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Information For Authors

L. Henry Edmunds, Jr, MD
Editor, The Annals of Thoracic Surgery
3440 Market Street
Suite 306
Philadelphia, PA 19104-3325
Tel.: (215) 349-5542 FAX: (215) 614-0416
e-mail: ats@uphs.upenn.edu
website: http://www.atseditorialoffice.org

Conditions for Publication Form

Keywords

Guidelines for Reviewers

The Annals of Thoracic Surgery publishes original papers on topics in thoracic and cardiovascular surgery and features such as case reports, “how to do it” articles, image reports, new technology evaluations, STS workforce reports, review articles, articles on our surgical heritage, book reviews, invited editorials, correspondence, commentary and four Continuing Medical Education (CME) activities each month.

All manuscripts, correspondence, and editorial material must be submitted to the online editorial office at http://www.atseditorialoffice.org. Authors must register with an e-mail address and password to submit manuscripts online. Unregistered authors can “create a new account” (ie, register) by following the instructions at the editorial office website.

Every submission, regardless of category, must include: a cover letter, indicating the category of article (see below); the complete manuscript, including title page, abstract, text, tables, acknowledgments, required disclosures (see below), references and illustrations. All of this material is entered via the editorial office website, http://www.atseditorialoffice.org.

The Society of Thoracic Surgeons and The Annals require all authors to adhere to the highest ethical standards of our profession. The Society and The Annals attempt to police and enforce these standards. Ethical breaches include scientific misconduct, plagiarism and redundant publication and are described more fully in Ann Thorac Surg 1999;68:1 and Ann Thorac Surg 2007;84:717-9.

A “Conditions for Publication Form,” which includes disclosures of individual conflicts of interest; sources of funding; scientific responsibility; freedom of investigation; undisclosed authors; and copyright transfer, must be signed by all authors. Illustrative work (art, drawings, and photographs) may not be separately copyrighted. A copy of this form follows “Information for Authors.” The signed form is submitted by fax or surface mail before an accepted paper is sent to the publisher.

Written permission from the copyright owner is required to reproduce any previously published table(s), illustration(s) or photograph( s) in either print and/or electronic media. Written permission from unmasked patients appearing in photographs is also required.

The signed “Conditions for Publication Form,” permission letters, and other supplemental material (but not a cover letter) should be sent by surface mail or fax to the editorial office at the address above.

General Information for Submitting and Formatting Manuscripts

• Submit manuscripts, preferably prepared in Microsoft Word, through the editorial office website after signing in or creating a new account. Enter the “Author Area” and follow the instructions for submitting “Entry data” and a complete manuscript, including abstract, tables, figures and the cover letter.
• Under “Entry data,” indicate the number of authors in the box and justify more than 7 authors. If you wish to publish color figures and agree to pay the “color charge” check the appropriate box. Otherwise, do not submit your figures in color.
• Manuscripts should be typed double-spaced throughout (including title page, abstract, text, references, tables, and legends) with one (1) inch (2.5 cm) margins all around.
• Arrange manuscript as follows: (1) title page, (2) abstract, (3) text, (4) acknowledgments, (5) disclosures if required, (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 legend page.
• Microsoft Word is the preferred software program. Manuscripts written in 11 point Arial or Times New Roman fonts are preferred and more reliably convert to PDF files during electronic submission. (Note: Do not submit your manuscript in PDF format because it will cause problems in processing your submission.)
• Note: The online manuscript submission program requires that a complete manuscript, including tables but excluding figures, be uploaded as a unit. In addition, separate entry of some information, eg, the manuscript title, author names, and abstract (if applicable), is required. Therefore, in addition to filling in all of the data entry fields, make sure that the text file you upload into the system is complete as well. The PDF, which is generated by the system, must include your entire manuscript for the purposes of review. Please see “Sections of the Manuscript” below for all of the elements to be included in the manuscript you submit for review.
• American rather than British spelling should be used throughout the manuscript, including in illustrations.

Word Limits by Category of Manuscript

• Original articles should not exceed 4500 words regardless of location within the manuscript. The counted words include title page, abstract, text, acknowledgments, disclosures, tables, figure legends and references. The combined total of illustrations and tables should not exceed 10 and the number of references should not exceed 40. At the discretion of the editor, supplementary material may be submitted for publication in the electronic copy of the journal, which is the version of record, but will not be included in the print journal.
• New Technology articles are limited to 2500 words including title page, abstract, text, figure legends and references. The number of tables should not exceed three; the number of illustrations should not exceed six if tables are included; eight, if there are no tables. The number of references should not exceed 10.
• Case reports and “how to do it” articles are limited to a total of 1500 words including title page, abstract, text, references and figure legends. These reports should not include tables; if essential a table should be justified in the cover letter and not have more than four columns and eight rows. Case reports should not be combined with “reviews of the literature”. References are limited to eight. A “how to do it” article should be a description of a useful surgical technique and contain descriptive, illustrative material describing the innovation.
• Images in cardiothoracic surgery are limited to 350 words including title and text and to two, possibly three figures. The entire contribution must fit on one printed page of The Annals.
• Review articles are limited to 6500 words, regardless of location within the manuscript, and includes title page, abstract, text, figure legends and all references. The total number of references should not exceed 80. The editor is willing to discuss more specific guidelines about the subject matter and content of review articles by e-mail.
• Our surgical heritage articles are limited to 2500 words, including title page, abstract, text, figure legends and references.
• Correspondence (Letters to the Editor) and commentaries are limited to 500 words. Do not include tables and subtract 100 words for each illustration.
• Editorials are limited to 2500 words including references. Subtract 100 words for each illustration and 300 words for each table.
• Workforce Reports produced by STS Workforce on Evidence Based Surgery are approved by the Executive Committee of The Society of Thoracic Surgeons and are published as in-book summaries or supplements. In-book summaries are limited to 6500 words.

Sections of the Manuscript (Items in order from front to back; pages must be numbered)

• Title Page (first page)
  Title. The title is limited to 100 characters (including spaces) for original manuscripts and to 80 characters (including spaces) for all other categories of manuscripts. The title may not contain acronyms or abbreviations. All submissions, including correspondence, must have a title.
  Running Head. Supply a short title of 40 characters (including spaces).
  Authors. List all authors by first name, all initials, family name and highest earned academic degree (eg,MD)or degrees (eg,MD,PhD). Institution and Affiliations. List the name and full address of all institutions in which the described work was done. List departmental affiliations of each author affiliated with that institution after each institutional address. Connect authors to departments using numbered superscripts.
  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, provide the name, location, and dates of the meeting.
  Keywords. Provide up to 5 keywords selected from the appended list to describe the manuscript. Do not use any keywords that are not on the list. Be sure to enter the same keywords when you submit the manuscript.
  Word Count. Provide the electronic total word count of the entire manuscript including title page, abstract, text, figure legends and entire reference list.
  Corresponding Author. Provide the name, exact postal address with zip or postal code, telephone number, fax number and e-mail address of the author to whom communications, proofs, and requests for reprints should be sent after publication. (It does not have to be the same person whom you have designated in the online submission system to handle pre-publication correspondence.) The corresponding author must attest that no undisclosed authors contributed to the manuscript.
• Abstract (second page)
  Original articles. Provide a structured abstract, no longer than 250 words, divided into four sections: Background, Methods, Results, Conclusions. Avoid abbreviations and acronyms. Indicate the abstract word count below the abstract.
  New Technology. Provide a structured abstract, no longer than 175 words, divided into four sections: Purpose, Description, Evaluation, Conclusions. Avoid abbreviations and acronyms. Indicate the abstract word count below the abstract.
  Case reports, “how to do it” articles, review articles, and our surgical heritage articles. Provide an unstructured abstract of no more than 100 words.
  Images, correspondence, commentaries and editorials. No abstract is required.
• Text (third page, after the abstract and continuing up to “Acknowledgments”)
  Text should be organized as follows: Introduction, Material (or Patients) and Methods, Results, and Comment.
  Cite references, illustrations and tables in numeric order by order of mention in the text.
  Avoid 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.
  Statistical nomenclature and data analysis. Follow the “Guidelines for Data Reporting and Nomenclature” published in The Annals of Thoracic Surgery (1988;46:260–1).
  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, giving company name, city and state or city and country if outside the United States.
• 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.
• Disclosures and Freedom of Investigation
  A disclosure statement is required for all studies, regardless of category of article, which received financial, property or intellectual aid from a commercial source. The disclosure statement must state the source(s) of all funds used to support the study or to perform the evaluation and whether or not property or tested technology was purchased, borrowed or donated to the study. In addition, the authors must state that they had full control of the design of the study, methods used, outcome parameters, analysis of data and production of the written report. These disclosures are mandatory for all articles and conflicts of interest statements are published in the article. (See the “Conditions for Publication Form,” which all authors must sign, for definitions of financial support and freedom of investigation. Note that the existence of undisclosed authors must be declared on the “Conditions for Publication Form” and their identity provided to the editorial office.)
• References
  Identify references in the text using Arabic numerals in brackets on the line (do not use superscripts or EndNotes). Do not cite personal communications, manuscripts in preparation, and other unpublished data.
  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 non-duplication of references.
  Journal abbreviations should conform to those used in Index Medicus. The style and punctuation of the references should follow the formats outlined below:
  Journal Article
  
  8. 8. McKhann GM, Selnes OA, Grega MA, Bailey MM, Baumgartner WA, Zeger SL. Subjective memory symptoms in surgical and nonsurgical coronary artery patients: 6-year follow-up. Ann Thorac Surg 2009;87:27–35.
     (List all authors if 6 or fewer; otherwise list first 3 and add “et al.”)
  Chapter in Book
  
  12. 12. Vinten-Johansen J, Zhao Z-Q, Guyton RA. Cardiac surgical physiology. In: Cohn LH, Edmunds LH Jr, eds. Cardiac Surgery in the Adult. 2nd ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill; 2003:53–84.
      
  Internet Address
  
  3. 3. 1996 NRC Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. Available at http://www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/labrats/ contents.html. Accessed October 20, 2003.
  
  
• Tables
  Tables should be typewritten double-spaced on separate sheets (one to each page). Do not use vertical lines. 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. Exact p values must be used; “NS” is obsolete.
  Tables should be self-explanatory, and the 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 doublespaced 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.
  Cite the source of previously published (print or electronic) material in the legend and indicate permission has been obtained. Proof of permission must be surface mailed or faxed to the editorial office once the manuscript is submitted online.
• Illustrations
  Images or figures are submitted online as one or more separate files that may contain one or more images. 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. Powerpoint (.ppt) files are also accepted, but for line drawings only and you must use a separate Powerpoint image file for each Powerpoint figure. Please obtain technical help if you are unfamiliar with image files. Call The Annals editorial office (215-349-5542) during business hours 8 am–6 pm, Eastern time U.S., Monday through Friday, if you cannot obtain technical help.
  Figures 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.
  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).
  Black, white and widely crosshatched bars are preferable; do not use stippling, gray fill or thin lines.
  Written permission from unmasked patients appearing in photographs must be obtained by the authors and must be surface mailed or faxed to the editorial office once the manuscript is submitted online.
  Color illustrations. Color illustrations incur a color charge of $650 for the first color illustration in a manuscript and $100 for every additional color illustration in the same manuscript. The authors’ agreement to assume this cost should be indicated by checking the appropriate box on the “Entry data” web page. Images should not be submitted in color unless the author is willing to pay the color charge. All photomicrographs must be in color. Contact the editorial office if you cannot assume the cost to reproduce photomicrographs in color.
  Original illustrations. If your manuscript is accepted for publication and the electronic art you have submitted online is not acceptable for reproduction purposes, you may be required to send a set of original illustrations to the editorial office. You will be instructed accordingly by the staff. Original illustrations will not be returned.

Protection of Human and Animal Subjects

• Human Investigation
  When human subjects are involved, indicate whether or not your Institutional Review Board (IRB) (or Ethics Committee or comparable group) approved this study and whether or not individual consent for the study was obtained or waived. This information should be stated in the first paragraph under “Patients and Methods”. This policy applies for both prospective and retrospective studies; however, often Boards waive the requirement for individual patient consent for retrospective studies.
  When no formal ethics review process is available, authors must state that informed consent to participate in prospective studies was obtained from each human subject in accordance with relevant guidelines.
• Humane Animal Care
  When animals are used as subjects, institutional approval of the protocol is necessary and authors should include a statement in “Methods” indicating that investigators complied with the 1996 “Guide for the Care and use of Laboratory Animals” (See http://www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/labrats/contents.html), 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.

Policies

• Scientific Responsibility Statement
  Before publication of an accepted manuscript, each author is required to certify by signing the “Conditions for Publication Form” that he or she has participated sufficiently in the work to take responsibility for a meaningful share of the content of the manuscript.
  In addition, each author must indicate by signature on the “Conditions for Publication Form” whether or not he or she has had full “freedom of investigation” before, during and after this study. “Freedom of investigation” is defined as freedom from outside interests in controlling the design of the study, acquisition of data, collection, analysis and interpretation of data, and having freedom to fully disclose all results.
• Exclusive Publication Statement
  Each author must certify that none of the material in this manuscript has been published previously in either print or electronic form, and that none of this material is currently under consideration for publication elsewhere. This includes symposia, transactions, books, articles published by invitation, posting in electronic format, and preliminary publications of any kind except an abstract of 400 words or fewer.
• Disclosures: Conflicts of Interest; Sources of Funding; Scientific Responsibility; and Freedom of Investigation
  The Annals requires that all authors disclose all relationships within 12 months of submission of an article which can be construed as influencing information within the article. Individual disclosures will appear in a boxed Conflict of Interest statement on the first page of the printed article. See the “Conditions for Publication Form” for the definition of “Conflicts of Interest.”
  Disclosures relating to funding of research appear in “Acknowledgments” at the end of the text before the references. See the “Conditions for Publication Form” that follows “Information for Authors” for details. All original scientific articles, editorials, reviews, and New Technology articles must state sources of funding for the work described in the article in “Acknowledgments.” Except for New Technology articles, statements regarding Scientific Responsibility and Freedom of Investigation do not appear in the published manuscript, but are required of every author on the “Conditions for Publication Form.” In addition, the corresponding author is required to name any undisclosed authors of the manuscript.
• Copyright
  Authors of articles submitted to The Annals must transfer copyright of the entire article, including artwork, photographs and other matter, to The Society of Thoracic Surgeons by signing the “Conditions for Publication Form.” This transfer becomes binding upon acceptance of the article for publication. Elsevier, Inc. maintains copyright records for The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. No part of the published material may be reproduced elsewhere without written permission from Elsevier, Inc.
• NIH Initiative
  Although not a requirement, the National Institutes of Health “requests” that all authors, whose paper describes research wholly or in part supported by NIH, post the “final version” of their accepted paper to Pub Med Central: http://www.pubmedcentral.nih. gov within 12 months of publication or sooner (http://www.nih.gov/about/publicaccess/Enhanced_Public_Access.pdf). The final version is defined as “the final version accepted for journal publication, and includes all modifications from the publishing peer review process.”
• Randomized Controlled Trials
  The Annals of Thoracic Surgery endorses the CONSORT Statement regarding randomized controlled trials (http://www.consort-statement.org) and recommends that investigators who plan to publish their work in The Annals review the CONSORT E-Flowchart (http://www.consort-statement.org/Downloads/flowchart.pdf) and Checklist (http://www.consort-statement.org/Downloads/checklist.pdf) before enrollment of subjects begins. 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. Authors who submit reports of randomized controlled trials to The Annals should also submit a completed CONSORT Flowchart and Checklist, 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.
• Registration of Clinical Trials
  The Annals of Thoracic Surgery 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://prsinfo.clinicaltrials.gov. The trial registration number should appear at the end of the abstract.
• Archiving Online Submissions
  The editorial office will delete unpublished manuscripts from the online system 6 months after the final decision is rendered. Published manuscripts will be deleted 12 months after acceptance.