Author Guidelines

Authorship

Authorship gives credit, assigns responsibility, and implies academic, social, and financial accountability for the published work. Those who make substantial contributions to a paper are credited as authors, understand their roles and responsibilities, and are held accountable for the research.

The journal defines authorship in accordance with the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). The ICMJE recommends that authorship be based on the following 4 criteria:

• 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 reviewing 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.

Those who meet all four criteria are identified as authors. In addition, the responsibilities of co-authors for specific aspects of the work must be indicated. Please see the Author Contributions section below for details on how to specify these responsibilities during submission.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools do not meet the authorship criteria and specifically cannot meet the accountability requirement. Therefore, AI tools cannot be listed as authors.

When a manuscript is authored by a large group or consortium, all members of the group who are named as authors must meet all four authorship criteria. The corresponding author must specify the group name, if one exists, and clearly identify the group members who can take credit and responsibility for the work as authors. Group members who do not meet the authorship criteria may be listed as collaborators in the acknowledgements.

For guidelines on acknowledging non-author contributors, the corresponding author, and other acknowledgements, refer to the subsequent sections and the Author Information and Acknowledgements sections.

Changes in Authorship

Any requests for changes in authorship (adding, removing, or rearranging the order of authors) after the initial submission must be sent to the editorial office and accompanied by a written explanation and written confirmation (e.g., by email) from all authors, including those being added or removed. The journal follows the COPE flowcharts for handling such requests. Changes in authorship are generally not permitted after the manuscript has been accepted for publication.

Non-Author Contributions

Those who do not meet all the above-mentioned criteria are not qualified as authors; however, those who meet at least one criterion should be acknowledged as non-author contributors, and their contributions should be specified in the "Acknowledgements" field during submission. For more information on non-author contributions, please see: https://www.icmje.org.

Non-author contributions include, but are not limited to, administrative support, general supervision, acquisition of funding, technical editing, language editing, and proofreading. Non-author contributions should be declared in the online submission system at the time of submission. This information is not shared with reviewers to ensure double-blind peer review.

Corresponding Author

The corresponding author is the designated author who handles all correspondence with the journal, from submission through publication, on behalf of the authors. The corresponding author is responsible for complying with the journal's administrative requirements, providing the necessary information and documents (including authorship and contact details, ethics committee approval, and clinical trial registration details), and ensuring that all required declarations are provided completely and accurately during submission.

The corresponding author serves as the primary point of contact for any inquiries regarding the work, even after publication. The corresponding author should respond to editorial queries in a timely manner throughout the submission and peer review process and, after publication, should respond to critiques of the work and cooperate with any requests from the journal for data or additional information.

Use of Artificial Intelligence

Acta Medica follows the current ICMJE recommendations and COPE guidance, and acknowledges the guidance of the Turkish Council of Higher Education on the use of artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted technologies in scholarly publishing.

Disclosure: Authors must disclose any use of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the preparation of the submitted work. These include large language models (LLMs) and chatbots (e.g., ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Microsoft Copilot), AI-based writing, paraphrasing, and translation tools (e.g., DeepL, Grammarly), and image generators. The disclosure must be completed during submission for each tool used and must include:

• the name, version, and manufacturer of the tool;
• the date(s) of use;
• the purpose of use (e.g., writing assistance, rewriting or paraphrasing, translation, literature search, data collection or analysis, or figure generation); and
• the reason for and extent of use.

Tools Not Requiring Disclosure: Tools used only to check and correct the spelling, grammar, and punctuation of text written by the authors (e.g., Grammarly, Microsoft Editor) and reference management software (e.g., EndNote, Mendeley, Zotero) do not need to be disclosed. If such tools are used to generate, rewrite, paraphrase, or translate text, this use must be disclosed.

The AI declaration is published with the article under the heading "Generative AI Statement" in both the PDF and full-text HTML versions.

Use in Research and Figures: If AI was used for data collection, data analysis, or the generation of figures, images, or other visual content, this use must also be described in detail in the Materials and Methods section of the main document, including the tool, its version, and how it was applied. For studies requiring ethics committee approval, the use of AI in data collection or analysis must be covered by the approved study protocol. AI must not be used to fabricate, falsify, or manipulate data or images.

Authorship and Citation: AI-assisted tools cannot be listed as authors or co-authors because they cannot take responsibility for the accuracy, integrity, and originality of the work, which is required for authorship (see Authorship). AI tools must not be cited as authors, and AI-generated content must not be cited as a primary source.

Responsibility: Authors are fully responsible for the entire content of the submitted work, including any part produced with the assistance of AI. AI tools can generate authoritative-sounding output that is incorrect, incomplete, or biased, and may produce inaccurate or non-existent references. Authors must therefore critically review and edit all AI-assisted content, verify all references and quoted material and provide full and accurate citations, and ensure that there is no plagiarism in the text or images, including content produced by AI. A declaration of AI use does not relieve authors of this responsibility. The journal discourages the use of AI-assisted technologies to the extent that the original human contribution to the work is called into question (e.g., large portions of text written almost entirely by AI).

Non-Disclosure and Misuse: Failure to disclose the use of AI-assisted technologies, as well as the identification of fabricated, inaccurate, or non-existent references, fabricated or manipulated data or images, or plagiarism arising from the use of AI, may be considered a breach of publication ethics. Such cases are handled in accordance with COPE guidelines and may result in the rejection of the manuscript, the reversal of an acceptance decision, or the retraction of a published article.

Originality and Preprints

Manuscripts submitted to Acta Medica should be original, unpublished, and not under review by any other publication. Posting a manuscript on a preprint server (e.g., medRxiv, bioRxiv) is not considered prior publication, and such manuscripts are accepted for consideration. Authors must disclose the preprint, including its DOI or link, in the required declarations during submission and clearly state it in the cover letter. After publication, authors must update the preprint record with a link to the published article.

Article Types

It is recommended that authors follow the relevant EQUATOR Network reporting guidelines for their study design (e.g., CONSORT for randomized controlled trials, STROBE for observational studies, STARD for diagnostic accuracy studies, PRISMA for systematic reviews and meta-analyses, CARE for case reports, and ARRIVE for animal studies).

Authors must select the article type for their manuscripts and must comply with the limits and structures defined in the table below. For more details, please refer to the specific descriptions of the article types provided below the table.

*The word count includes only the main text and excludes the title, abstract, keywords, tables, footnotes, figure captions, and references.

In justified cases, authors may request permission from the editors to exceed these limits by contacting the editorial office at [email protected] before submission.

Research Article

Research articles must present original findings that contribute to the scientific advancement of the subject areas outlined in the Aim and Scope. These studies should provide new information based on original research, and their acceptance is typically based on the originality, scientific rigor, and importance of the findings. Meta-analyses, including systematic reviews with meta-analysis, should be submitted under this article type.

• Abstract: A structured abstract of no more than 250 words must be provided under the headings Objective, Materials and Methods, Results, and Conclusions. For clinical trials, the trial registration number must be listed at the end of the abstract.
• Keywords: A minimum of 3 and a maximum of 6 keywords must be provided.
• Highlights: A bulleted list of 3 to 5 Highlights must be provided, as described in the Highlights section.
• Main Text: The main text must not exceed 3500 words and must be structured under the following headings: Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, and Discussion.
  • Introduction: Establish the study's position within the existing literature and clearly state its objective(s).
  • Materials and Methods: Describe the methodology, study setting, participants/sample, applied methods, and analysis type.
    • Statistical Analysis: Information on statistical analyses should be provided with a separate subheading under this section. Statistical methods and results should be reported in accordance with international reporting standards. P values, confidence intervals (CIs), and other statistical measures should be presented clearly (e.g., P = .002 rather than P < .01).
    • Clinical Trials: Acta Medica adopts the ICMJE's clinical trial registration policy. Prospective clinical trials must be registered in a publicly accessible registry (e.g., ClinicalTrials.gov) at or before the time of first patient consent for enrollment. The registration number must be reported in this section.
      • Trial Registry: Trials must be registered in a public registry recognized by the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP) or ClinicalTrials.gov. Retrospective registration is not accepted.
      • Registration Details: The registry name and registration number must be reported in this section and listed at the end of the abstract. Studies involving secondary analysis of previously published trials must also provide the primary trial registration number.
      • Reporting Guidelines: Authors are recommended to follow the CONSORT guidelines, and a CONSORT Flow Diagram should be included as a figure to illustrate the study flow.
      • Data Sharing Plan: A data sharing plan is required.
    • Ethics Approval: For studies requiring ethics approval, include the ethics committee approval details in this section, with the committee's name and the protocol number blinded for peer review.
    • Informed Consent: State that written informed consent was obtained or, if the ethics committee waived the requirement for informed consent, state this together with the reason for the waiver.
  • Results: Present the study's findings and statistical significance without interpretation.
  • Discussion: Discuss implications, relate findings to previous work, address limitations, and provide a conclusion.
• Limits: A maximum total of 6 tables and figures and up to 40 references are permitted.

Review

Review articles must provide a comprehensive and critical synthesis of the literature on topics within the Aim and Scope. These articles should not merely summarize existing studies but critically evaluate current knowledge, identify gaps or inconsistencies in the literature, analyze ongoing debates, and propose directions for future research. Where applicable, authors should briefly describe the criteria used for literature selection (e.g., databases searched, keywords, or time frame). Authors with recognized expertise in the relevant field are especially encouraged to submit review manuscripts. Systematic reviews without meta-analysis should be submitted under this article type.

• Abstract: An unstructured abstract of no more than 250 words must be provided, summarizing the review's purpose, scope, principal findings, and key conclusions.
• Keywords: A minimum of 3 and a maximum of 6 keywords must be provided.
• Highlights: A bulleted list of 3 to 5 Highlights must be provided, as described in the Highlights section.
• Main Text: The main text must not exceed 5000 words and should be organized under the following structure: Introduction, thematic or relevant subject-based headings (including critical analysis of the literature and discussion of strengths, limitations, and controversies where appropriate), and Conclusion.
• Limits: A maximum total of 6 tables and figures and up to 80 references are permitted.

Case Report

Case reports must present rare clinical cases, atypical manifestations of common diseases, or innovative diagnostic and therapeutic approaches that contribute to the scientific understanding of the areas defined in the Aim and Scope. These manuscripts should emphasize the clinical significance of the case, providing practical insights and a comparative analysis with the existing literature. Authors are encouraged to follow the CARE guidelines for reporting case reports.

• Abstract: A structured abstract of no more than 250 words must be provided under the headings Objective, Case Presentation, and Conclusions.
• Keywords: A minimum of 3 and a maximum of 6 keywords must be provided.
• Highlights: A bulleted list of 3 to 5 Highlights must be provided, as described in the Highlights section.
• Main Text: The main text must not exceed 1500 words and must be structured under the following headings: Introduction, Case Presentation, and Discussion.
  • Introduction: Briefly explain the rarity, clinical importance, and context of the case within the current literature.
  • Case Presentation: Provide detailed information on patient demographics, clinical findings, diagnostic processes, therapeutic interventions, and follow-up outcomes.
  • Discussion: Compare the case with previously reported cases, discuss the implications for clinical practice, and address any challenges or limitations in the management of the case.
  • Ethical Considerations: Authors must ensure patient confidentiality. A statement confirming that written informed consent was obtained from the patient (or their legal guardian) is mandatory and must be included in the Case Presentation section.
• Limits: A maximum total of 5 tables and figures and up to 15 references are permitted. Supplementary video files may be submitted as Electronic Supplementary Materials.

Image Report

Image Reports should present clinically or scientifically informative images that demonstrate characteristic, unusual, or educational findings relevant to the journal's Aim and Scope. Images may include radiological, pathological, dermatological, endoscopic, surgical, microbiological, electrodiagnostic, or other clinically relevant visual findings.

The primary purpose of an Image Report is to provide a concise educational message centered on the image. Submissions should not represent abbreviated case reports and should avoid extensive discussion of the literature.

• Abstract: No abstract is required.
• Keywords: A minimum of 2 and a maximum of 4 keywords should be provided.
• Main Text: The main text must not exceed 500 words and should be unstructured. It should briefly describe the relevant clinical context, the key findings demonstrated in the image(s), the diagnosis where applicable, and the principal educational message.
• Images: Images should be of high quality and should clearly demonstrate the finding of interest. Relevant abnormalities should be indicated using arrows, arrowheads, labels, or other appropriate markers when necessary. Each image must be accompanied by a concise figure legend.
• Patient Confidentiality and Consent: All identifying patient information must be removed from images and accompanying material. Written informed consent for publication must be obtained from the patient or their legal representative when patient-specific clinical information or images are presented. A statement confirming informed consent must be included in the manuscript.
• Limits: A maximum of 3 figures and up to 5 references are permitted. Supplementary video files may be submitted as Electronic Supplementary Materials when they provide additional educational value.
• Peer Review: Image Reports may be subject to peer review at the discretion of the editors.

Letter to the Editor

Letters to the Editor provide academic commentary, critique, additional information, or brief perspectives on a published article or a general topic of interest. These letters aim to encourage scientific discourse, highlight noteworthy clinical cases, or raise awareness on overlooked issues relevant to the journal's scope. They should not contain original data but must present arguments consistent with and supported by the existing literature.

• Abstract: No abstract is required.
• Keywords: No keywords are required.
• Main Text: The main text must not exceed 1000 words. It should be unstructured but logically organized. If the letter comments on a published article, the article must be properly cited.
• Limits: A maximum total of 2 tables and figures and up to 10 references are permitted.
• Peer Review: Letters may be subject to peer review at the discretion of the editors.
• Response to Letters: If a letter comments on an article published in Acta Medica, the authors of the original article are given the opportunity to respond, and the response may be published together with the letter.

Manuscript Formatting Guidelines

Before submitting a manuscript to the journal, authors are strongly encouraged to carefully review the Manuscript Formatting Guidelines.

Manuscripts should be submitted by the corresponding author to the Journal's online submission system.

All submissions must include the following files:

1. Main Document (Blind Manuscript): Must not contain any author names, affiliations, or other identifying information.
2. Figures: If the manuscript includes figures, high-resolution files of all figures must be uploaded separately, in addition to being placed at the end of the main document.
3. Supplementary Material: If applicable.

General Format

• File Format: Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx).
• Layout: The manuscript should be prepared in a clear and readable layout, using a standard, widely available font (e.g., Times New Roman, Arial, or Calibri), a legible font size, consistent line spacing, and adequate margins.
• Page Numbers: All pages must be numbered consecutively.

Submission Information and Declarations

Author information, article details, and declarations are not submitted as a separate title page; they must be entered directly into the online submission system during submission. All information must be complete, accurate, and consistent with the main document. The following guidelines describe how this information should be prepared.

Title and Short Title

The title should clearly and precisely reflect the content of the study. Titles should not exceed two lines and should use sentence case capitalization, except for proper nouns. Titles should not include abbreviations or acronyms.

A short running title of at most 70 characters (including spaces) must also be provided.

Word Count and Number of Tables and Figures

The word count of the main text and the total number of tables and figures must be provided during submission and must comply with the limits specified in the Article Types section.

Previously Published or Copyrighted Material

If the manuscript contains material that has been previously published or is protected by copyright (e.g., figures, tables, images, or extended quotations), this must be declared during submission, together with a description of the material, its original source, and its permission status. Authors are responsible for obtaining written permission from the copyright holder to reproduce or adapt such material in an open access article published under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), unless the material is already available under a license that permits such reuse. The original source must be properly cited in the manuscript, including in the relevant figure or table legend (e.g., "Reproduced from [reference], with permission from [copyright holder]" or "Adapted from [reference], with permission from [copyright holder]"). Material for which the necessary permissions have not been obtained should not be included in the manuscript. The editorial office may request copies of permission documents at any stage of the publication process.

Author Information

All authors must be declared at the time of submission. The order of authors entered in the online submission system will be the order in which they appear in the published article. Authors are responsible for the accurate and complete declaration of their names and affiliations. Requests for changes after submission are handled as described in the Changes in Authorship section.

The following information must be provided for each author:

• Full name: First name, middle initial(s) (if any), and surname.
• Affiliation: Institutional information must be provided in the following sequence (as applicable): Department, Institute or Faculty, University or Institution, City, Country. If an author's affiliation has changed, the institution where the research was conducted should be listed, followed by the current affiliation, if applicable.
• Email address: A valid email address.
• ORCID: A valid ORCID iD.

Author Contributions

Author contributions must be specified during submission using the roles defined in the CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy). Each author must be credited with appropriate contribution roles, and certain roles may be required depending on the article type. All listed authors must meet the ICMJE authorship criteria described in the Authorship section.

Ethics Committee Approval

For studies requiring ethics committee approval, the approval details (name of the committee, date, and decision or protocol number) must be provided in the declarations during submission. In addition, a statement on ethics committee approval must be included in the Materials and Methods section of the main document, with the name of the committee and the protocol number blinded for peer review (e.g., "The study was approved by the [BLINDED] Ethics Committee on January 15, 2025 (protocol number: [BLINDED]).").

Informed Consent

For studies involving human participants and for case reports, information on written informed consent must be provided in the declarations during submission and stated in the relevant section of the main document (Materials and Methods or Case Presentation). If the ethics committee waived the requirement for informed consent (e.g., in retrospective studies), this must be stated together with the reason for the waiver.

Conflicts of Interest

Authors must declare all potential financial and non-financial conflicts of interest during submission. A conflict of interest may exist when authors (or their employers, sponsors, or family members) have financial, commercial, legal, or professional relationships within the last three years that could influence, or be perceived to influence, the research or the interpretation of its results. If there is no conflict of interest, this must also be explicitly declared.

Funding

Authors must disclose all sources of funding and financial support received for the study during submission, including grant numbers where available. The role of the funder(s) in the study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, or writing of the manuscript must also be declared. If the study received no funding, this must be explicitly stated.

Data Availability Statement

A Data Availability Statement must be provided during submission and will be published in the final article. It should state whether the data are available, where they can be found (e.g., a repository link), or explain why they cannot be shared (e.g., privacy or ethical restrictions).

A Data Availability Statement is mandatory for manuscripts that report, generate, or analyze research data. For manuscript types that do not involve the use or generation of research data, this statement is not mandatory.

Prior Presentation, Preprint, Abstract, or Thesis

If the work has been previously presented at a scientific meeting, published as an abstract, posted as a preprint, or derived from a thesis or dissertation, the relevant details (e.g., meeting name, date, and place; preprint DOI or link; thesis information) must be provided during submission. Preprints must also be clearly stated in the cover letter.

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements should be extended to individuals or institutions whose contributions to the study were limited or minimal (e.g., technical help, writing assistance, general support) and must be provided in the "Acknowledgements" field during submission. The corresponding author must obtain permission from all individuals named in the Acknowledgements. This information is not shared with reviewers to ensure double-blind peer review.

Generative AI Declaration

Any use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) or AI-assisted technologies in the production of the work must be disclosed during submission, as described in the Use of Artificial Intelligence section.

Main Document (Blind Manuscript)

The main document is the file that will be sent to reviewers. It must be anonymized.

• Do not include author names, affiliations, or contact details.
• Do not include the Acknowledgements section in this file (as it may reveal identity).
• Blinding: Use third-person language when referring to your own previous work (e.g., instead of "we showed [Ref]", use "a previous study showed [Ref]"). Mask the name of the institution in the Materials and Methods section (e.g., "The study was conducted at [BLINDED]"). Additionally, ensure that the ethics committee name and protocol number are de-identified in the main document (e.g., "The study was approved by the [BLINDED] Ethics Committee on January 15, 2025 (protocol number: [BLINDED]).").
• Other Identifying Information: Remove or mask any other information that could reveal the identity of the authors or their institutions, such as the names of the universities or hospitals where the study was conducted, ethics committee names, and grant or project numbers (e.g., "The study was conducted at [BLINDED] University Hospital", "funded by [BLINDED], grant number [BLINDED]").
• File Properties: Remove any identifying information from the document properties (e.g., the author name in the file metadata).

The Main Document should appear in the following order:

1. Title
2. Abstract: Structured or unstructured according to the article type, adhering to the word limits defined in "Article Types".
3. Keywords: 3-6 keywords selected from MeSH (Medical Subject Headings).
4. Highlights: 3 to 5 Highlights for Research Articles, Reviews, and Case Reports, as described in the Highlights section.
5. Main Text: Structured according to the Article Type (e.g., Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion).
6. References: Formatted as described in the References section.
7. Tables and Figures: Placed at the end of the main document, immediately following the references, with table titles above the tables and figure captions below the figures.
8. Appendices: If applicable.

Title

The title, abstract, and keywords are entered in the online submission system during submission, but they must also be included in the main document. The title in the main document must be identical to the title provided during submission and must be prepared as described in the Title and Short Title section.

Abstract

Abstracts should briefly and clearly summarize the objective of the study, methodology, main results, and implications/discussion. The structure of the abstract (structured with specific subheadings or unstructured) must align with the requirements of the submitted manuscript type, as detailed in the "Article Types" table above (e.g., structured with Objective, Materials and Methods, Results, Conclusions subheadings for Research Articles). Abstracts should not include non-standard abbreviations or citations. Abstracts that exceed the word limit specified in the "Article Types" table will not be accepted. The abstract in the main document must be identical to the abstract entered during submission.

Keywords

Keywords increase the discoverability of articles. Authors should select 3-6 keywords that reflect the scope of the article. Keywords should be selected from MeSH (Medical Subject Headings). Authors can use the MeSH on Demand tool to identify appropriate keywords. Avoid using overly broad terms or words already present in the title to maximize searchability. The keywords in the main document must be identical to those entered during submission.

Example: diabetes mellitus, insulin resistance, obesity, cardiovascular diseases, risk factors.

Highlights

To make the core message of the work immediately accessible, Research Articles, Reviews, and Case Reports must include 3 to 5 Highlights. Highlights are placed after the keywords in the main document and presented as a bulleted list. They must:

• Present the most significant results of the work.
• Emphasize the primary clinical message or implication.
• Be written in clear, plain language that is easily understandable by specialists in the field.
• Be a single sentence of no more than 25 words.

Highlights are not required for Image Reports and Letters to the Editor.

Main Text

The main text should be structured according to the specific guidelines provided under the "Article Types" section above (e.g., Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion for Research Articles).

• Ethics Statement in Main Text: A blinded statement on ethics committee approval must be included in the Materials and Methods section (see Ethics Committee Approval).
• Abbreviations: All acronyms and abbreviations should be spelled out upon first mention, both in the abstract and in the main text. The abbreviation should follow the full term in parentheses [e.g., computed tomography (CT)] and be used consistently throughout the manuscript.
• Reporting of Statistics: Statistical methods must be clearly described and justified in the Materials and Methods section, and authors are recommended to follow the SAMPL guidelines for reporting statistical methods and results. Statistical tools, software (with version numbers), and significance thresholds must be explicitly stated. Numerical data such as P values and confidence intervals (CIs) should be reported consistently:
  • P values: Generally reported to two decimal places (e.g., P = .02).
  • Three Decimals: If P < .01, use three decimal places (e.g., P = .002).
  • Marginal Values: P values close to .05 may be shown to three decimal places (e.g., P = .053) for clarity.
  • Thresholds: Values smaller than .001 should be written as P < .001, not as exact values (e.g., avoid P = .000003).

Tables and Figures

Visual elements such as tables and figures must be placed at the end of the main document, immediately following the references. They must not be embedded within the main text. However, all tables and figures must be cited consecutively in the body text (e.g., Table 1, Figure 1) in their order of appearance.

• Tables: Must be editable Word tables, not images. Each table should be placed on a separate page. A descriptive title must be provided and placed above the table. Abbreviations used in tables should be defined in a footnote below the table.
• Figures: Must be high-resolution (min. 300 DPI). Allowed formats: JPEG, TIFF, PNG. In addition to being placed in the main document, high-resolution files of all figures must be uploaded separately. Figures must not be manipulated in a way that misrepresents the original data. Adjustments to brightness, contrast, or color are acceptable only if they are applied to the entire image and do not obscure, remove, or add any information.
• Captions: Figure captions should be placed below the respective figure.
• Previously Published Material: Tables or figures reproduced or adapted from other sources must be cited in the table title or figure caption (see Previously Published or Copyrighted Material).

Appendices

Appendices (e.g., lists, tables, or graphics) should be placed separately at the end of the manuscript. Each appendix should be numbered and titled (e.g., Appendix 1. List of Data Collection Tools).

Style and Presentation

Formulas and Equations

For clarity and consistency in formulas and equations, please follow these guidelines:

• Number each formula in parentheses at the end, e.g., (1).
• Use the Microsoft Word Equation Editor.
• Present variables in italics and numbers in plain text.

Example: "...as depicted in Equation 1."

Units

• Ensure that all units of measurement are in SI units.
• Use a period in decimal fractions (e.g., 1.24).
• Maintain a single space between the number and the unit (e.g., 4 kg, 22 °C), exceptions: angular definitions (10°), percentages (25%).
• The abbreviation for liter is "L".

Drug Names

Use generic (international nonproprietary) names for drugs. If a brand name is necessary, give it in parentheses together with the manufacturer's name and country at first mention (e.g., metformin (Glucophage; Merck, Darmstadt, Germany)).

Electronic Supplementary Materials

Multimedia files (e.g., video or audio) and large datasets can be submitted as Electronic Supplementary Materials. Where applicable, supplementary materials are edited and formatted in accordance with the journal style by the production team prior to publication.

• Formats: .xlsx, .csv, .jpeg, .avi, .mp4, .pdf.
• Naming: Number consecutively (e.g., ESM_1.pdf).
• Citation: Mention all ESM in the main text.
• Size Limit: Max 128 MB per file.

References

Acta Medica follows a Vancouver-based reference style, as outlined in the National Library of Medicine's (NLM) Citing Medicine guide, with the journal-specific rules described below. Authors are responsible for ensuring that all citations and references are accurate, complete, and formatted according to this style.

The use of citation management software, such as Zotero, EndNote, Mendeley or Citavi, is highly recommended to ensure accuracy.

To help ensure correct formatting, download our ready-to-use citation style files:

• Zotero & Mendeley (.csl)
• LaTeX / BibTeX (.bst)

In-Text Citations

• Numbering: References should be numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals in square brackets in the order of their first mention in the text.
• Multiple Citations: Separate individual numbers with commas without spaces and indicate consecutive ranges with a hyphen (e.g., [1], [3,4], [5-7], [1,3-5]).
• Punctuation: Citation numbers should be placed before punctuation marks (periods, commas, colons, and semicolons).
• Example 1: Recent studies report that malnutrition significantly affects clinical outcomes [1,3-5].
• Example 2: Weber et al. [10] reported that the new treatment modality...

Reference List Formatting Guidelines

All citations in your manuscript must be included in the reference list, and all entries in the reference list must be cited in the text.

• Authors:
  • 1 to 6 Authors: List all authors (e.g., Smith AB, Doe J, Roe BC.).
  • 7 or More Authors: List the first 3 authors, followed by "et al." (e.g., Rivers CI, Mix MD, Wang K, et al.).
• Titles:
  • No Italics: Do not use italics anywhere in the reference list.
  • Article and Book Titles: Use sentence case (capitalize only the first word, proper nouns, and the first word after a colon).
  • Journal Names: Abbreviate journal names according to the NLM Catalog (PubMed) and capitalize them (e.g., Pract Radiat Oncol). Do not use periods in the abbreviation.
• Page Numbers: Provide complete page ranges without abbreviation (e.g., 335-342, not 335-42).
• Place of Publication: For books, book chapters, theses, and reports, provide the place of publication before the publisher. For less well-known cities, add the US state or country abbreviation in parentheses (e.g., New York: McGraw Hill; New Haven (CT): Yale University).
• Book Chapters: Give the page range of the chapter immediately after the year, separated by a colon (e.g., 2018:337-350).
• Series: Give the series title and number in parentheses at the end of the reference (e.g., (WHO technical report series; 894)).
• Websites: Provide the year of publication or last update, the URL after "Available at:", and the date of access in the format "(Accessed on Month Day, Year)".
• DOI: Include the DOI for all references where available. The preferred format is the URL (e.g., https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx). Do not add a period at the end of the DOI.

Examples of Reference Styles

Language Editing

Manuscripts must be written in clear, grammatically correct English (see Publication Language). Editors may request language editing and proofreading at any stage, and authors may be asked to obtain professional language editing services at their own expense if needed. Accepted articles can be published only after these requests have been met.

Cover Letter

A cover letter is required for all submissions, regardless of article type. The cover letter is a confidential note to the editors and is important for the editors' preliminary evaluation. It should be written or pasted into the designated field of the online submission system and should not be uploaded as a separate file.

In the cover letter, authors should explain why they believe the manuscript is suitable for publication in Acta Medica. If the manuscript has been posted as a preprint, this must be clearly stated in the cover letter, together with the preprint DOI or link.

Cover letters accompanying review articles must clearly state the authors' relevant experience, scientific contributions, and prior publications related to the review topic.

Revised Manuscript Submission

When revisions are requested, the revised manuscript must be submitted through the online submission system within the period specified in the decision letter. The following files are required for all revised submissions:

1. Response to Reviewers: A point-by-point response to each comment of the editors and reviewers, describing the changes made and their location in the revised manuscript (e.g., page and line numbers). If authors disagree with a comment, a reasoned explanation should be provided.
2. Main Document (Clean Version): The revised main document without tracked changes, comments, or highlighting.
3. Main Document (Tracked Changes): The revised main document in which all changes are clearly shown using the track changes feature.

If figures have been modified, the updated high-resolution figure files may also be uploaded.

To maintain double-blind peer review, all revision files must remain anonymized. The response to reviewers must not contain author names or affiliations, and author names must be removed from tracked changes and comments (e.g., by removing personal information from the document properties). The revised manuscript must continue to comply with the requirements of the relevant article type.

Post-Acceptance and Production Process

Authors are responsible for actively participating in the production process following the acceptance of their manuscript. Once accepted, the manuscript enters the production workflow provided by the journal's publishing service provider, Akdema Informatics and Publishing. Timely cooperation from authors is essential to ensure prompt publication.

1. Similarity Check: Prior to typesetting, all accepted manuscripts undergo a final similarity check using plagiarism detection software (e.g., iThenticate or Turnitin). The similarity report is evaluated by the editors. If substantial unattributed overlap with other sources or indications of plagiarism or redundant publication are identified, the case is handled in accordance with COPE guidelines, which may result in a request for revision, the reversal of the acceptance decision, or the rejection of the manuscript.
2. Language and Style Review: Accepted manuscripts are reviewed for language, clarity, consistency, and compliance with the journal style. Depending on the editorial workflow of the journal, authors may be asked to revise their manuscript accordingly or to obtain professional language editing services at their own expense before publication (see Language Editing).
3. Reference Checking: All references are checked for accuracy, completeness, and compliance with the journal's reference style. Authors may be asked to correct or complete references.
4. Galley Proofs: After layout and typesetting, the galley proof (PDF) is sent to the corresponding author. This is the final opportunity to check for typesetting errors, missing figures, layout issues, and the accuracy of author names, affiliations, and ORCID iDs.
   • Authors are expected to return their corrections or approval within the period specified in the proof notification email.
   • Major changes to the text or authorship are not permitted at this stage.
5. DOI and Early View Publication: After the author's approval of the proof, the article is assigned a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) and published online in the Early View section before being assigned to a volume and issue. Early View articles have been peer-reviewed and accepted for publication and can be cited using their DOI (see Examples of Reference Styles). When the article is assigned to a volume and issue, it is removed from Early View and published in that issue with its final bibliographic details (volume, issue, and page numbers); the DOI remains unchanged.
6. Changes After Publication:
   • Early View: Before an article is assigned to an issue, only minor typesetting errors that do not affect the content may be corrected at the request of the editors or the authors. Other changes are made through a correction notice in accordance with the Correction and Retraction Policy. An Early View article that is found to contain serious errors, to be a duplicate, or to violate publication ethics may be retracted in accordance with COPE guidelines; in such cases, the DOI remains active and a retraction notice explaining the reason is published.
   • Issue Publication: Once an article is published in an issue, it cannot be modified. Errors identified after issue publication are handled in accordance with the Correction and Retraction Policy.