clinical aspects of modern orthopedics in an international context with global impact. The main goal of the journal is to serve as a platform for the dissemination of research, clinical studies, and advancements in the field of orthopedics within the Latin American context highlighting regional issues, promoting cultural diversity, facilitating collaboration, addressing resource limitations, advancing education and training, and promoting global collaboration.
The Mexican Journal of Orthopedics is a bilingual publication, offering articles in Spanish and English, and releases four issues annually in an online format. Launched in 2024, the journal upholds a stringent double-blind peer-review process to ensure the quality and credibility of its content. Notably, authors incur no fees for publication, aligning with our commitment to accessibility. Moreover, all articles are freely available, facilitating widespread access to cutting-edge orthopedic research and insights.
Articles should be submitted through our online platform: https://publisher.mexicanjournaloforthopedics.permanyer.com/login.php
To promote the transparency and quality of the research, the authors will be asked as an essential requirement to self-assess adherence to the relevant international guidelines according to the type of study. These documents will only serve as proof of adherence, they will not be published as supplementary material.
- Clinical Trials, CONSORT.
- Observational Studies, STROBE
- Systematic Reviews, PRISMA
- Narrative Reviews, SANRA
- Diagnostic Studies, STARD
- Case Reports, CARE
- Qualitative Studies, SRQR
- Economic Evaluations, CHEERS
- For other types of studies, consult the guidelines on the EQUATOR initiative (http://www.equator-network.org/).
Language: Articles should be written in English, or Spanish. The English style should be strict and carefully checked by a professional expert. Submissions will not be accepted if the English style is deficient.
The journal publishes in the following categories:
- Full research article
- In-depth review
- Systematic reviews and meta-analysis
- Case report
- Clinical images
- Editorial
Formatting requirements
All manuscripts must contain the essential elements needed to convey your manuscript in the following order:
Title page
Title: Must be concise and informative. Titles are often used in information-retrieval systems. Avoid abbreviations where possible.
Author names, ORCIDs and affiliations: Where the family name may be ambiguous (e.g., a double name), please indicate this clearly. Present the authors’ affiliation addresses (where the actual work was done) below the names. Indicate all affiliations with a lower-case superscript letter immediately after the author’s name and in front of the appropriate address. Provide the full postal address of each affiliation, including the country name. DO NOT INCLUDE THE INSTITUTIONAL POSITIONS OF THE AUTHORS.
Corresponding author: Clearly indicate who will handle correspondence at all stages of refereeing and publication, and post-publication. Contact details must be kept up to date by the corresponding author. Provide full name and affiliation address, postal address, email address, and phone number.
Present/permanent address: If an author has moved or changed institution since the work described in the article was done, or was visiting at the time, a ‘Present address’ may be indicated as a footnote to that author’s name. The address at which the author did the work must be retained as the main, affiliation address. Superscript Arabic numerals are used for such footnotes.
Full research article
These are scientific reports of the results of original clinical, biomedical, and translational research. For full research articles, the body of the manuscript (not including the front page, abstract, references, tables, and supplementary data) should not exceed 3,000–3,500 words in length. Non-essential information (tables, figures and other type of information) can be submitted as supplementary material, which will be only published online.
Abstract. The abstract should be short and concise, limited to 250 words and should be presented as a Structured Abstract (Background, Objective, Methods, Results and Conclusions). Do not cite references in the Abstract. Abbreviations can be used but they should be defined only once and at it first use unless it is a standard unit of measurement.
Introduction. Clearly state the objectives of the work and provide an adequate background, avoiding a detailed literature review or a summary of the results. The full term for which an abbreviation stands should precede its first use in the text, no matter if it has been used in the Abstract.
Material and Methods. Clearly describe selection and identify all important characteristics of the observational or experimental subjects or laboratory animals. Specify carefully what the descriptors mean and explain how the data were collected. Identify the methods, apparatus with the manufacturer’s name and address in parentheses (city and country), and procedures in sufficient detail to allow the work to be reproduced by others.
Provide references to established methods and statistical methods used. Methods already published should be indicated by a reference and not described extendedly, and only relevant modifications should be described. Precisely identify all drugs and chemicals used. Use only generic names of drugs. All measurements should be expressed in SI units.
Approval by the local ethical committee of the institution(s) where the work was done should be mentioned. Never use patients’ names, initials, or hospital numbers, especially in illustrative material. Papers dealing with experiments on animals should indicate that the institution’s research council’s guide for the care and use of laboratory animals was followed.At the end of the Material and Methods section include –as a Statistical Analysis subsection- all statistical tests employed with sufficient clarity to enable a knowledgeable reader with access to the original data to verify the reported results. Whenever possible, quantify findings and present them with appropriate indicators of measurement error or uncertainty. Specify any general-use computer programs used. Formulas and equations should be included as Supplementary Information only (see below).
Results. Results should be clear and concise, and presented in logical sequence in text, figures, and tables. Do not repeat what has been described in the preceding sections. Figures should be numbered in Arabic numbers and Tables in Roman numbers. Write in parenthesis the number of the figure or table (e.g. Fig. 1; Table I). Do not repeat in the text data described in Tables. Emphasize or summarize only important findings.
Discussion. This should explore the significance of the results of the work, not repeat them. A combined Results and Discussion section is often appropriate, particularly in the case of short papers. Avoid extensive citations and discussion of published literature. Emphasize the new and important aspects of the study and the conclusions that follow from them (but not include a subsection of Conclusions–except in Reviews). Do not repeat in detail data or other material given in the Introduction or the Results section.
Include in the Discussion section the implications of the findings and their limitations, including implications for future research, but avoid unqualified statements and conclusions not completely supported by the data presented in the paper. Relate the observations from your study to other relevant studies. State new hypotheses when warranted but clearly label them as such. NO DATA SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN THIS SECTION.
Conclusions. Summarize the main conclusions of the study and the future recommended studies in case conclusions are preliminary. Conclusions should be concise, in agreement with the objectives of the study, and they should be directly originated from the reported results.
In-depth Reviews
Each issue of the journal contains one or two timely in-depth reviews covering a range of topics in clinical, biomedical and/or translational aspects of orthopedics. In-depth Reviews should present authoritative, up-to-date information on a particular topic, placing it in the context of a field’s history, development, current knowledge, and perspectives.
The body of the manuscript (not including the front page, abstract, references, tables, and supplementary data) should not exceed 4,000–5,000 words. Up to 120 references and 5 figures are acceptable.
Abstract. The abstract should not be structured but must summarize in a concise manner the main information contained and must state the objective of the review. The abstract should be short and concise, limited to 250 words. Abbreviations can be used but they should be defined only once and at it first use unless it is a standard unit of measurement.
Introduction. Identify what is known and unknown about the topic. Indicate what is relevant and controversial. Introduce the reader to the topic to be discussed. The full term for which an abbreviation stands should precede its first use in the text, no matter if it has been used in the Abstract.
Body of the manuscript. The use of heading and subheadings is recommended. Offer current, global or summarized information. Discuss and compare the conclusions of different studies. Compare and discussed what is described in the studies. Show the available, applicable and recommended evidence. Answer new questions. Compact and synthesize new, useful or fragmented knowledge in several publications. Find new trends and future lines of research.
Conclusions. It is essential to recapitulate the rationale behind conducting this review and the primary objectives of the article. Subsequently, delve into the conclusions drawn from the information obtained. Additionally, explore the implications of the review findings and offer insights into the future trajectory of research in this topic.
Systematic reviews and meta-analyses
A systematic review is an examination of a well-defined query employing explicit and structured techniques to locate, choose, and assess pertinent research. It involves gathering and scrutinizing data from the selected studies. Unlike narrative reviews or synthesis articles, systematic reviews adhere to rigorous methodologies. They may or may not utilize statistical techniques, such as meta-analysis, to synthesize the findings from the included studies.The body of the manuscript (not including the front page, abstract, references, tables, and supplementary data) should not exceed 3,000–3,500 words in length. Non-essential information (tables, figures and other type of information) can be submitted as supplementary material, which will be only published online.
Reports of systematic reviews and meta-analyses should include a completed PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) checklist and flow diagram to accompany the main text.
Blank templates are available here:
- Checklist: PDF or Word document (https://www.prisma-statement.org/prisma-2020-checklist)
- Flow diagram: PDF or Word document (https://www.prisma-statement.org/prisma-2020-flow-diagram)
It is advisable that the systematic review have a registered protocol. If so, authors must state in their “Methods” section whether a protocol exists for their systematic review and a registry number.
Abstract. The abstract should be short and concise, limited to 250 words and should be presented as a Structured Abstract (Background, Objective, Methods, Results and Conclusions). Do not cite references in the Abstract. Abbreviations can be used but they should be defined only once and at it first use unless it is a standard unit of measurement.
Introduction. All manuscripts must contain an Introduction, typically three to four paragraphs are enough. Generally, include one paragraph each for background, rational, research question and purpose.
Material and methods. The methods section must specify the search strategy and the databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, Google Scholar, Web of Science) in which it was used. Specify criteria for study selection and search strategy. Include a description on the tools employed for evaluation of study quality (i.e. risk of bias). Describe the process for the screening, study selection and extraction of information. Include a detailed description of the methods for statistical analysis (meta-analysis).
Results. Include one paragraph describing results of the database search strategy (include the PRISMA flow diagram). Mention the main characteristics of the studies included in the systematic review (a table is highly recommended). Describe the results of the quality analysis. Describe all relevant outcomes results from forest plots and/or funnel plots presented as figures.
Discussion. This should explore the significance of the results of the work, not repeat them. A combined Results and Discussion section is often appropriate, particularly in the case of short papers. Avoid extensive citations and discussion of published literature. Emphasize the new and important aspects of the study and the conclusions that follow from them. Do not repeat in detail data or other material given in the Introduction or the Results section. Include in the Discussion section the implications of the findings and their limitations, including implications for future research, but avoid unqualified statements and conclusions not completely supported by the data presented in the paper. Relate the observations from your study to other relevant studies. State new hypotheses when warranted but clearly label them as such. NO DATA SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN THIS SECTION.
Conclusions. Summarize the main conclusions of the study and the future recommended studies in case conclusions are preliminary. Conclusions should be concise, in agreement with the objectives of the study, and they should be directly originated from the reported results.
Case report
A case report presents a real case of a pathology and the patient's progression. The author must review the medical literature beforehand to determine if the case has any precedent or has ever been described. The report should reflect the author's reasoning throughout the diagnostic and therapeutic process, ensuring that the writing is engaging for educational purposes. "Every doctor always has a case worth publishing."
These publications should not exceed 2,000 words, with a 200-word abstract, a minimum of 20 bibliographic references, and typically no more than six total tables and figures, including both tables and photographs.
Introduction. Provide a specific idea of the topic, supported by arguments (epidemiological and/or clinical), explaining why it is published, its clinical justification, or its implications for public health. A critical review of the literature on similar cases should be conducted, highlighting severity, difficulty in recognition, and presentation,.
Case presentation. Chronologically describe the disease data and the patient's evolution, including symptoms, relevant medical history, important findings from physical examination, test results or diagnostic procedures, treatment, and outcome (improvement, lack of response, or death). Narrate the process leading to the diagnosis and describe precisely the surgical techniques or diagnostic methods used. Patient confidentiality must be protected (omit the name and medical record number).
If publishing an illustrative photo of the case, the patient's identity must be protected, describing the characteristics of the image in the figure caption.
Discussion. Interpret the results in the context of prevailing scientific knowledge, in relation to the main message and the new knowledge provided by this case report. Summarize the main findings of the clinical case, highlighting its particularities or contrasts compared to existing literature, supporting the diagnosis with clinical and laboratory evidence; discuss the limitations of the evidence, how the differential diagnosis was made, and whether other diagnoses were adequately ruled out. Compare the case with existing literature, its similarities, and differences, emphasizing relevance and scientific contribution.
It is crucial not to generalize based on the case or cases described, as the level of evidence is type IV.
Conclusions. Highlight any application or clear message related to the case. Include comments on the solution of the reported case, its scientific particularities, novelty, or how uncertainty was managed. For educational purposes, it should provide a lesson that can be applied in the future through recommendations for managing similar patients or lines of research that could arise from the case.
Clinical images
Clinical Images encompass visual representations of the patient's anatomy, including injuries, skin abnormalities, bodily fluids, as well as depictions of pathology reports, diagnostic scans, or prescribed medications. Clinical images should not exceed more than 5 figures with a description, not exceeding 300 words. Only five references can be allowed.
The Clinical images article type is not intended for case reports. Up to three (3) authors may be credited with each submission. The Journal reserves rights to edit submitted images.
Images considered for publication:
- Original and free of content that has been submitted or published elsewhere.
- High resolution and high in quality.
- Remove all information that could be used to identify a patient, including name, medical-record number, hospital name, etc.
- Indicate with arrows and labels relevant image structures. If there is more than one panel, label as Panel A, B, etc.
- Create a descriptive legend for the figure.
- The preferred file formats for photographic images are .doc, TIFF, PNG and JPEG. The file size should be within 5 MB in size while uploading.
- Submit images and description in separate files.
Editorial
This section will be devoted to the analysis and consideration of the population’s health problems, the different preventive and therapeutic approaches, and the advances achieved in the field of biomedical research. The maximum length for Editorials will be of 1500 to 2000 words and 10 references.
Acknowledgments
Include in acknowledgments the names of all contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship. Financial and material support should also be acknowledged in this section. This section should be placed in the end of the Title Page.
References
References are numbered sequentially in the text in the order in which they are first mentioned. The Reference list at the end of the paper should be numbered in the order as mentioned in the text. Accuracy of references is the responsibility of the authors. Confirm that all references included in the text match the Reference list at the end of the paper (and vice versa). References in the text that are repeated in figure legends or tables should match in the number assigned. References may contain only published works; papers in press, studies in progress, manuscripts submitted (but not yet accepted), unpublished observations, and personal communications may only be acknowledged within the text (in parentheses, including year). Identify references in the text, tables, and legends by Arabic numerals in parenthesis (not in superscript), and they should appear before the ending punctuation if at the end of a sentence.
References style should follow the NLM standards summarized in the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals.
Sample References, available at: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/uniform_requirements.html
Supplementary information
Supplementary information is allowed to avoid an excessive number of tables and figures in the main text. Tables, figures and other supplementary information (e.g. formulae and equations) should be number as Table S1, S2, etc., or Figure S1, S2, etc., or Formulae/Equation (S1), (S2), etc. Supplementary information is only published in the online version at the end of the article, following the Reference list.
Tables
Tables must be typed in double space, numbered consecutively with Arabic characters in the order in which they are cited within the text, with the titles at the top and the meaning of the abbreviations, as well as the explanatory notes, at the foot. They should be included at the end of the manuscript after the references section.
Illustrations
Figures include graphs, photographs and diagrams. The purpose of a figure is to present complex or graphic experimental results and analyses as an image. The accompanying figure caption (at the end of the manuscript) should contain enough information so that the reader can understand the figure without referring to the description in the text of the paper. In other words, the figure and its caption could be understood without reading any other part of the paper. Figures should be numbered consecutively according to the order in which they have been first cited in the text. If photographs of patients are used, the subjects must not be identifiable.
The preferred formats are JPEG and TIFF; the minimum resolution should be 300 dpi/160mm, and any text inside the images or graphics should approximately be size 8 to 10 (Word).
Do not send figures as Power Point or PDF files. The minimum resolution should be 300 dpi. Please do not embed figures within the manuscript text file or embed the figure legend within the figure.
Submission checklist
The following list will be useful during the final checking of an article prior to sending it to the Mexican Journal of Orthopedics.
Please be sure that following items are present:
– A front letter addressed to the Editor in chief of the journal and signed by the corresponding author, requesting the consideration of the article for publication in Mexican Journal of Orthopedics, and stating that the manuscript is not under review in another journal.
– The entire text of the manuscript (see Formatting Requirements), with lines numbered.
– Corresponding author E-mail address, full postal address, and telephone.
– All necessary files of the figures (one file per figure) must be uploaded.
Other:
– Manuscript has been checked for spelling and grammar.
– All references mentioned in the Reference list are cited in the text, and vice versa.
– Permission has been obtained for use of copyrighted material from other
sources (including the Web).
– Authors are encouraged to submit full-colored images to be reproduced online, free of charge.
– The authors must confirm or clarify any of the following assumptions, as appropriate, in the ethical disclosures section:
Further relevant information:
- WAME
- COPE Discussion document “Artificial intelligence (AI) in decision making”
EDITORIAL PROCESS
The editorial process consists of 6 stages:
1. Reception of the manuscript (indeterminate, depending on whether the author meets the requirements): its objective is to verify that the manuscript complies with the specifications of these instructions for authors and that the submitted documentation is complete.
2. Initial editorial review (approx. 5 business days): its objective is to corroborate the relevance, timeliness, originality, and scientific contribution of the manuscript, as well as the methodological and statistical soundness of the study. At this time, it will be submitted to an electronic plagiarism detection system. Derived from this, a rejected opinion may be obtained, or it will be sent for review by peer researchers.
3. Review by peer researchers(approx. 60 business days): the opinion of at least two experts in the area in question will be obtained, who will evaluate the technical and methodological aspects of the investigation.
4. Editorial review (approx. 10 business days): its objective is to make a decision based on the opinion of peer reviewers. The opinion can be rejected, major changes, minor changes or accepted. In the case of major or minor changes, it will be submitted again for evaluation by the initial peer reviewers.
5. Final edition (approx. 6 weeks): its objective is the technical and linguistic edition (and translation), layout of galleys, DOI assignment, and correction by the author.
6. Advanced publication: All manuscripts will be published ahead of print on the journal's website as soon as they complete the editing process, until they are incorporated into a final issue of the journal.
PRINT PROOFS (PDF) OF ACCEPTED ARTICLES
The corresponding author will receive proofs of the article for revision and correction of terminology errors, or any other updates related to facts/figures. As the article will already have been edited according to the journal’s internal editorial guidelines, style corrections will not be accepted. The corresponding author will receive an email with the article in PDF format, on which they can leave their comments. Authors will need to have Adobe Reader (version 9, or a later version), downloadable for free). For other system requirements, please visit the Adobe website.
Alternatively, authors may list their corrections and submit them via email. Any major changes at this stage will be subject to the approval of the Editor. Authors should make sure to include all changes in a single email, as we cannot guarantee the inclusion of subsequent corrections.
The proof review is the responsibility of the author.
Relevant links
- Committee on Publication Ethics. Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers
PERMANYER
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