The Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery Online Submission and Review System

Instructions for Authors (this page) Reprint Ordering Permissions Requests Open Access JTACS Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form

NEW IN 2024:

Due to the high cost and limited allocation of color pages, starting with Volume 97, Issue 1 (July issue of 2024), only certain figure types will be reproduced in color in the print journal. In addition, the corresponding author will answer submission questions to capture color figure billing information. Full details are below under the Color Figures section.

NEW REQUIREMENTS REGARDING DISCLOSURE OF CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

Effective July 1, 2023, new requirements regarding the Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest ion for any manuscript submitted to The Journal have been in place. Please read the Instructions for Authors document in detail to learn about the new requirement. 

Author Checklist

The items in this checklist are essential items for your manuscript. Please ensure that you include everything listed here. Please also be sure to read the full set of Information for Authors to make sure your manuscript is prepared properly and submitted accurately. This will ensure your manuscript is processed in a timely fashion and enters the peer-review process as quickly as possible.

• You must choose an Article Type, Content Source, and Article Classification(s) upon submission. A full list of Article Types is included in the Information for Authors in the “Manuscript Types and Content Limits” section. A listing of Content Sources and Article Classifications is included on Editorial Manager, the manuscript tracking system we use to manage the peer-review process. You will be prompted to include this information upon submission.
• You must comply with our Double-Anonymous (Double-Blind) peer review requirements for certain Article Types. Please read the below notice carefully to learn about our Double-Anonymous peer-review process. You must remove all personal and institutional identifiers from the manuscript.
• You must include complete JTACS Conflict of Interest Disclosure Forms from all authors at the time of the INITIAL submission. A link to the JTACS form can be found at here. Corresponding authors are responsible for collecting and uploading all JTACS COI Disclosure forms. PEER REVIEW WILL NOT PROCEED UNTIL ALL JTACS COI DISCLOSURE FORMS ARE UPLOADED. See additional information below.
• Include conflict of interest and funding statements on your title page. For a list of examples of potential conflicts of interest, see the “Conflicts of Interest Statement” section in the Information for Authors. An example of a COI statement for the Title Page should state that “JTACS COI Disclosure forms for all authors have been supplied and are provided as supplemental digital content.”
• You must comply with study quality guidelines. See the “Study Quality Guidelines” section of Information for Authors for more details.
• For Clinical Research, Levels of Evidence are mandatory and MUST be included. Please see the Levels of Evidence table in the “Levels of Evidence” section of the Information for Authors.
• You must adhere to word, figure/table, and reference number limits per article type. These counts are included in a table in the “Manuscript Types and Content Limits” section of the Information for Authors.
• You must include a Visual Abstract. Templates are provided in the “Visual Abstract” section of the Information for Authors.

Double-Anonymous (Double-Blind) Peer Review

As of March 1, 2022, the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery (JTACS) will implement a double-anonymous (also known as a double-blind) peer review process. Double-anonymous peer review means that authors and reviewers do not know each other’s identities. The journal’s implementation of the double-anonymous peer review system is intended to help minimize potential reviewer bias.

The following article types will undergo double-anonymous peer review: Original Research, Systematic Reviews, Scoping Reviews, Review Articles, Brief Reports, Consensus Statements, Procedures and Techniques, Current Opinions, and Algorithms/Guidelines/Clinical Pathways. The following submissions will be reviewed solely at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief and the Deputy and Associate Editors and will NOT undergo double-anonymous peer-review: Presidential Addresses, Named Lectures, and Letter to the Editor.

The authors are ultimately responsible for removing all personal and institutional identifiers from the manuscript. Identifying information should not be in the file name or in any parts of the manuscript file. The Manuscript File must not include the Cover Letter or the Title Page. In METHODS, do not reveal the name of the Institution, Hospital, or Trauma Center where the work was done. No identifying institutional information should be included in the IRB approval statement; instead, just state that IRB approval was obtained and, if there is a protocol number, add it in parenthesis. In the body of the manuscript, references to previously published studies (e.g., “In our previous study.”) should not be used; instead, write “it has been shown….” for example.

Identifiers in the Cover Letter and in the Title Page, DO NOT need to be removed, as the reviewer’s PDF will not include those pages. The Title Page is uploaded as a separate document from the manuscript. Please see the Instruction for Authors for information on the content of the Cover Letter and Title Page.

The following statement must appear in the submission’s Cover Letter: “I, AUTHOR, have reviewed and edited the submission to omit any identifying information. I hereby submit this self-blinded manuscript for consideration in The Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery.”

Authors should carefully read the Manuscript Preparation section for specific directions.

ABOUT THE JOURNAL

Scope

The Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery (JTACS) is a peer-reviewed, multidisciplinary journal directed to an audience of Acute Care Surgery providers. The Journal welcomes submissions from all sources and all countries that contribute to the scientific knowledge of the management of trauma, emergency surgery, and the care of critically ill patients.

Journal Mission Statement

To disseminate scientific knowledge, technological, and therapeutic innovations in the field of Trauma, Surgical Critical Care, and Emergency Surgery through the publication of high-quality research, to improve care to all injured and critically ill surgical patients.

The Editor’s Strategic Vision

JTACS aspires to be the most trusted, read and cited vehicle of high-quality research information in the fields of Trauma, Surgical Critical Care, and Emergency Surgery globally.

EDITORIAL POLICIES

Ethical & Legal Considerations

A submitted manuscript must be an original contribution not previously published (except as an abstract); must not be under consideration for publication elsewhere; and, if accepted, must not be published or reproduced elsewhere in a similar form, in any language, without the consent of Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Authors must submit manuscripts online through the Journal's editorial management site at www.editorialmanager.com/jt. Submission instructions are listed in the Manuscript Submission section below.

The final responsibility for the scientific accuracy and validity of published manuscripts rests with the authors, not with the Journal, its editors, or the publisher.

Patient Anonymity and Informed Consent

It is the author's responsibility to ensure that a patient's anonymity is carefully protected, to verify that any experimental investigation with human subjects reported in the manuscript was performed with informed consent and follows all the guidelines for experimental investigation with human subjects required by the institution(s) with which all the authors are affiliated.

Authors must comply with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ HIPAA Privacy Rule, particularly those provisions concerned with the protection of health information in research (more information can be found at https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/special-topics/research/index.html). Authors should mask patients' eyes and remove patient names from figures unless written consent has been obtained and submitted with the manuscript.

Protection of Human Subjects & Animals in Research

For original research articles in the Journal reporting studies involving animals, the corresponding author must confirm that all experiments were performed in accordance with relevant guidelines and regulations (i.e., IACUC guidelines and federal regulations). When documenting animal studies, we recommend adhering to the ARRIVE.

All studies of human subjects must contain a statement within the Methods section that indicates approval of the study by an institutional review body (i.e., Institutional Review Board), and, if appropriate, a statement confirming that informed consent was obtained from all subjects. If no legally informed consent could be obtained, such as in research carried out with human subjects receiving emergency treatment, authors should indicate that a waiver of regulatory requirements for obtaining and documenting informed consent applies (in accordance with the U.S. HHS federal guidance and reporting guidelines (PLoS Bio 8(6),e1000412,2010).

More information regarding the journal’s standards on protecting the welfare of human subjects in research can be accessed from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Human Research Protections.

Research Integrity

The Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery requires authors to take note of and adhere to guidelines established by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Research Integrity (https://ori.hhs.gov).

The Journal itself is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) (http://publicationethics.org/), and editors will investigate suspected instances of scientific fraud. All submissions are screened for inappropriate image manipulation, plagiarism, duplicate publication, and other issues that violate research ethics. Depending on the outcome of these investigations, the Journal may decide to publish an erratum or, in cases of serious scientific misconduct, ask authors to retract their paper or to impose retraction on them.

Authorship

Each author must have contributed significantly to and be willing to take public responsibility for one or more aspects of the study: conception and design, data acquisition, data analysis and interpretation, drafting of the manuscript, and critical revision.

All authors must have been actively involved in the drafting and critical revision of the manuscript, and each must provide final approval of the version to be published. Documentation of each author’s role must be detailed in an authorship statement on the title page of the manuscript, listing the contribution followed by the relevant author’s initials. The following types of contributions must be included:

Author contributions:

Conception and Study design: AB, CD, EF

Literature Review: AB, CD

Data acquisition: CD, EF

Data Analysis and Interpretation: AB, CD, EF, GH, IJ

Drafting of the manuscript: AB, CD, EF, GH, IJ

Critical revision: AB, CD, AB, CD, EF, GH, IJ

Other (Specify):

Individuals who have contributed to only one facet of the study (including manuscript development) or have contributed only to clinical cases should be credited in the acknowledgments. Authors of multi-center studies can be included as members of a working group and will be listed in PubMed. The Journal allows but does not encourage dual first authorship.

Deceased researchers who meet the above criteria for authorship may be included. The date of death should be noted on the title page; specific contributions should be enumerated in the authorship statement. Conflict of Interest Statements and Disclosures, if not on file prior to the author’s death, should be signed by the corresponding author. The author list should not include names of deceased researchers who did not directly participate in a study. Dedications may be included in the acknowledgments.

All co-authors must confirm their authorship status (via Editorial Manager), in order for an article to move into production. Authors will be asked to provide their ORCID number, social media handles, and a 280-character media summary with each submission through Editorial Manager.

Changes in Authorship

Some changes in authorship (i.e., order of names, the addition of co-authors, re-designation of corresponding author status) are permitted while a paper is under review. Substantive changes (i.e., removal or addition of a co-author) require agreement from all authors listed on the initially submitted manuscript.

Changes to the corresponding author status may be made only when agreement from the original corresponding author can be secured by the editorial office. If the corresponding author of a paper in revision is not responsive, and the previous decision was released more than 60 days prior, the editorial office may proceed with re-designation. In such cases, the original corresponding author will be copied on all Journal correspondence.

If an author is added or removed while a paper is under revision, the editors will ask for justification from the corresponding author. Co-authors will be individually queried for consent as well. Further review will be suspended until authorship has been resolved.

After acceptance, changes in authorship require written consent from all co-authors. Production and publication of the paper will be suspended until authorship has been agreed. In cases of the post-acceptance removal of an author, after an agreement has been documented, the Journal will inform the excluded author and proceed with the requested change. Further action will not be taken by the Journal; after the agreement, authors may pursue the matter directly with co-authors or institutions.

After publication, all authors must consent to the addition of an extra author. If all authors agree, a corrigendum will be published. In cases of disagreement, authors will be advised that the change will not be made until a written agreement is provided. Intractable disagreement will prompt the Journal to contact author institutions for adjudication. Corrections will only then be granted per institutional request.

Removing an author after publication will also require confirmation from all co-authors. However, if fraud or misconduct is alleged, the Journal will investigate. If an author disagrees with the published interpretation of data in their own paper, all authors will be provided with the opportunity to document their concerns, published at the discretion of the editor.

Artificial Intelligence Authoring Tools and Authorship Policy

The Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery does not accept using generative artificial intelligence (AI) and AI-assisted technologies to collect, analyze, or interpret data reported in a manuscript. Such tools may be used for editing purposes, to improve readability only, and the authors must explicitly declare their use (see below).

The journal follows guidelines from COPE and ICMJE regarding AI authoring tools and requirements and responsibilities of authorship. AI tools should not be listed as an author. Authors are ultimately responsible and accountable for the contents of the work, and AI tools cannot take responsibility and do not bear accountability for submitted works. 

Authors who use AI tools must be fully transparent in their use in the writing of a manuscript. Authors must disclose the use of AI tools in the Materials and Methods (or similar section) of the paper as to 1) how the AI tool was used and 2) which AI tool was used.

Authors are responsible for all content in their manuscript, including content generated by AI tools, and are therefore liable for any breach of publication ethics.

Author Conflict of Interest (COI) Disclosures

TO INCREASE COMPLIANCE WITH THE MANDATORY DISCLOSURE OF COI FOR ALL AUTHORS OF A MANUSCRIPT SUBMITTED TO THE JOURNAL OF TRAUMA AND ACUTE CARE SURGERY, THE FOLLOWING ACTIONS WILL BE IN EFFECT AS OF JULY 1, 2023.

• ALL authors MUST complete the JTACS Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form at the time of the INITIAL submission of a manuscript to the Journal’s portal in Editorial Manager (www.editorialmanager.com/jt). A link to the JTACS Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form can be found here.
• The completed JTACS Conflict of Interest Disclosure Forms (all co-authors) will be uploaded by the corresponding author as Supplemental Digital Content (SDC). The forms may be combined into one single document (WORD or PDF) or uploaded individually (one per co-author)
• A manuscript should not be submitted until all JTACS Conflict of Interest Disclosure Forms are available to the Corresponding Author and have been uploaded into Editorial Manager. Manuscripts will not advance to the peer review phase until all JTACS Conflict of Interest Disclosure Forms have been received. Submissions without complete JTACS Conflict of Interest Disclosure Forms will be returned to the corresponding author.
• When the manuscript is ready for peer review, the JTACS Conflict of Interest Disclosure Forms will NOT be available to the reviewers to avoid potential reviewer bias based on the disclosures.
• Authors are encouraged to search the CMS Open Payments Database found at https://openpaymentsdata.cms.gov and report on the JTACS Conflict of Interest Disclosure form ALL COI and any other conflicts related or unrelated to the manuscript being submitted to the Journal for the last 36 months / 3 years.
• In studies funded by ANY entity with a proprietary or financial interest in the outcome of the study, the corresponding author will be required to supply a COI statement on the title page of the manuscript stating the following: “I, xxxxxxxx, attest on behalf of all authors, that we had full access to the data of the study, conducted all data analyses independently from the funding entity, and take complete responsibility for the integrity and accuracy of the data reported in the manuscript.” This is required at submission.
• COI disclosure violations suspected or discovered during the peer review process or after the publication of a manuscript will be investigated by the EIC, the Managing Editor, and a group of Deputy and Associate Editors according to the procedures delineated by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)^11,12 (https://publicationethics.org/guidance/Flowcharts)
• A published article may need a correction or retraction, depending on whether the editors consider the conflict of interest to have affected the conduct of research and the reporting of the results.
• In cases of suspected misconduct, the authors’ institutions will be notified. In case of confirmation of misconduct, authors will be banned from publishing in the Journal for a period of time, decided in a case-by-case manner.
• Editors and editorial board members MUST submit a complete JTACS Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form to the Managing Editor yearly.

Open access
Authors of accepted peer-reviewed articles have the choice to pay a fee to allow perpetual, unrestricted online access to their published article to readers globally immediately upon publication. Authors may take advantage of the open-access option at the point of submission. Please note that this choice has no influence on the peer review and acceptance process. These articles are subject to the journal's standard peer-review process and will be accepted or rejected based on their own merit.

The article processing charge (APC) is charged on acceptance of the article and should be paid within 30 days by the author, funding agency or institution. Payment must be processed for the article to be published open access. For a list of journals and pricing, please visit our Wolters Kluwer Hybrid Open Access Journals page.

Authors retain copyright
Authors retain their copyright for all articles they opt to publish open access. Authors grant Wolters Kluwer an exclusive license to publish the article and the article is made available under the terms of a Creative Commons user license. Please visit our Open Access Publication Process page for more information.

Creative Commons license
Open-access articles are freely available to read, download, and share from the time of publication under the terms of the Creative Commons License Attribution-Non Commercial No Derivative (CC BY-NC-ND) license. This license does not permit reuse for any commercial purposes, nor does it cover the reuse or modification of individual elements of the work (such as figures, tables, etc.) in the creation of derivative works without specific permission.

Compliance with funder-mandated open access policies
An author whose work is funded by an organization that mandates the use of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license is able to meet that requirement through the available open-access license for approved funders. Information about the approved funders can be found here.

Read and Publish Agreements
Wolters Kluwer currently has read-and-publish agreements with institutional consortia listed here.

Corresponding authors who are affiliated with the participating institution and who qualify as eligible authors* can publish their eligible articles open access in the eligible LWW journals at no direct cost to them. Please see your institution’s individual policy for guidance on eligible article types and license choices. To qualify for the APC waiver, the corresponding author must provide their participating institution’s name and institutional email address in the journal’s submission system. On acceptance, the corresponding author will be asked to place an open access order in the publisher’s payment portal where they will be able to request the APC be funded in accordance with this agreement. A $0.00 APC will then be applied.

*Eligible authors: Corresponding authors who are teaching and research staff employed by or otherwise accredited to one of the participating institutions, as well as students enrolled or accredited to one of the institutions and who want to publish open-access articles.

Compliance with National Institutes of Health Accessibility Requirements
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) requires authors to submit the “post-print” (the final manuscript, in Word format, after peer-review and acceptance for publication but prior to the publisher’s copyediting, design, formatting, and other services) of research the NIH funds to a repository that is accessible online by all without charge. As a service to our authors, LWW will identify to the National Library of Medicine (NLM) articles that require deposit and will transmit the post-print of an article based on research funded in whole or in part by the NIH to PubMed Central.

FAQ for open access
https://www.wolterskluwer.com/en/solutions/lippincott-journals/lippincott-open-access/faq

Copyright Transfer Agreement
Each author must complete and submit the journal’s copyright transfer via an online form. The corresponding/submitting author completes the form as part of the Editorial Manager submission process. Co-authors are emailed a link to the form using the email address provided upon submission. The copyright transfer form is required before manuscript acceptance.

Permissions
Any permission fees that might be required by the copyright owner are the responsibility of the authors requesting the use of the borrowed material and are not the responsibility of the Journal or Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. For more information, please consult an FAQ at https://shop.lww.com/journal-permission

Preprints
If the submission has been deposited to a publicly accessible repository or preprint server, authors must disclose this information in the cover letter. If the submission is accepted for publication, authors must update the preprint version with the final publication information and link to the article in the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery.

MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION

Manuscripts that do not adhere to the following instructions will be returned to the corresponding author for technical revision before undergoing peer review.

Ownership of and responsibility for the accuracy of scientific content (including research data, correct spelling, and usage of scientific terms, as well as ensuring readability of the paper through proper use of English Grammar and syntax) lies fully with the author(s) at the time of manuscript submission.

STUDY QUALITY GUIDELINES

The Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery requires its prospective authors to follow international reporting standards when documenting study methods. To find guidelines for a particular study design, please consult the resources below or see the EQUATOR Network’s library of reporting guidelines (www.equator-network.org).

For the study designs listed below, the use of the applicable EQUATOR network guideline is required, and its mention in the METHODS section is MANDATORY. In addition, the specific COMPLETE checklist of the guideline must be uploaded as Supplemental Digital Content (SDC). To complete the use of the guideline, you must add the page number on your manuscript after each criterion listed in the guideline. An example of the required entry in METHODS is: "The XXXXXXXX guideline was used to ensure proper reporting of methods, results, and discussion (SDC 1).

Reporting Clinical Trials

The Journal follows the WHO definition of a clinical trial:

"A clinical trial is any research study that prospectively assigns human participants or groups of humans to one or more health-related interventions to evaluate the effects on health outcomes. Interventions include but are not restricted to drugs, cells, and other biological products, surgical procedures, radiologic procedures, devices, behavioral treatments, process-of-care changes, preventive care, etc."

The Journal supports the position of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) on trial registration. All trials initiated after 1 July 2005 must be registered prospectively in a publicly accessible registry (i.e. before patient recruitment has begun), or they will not be considered for publication. Authors must state the registry in the first paragraph of the Methods section of the manuscript.

All clinical trials involving investigational drugs or devices supported by a pharmaceutical company or device manufacturer that began after January 1, 2008 must be registered prior to patient enrollment.

For more information, please see the http://www.icmje.org/about-icmje/faqs/clinical-trials-registration/ and the WHO's list of approved registries at https://www.who.int/clinical-trials-registry-platform/network/primary-registries.

Authors of randomized trials must adhere to the CONSORT reporting guidelines appropriate to their trial design. Please check the CONSORT statement website for information on the appropriate guidelines for specific trial types. Before the paper can enter peer review, authors must:

1. provide the trial name as it appears in the registry, trial registration number, and IRB number
   
   and
2. provide a copy of the completed CONSORT flow diagram as a supporting file (this diagram will be published alongside the paper if accepted).

The CONSORT flow diagram must be included as a figure. This CONSORT diagram will be included in the published version of the manuscript and, as such, will count as one of the figures (for more information regarding figure limits, please see Manuscript Types and Content Limits below). Moreover, any deviation from the trial protocol must be explained in the paper. Authors must explicitly discuss informed consent in their paper, and the Journal’s editorial office reserves the right to ask for a copy of the patient consent form(s). Information on statistical methods or participants beyond what is indicated in the CONSORT statement should be reported in the Methods section. If the CONSORT flow diagram is not included in the submission, the paper will be returned to the author for inclusion before the paper moves to peer review.

The Journal supports the public disclosure of all clinical trial results, as mandated by the FDA Amendments Act of 2007. Prior disclosure of results on a public website such as http://clinicaltrials.gov will not affect the decision to proceed to peer review or accept papers in the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery.

Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses

Reports of systematic reviews and meta-analyses should use the PRISMA statement as a guide and include a completed flow diagram to accompany the main text. Blank templates of the checklist and flow diagram can be downloaded from the PRISMA website. Please include a complete PRISMA checklist with the initial submission as Supplemental Digital Content (SDC) to be included online only as a supplement to the article.

Authors must also state within the Methods section of their paper whether a protocol exists for their systematic review, and if so, provide a copy of the protocol as supporting information. The Journal supports the prospective registration of systematic reviews. Authors whose systematic review was prospectively registered (e.g., in a registry such as PROSPERO) should also provide the registry number in the Abstract and Methods. Registry details and protocols will be made available to editors and reviewers and will be included alongside the paper for readers if the report is ultimately published. A statistical review may be requested by the Editor-in-Chief and performed by the Journal’s biostatisticians prior to the final decision by the editor.

Reporting Diagnostic Studies

Reports of studies of diagnostic accuracy should conform to the STARD requirements available at http://www.equator-network.org/reporting-guidelines/stard/

Reporting Observational Studies

For reports of observational studies (cohort, case-control, or cross-sectional designs), please consult the STROBE statement. The respective checklist is available at https://www.equator-network.org/reporting-guidelines/strobe/

Reporting Microarray Experiments

Reports of microarray experiments should conform to the MIAME guidelines available at http://fged.org/projects/miame/ and the data from the experiments must be deposited in a publicly accessible database.

Reporting Scoping Reviews

Reports of Scoping Reviews should use the PRISMA-ScR guideline and the respective checklist available at https://www.equator-network.org/reporting-guidelines/prisma-scr/

Reporting Clinical Practice Guidelines

Reports of Clinical Practice Guidelines should conform to either the AGREE or RIGHT guidelines. The respective checklists can be found at https://www.equator-network.org/reporting-guidelines/the-agree-reporting-checklist-a-tool-to-improve-reporting-of-clinical-practice-guidelines/ and https://www.equator-network.org/reporting-guidelines/right-statement/

Reporting Animal Studies

Reports of animal studies should conform to the ARRIVE guidelines. The respective checklist can be found at https://www.arriveguidelines.org

Reporting Economic Evaluations of Health Interventions

Reports of Economic Evaluations of Health Interventions should conform to the CHEERS guidelines. The respective checklist can be found at https://www.equator-network.org/reporting-guidelines/cheers/

Survey Studies

Reports of Survey Studies should conform to the CROSS guidelines. The explanation and respective checklist can be found in the following article: Sharma A et al., J Gen Intern Med 36(10):3179–87

Quality Improvement

Reports on Quality Improvement should conform to the SQUIRE 2.0 guidelines. The respective checklist can be found at https://www.equator-network.org/reporting-guidelines/squire/

Prediction Model Development and Validation

Reports on Prediction Model Development and Validation should conform to the TRIPOD guidelines. The respective checklist can be found at https://www.equator-network.org/reporting-guidelines/tripod-statement/

Disparities Research

For manuscripts that primarily focus on reporting health differences by race and/or ethnicity, follow the disparities research guidelines set forth by the American Heart Association, which can be found at https://www.ahajournals.org/disparities-research-guidelines.

LEVELS OF EVIDENCE

The Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery requires authors to describe their study and include an assessment of their conclusion(s) by indicating the Levels of Evidence and study type at the end of their abstract. These Levels of Evidence will be reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief and recategorized, as needed. Basic science research including animal and cellular studies do not need to include Levels of Evidence. To determine the level under which a study falls, please consult the following table:

MANUSCRIPT TYPES AND CONTENT LIMITS

Please review the following descriptions of manuscript types and the required article lengths, number of figures and tables, and reference counts. Manuscripts should be as succinct as possible.

Manuscript Type	Abstract Style	Word Limit	Figure/ Table Limit	Reference Limit	SDC* Accepted?	IRB Statement Required?	Checklist Required?	Visual Abstract Required?	Level of Evidence Required?§	Study Type Required?§
Original Research (P)	Structured	4,000	6	50	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Regular Review Articles † (O)	Summary	5,000	6	80	Yes	No	No	Optional	No	No
Scoping Reviews (O)	Summary	3,000	6	50	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No	No
Systematic Reviews with Meta-Analysis (P)	Structured	4,000	6	80	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Systematic Reviews w/o Meta-Analysis (O)	Structured	4,000	6	80	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Brief Reports (P)	Structured	2,000	4	20	Yes	Yes‡	No	Optional	No	No
Consensus Statements (O)	None	1,500	3	0	Yes	No	Maybe¶,ǁ	No	No	No
Editorials† (P)	None	1000	0	0	No	No	No	No	No	No
Presidential Address (P)	None	3000	6	50	No	No	No	No	No	No
Named Meeting Lectures -Fitts, Frame, Orien, etc. (O)	None	3,000	6	50	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Procedures and Techniques (O)	None	2,000	8	20	Yes	Maybe¶	No	No	No	No
Current Opinions† (O)	Summary	2,000	4	40	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Algorithms /Guidelines/ Clinical Pathways (P)	None	3,500	6	100	Yes	No	No	No	No	No
Invited Commentaries (P)	None	750	0	10	No	No	No	No	No	No
Letters to the Editor (O)	None	1,000	0	5	Yes	No	No	No	No	No

* Supplemental Digital Content
† Solicited and/or approved by the Editor-in-Chief
O=Online
P=Print
‡IRB required only if case series are reported in the article, otherwise not needed if only a description of a technical procedure
¶ If patient information is being reported
§ Not required for basic science, cell, or animal studies
ǁ If a survey was used (supply survey as SDC)

Original Research. This article type includes clinical research, translational research, basic sciences research, randomized-controlled trials, laboratory and animal research, outcome studies, and economic and cost analyses. A clearly stated objective or hypothesis and information on study design and methodology, participation, interventions, outcome measurements, and study results should be included. Authors must indicate a level of evidence and study type in the abstract. Basic Science articles do not require a level of evidence.

Original articles are limited to 4,000 words, 6 tables/figures, and 50 references. The word limit does not include abstract, authorship statement, references, tables, or figures. This category is included in the PRINT VERSION of the journal.

Review Articles. This article type includes 3 types of submissions: Regular Reviews, Scoping Reviews, and Systematic Reviews.

Regular Review articles provide an overview of our current understanding of a subject and may highlight new areas of development and discovery. Review articles contain a summary abstract (not structured) and are limited to 5,000 words with 6 tables/figures and 80 references. These articles are “by invitation” only or are subject to prior approval by the Editor-in-Chief so that content aligns with topics currently being published in the journal. The word limit does not include abstract, authorship statement, references, tables, or figures. Regular Reviews will be published exclusively online.

Scoping Review submissions must follow the specific EQUATOR guideline and methodology (PRISMA-ScR) and may be submitted independently. Scoping reviews are limited to 3,000 words, 6 tables/figures, and 50 references. The word limit does not include abstract, authorship statement, references, tables, or figures. This category is published online only.

Systematic Review (with or without Meta-Analysis): These submissions document the selection, discovery, critique, and synthesis of evidence relevant to well-defined research questions. Please indicate the inclusion of meta-analysis in the title. The structured abstract should include background, objectives, data sources, study eligibility criteria, participants and interventions, study appraisal and synthesis methods, results, limitations, conclusions, implications of key findings, and systematic review registration number.

PRISMA guidelines must be followed throughout. The PRISMA flow diagram must be included as a figure, and a complete Prisma Checklist must be included as Supplemental Digital Content. This article type is different than the Review Articles outlined above, as the methodology is specific and the scientific value is higher. This article type can be submitted independently.

Systematic review articles are limited to 4,000 words, 6 tables/figures, and 80 references. The word limit does not include abstract, authorship statement, references, tables, or figures. Supplemental Digital Content is allowed. This category is published in the print version.

Special Reports. This article type includes Editorials (of any kind), Named Meeting Lectures (Fitts, Frame, Orien, etc.), Presidential Addresses, Procedures & Techniques, Brief Reports, and Consensus Statements.

See the above table for specific submission guidelines per type of content and for information about the type of publication (print or online).

Current Opinion. These submissions are limited to topics as determined appropriate by the Editor-in-Chief during the initial submission review. Occasionally, the editor will request a current opinion to align with articles that are in the publishing pipeline, and if accepted, it may be published in the same issue of the journal. All Current Opinion manuscripts will be published online only. Current opinions are limited to 2,000 words, 4 tables/figures, and 40 references. The word limit does not include abstract, authorship statement, references, tables, or figures.

Algorithm/Guidelines/Clinical Pathways. Articles in this category can be submitted as independent submissions or as an article from one of the annual meetings of JTACS’ affiliated societies (e.g., EAST, WTA, PTS, TAC) or specific agreements with international societies (e.g., AAST-WSES). If a submission is the product of an affiliated society and it was presented at their annual meeting, it will preferentially be published in that society’s issue of JTACS. These submissions represent consensus-based clinical practice guidelines with appropriate references to support the recommendations. This category is included in the print version of the journal.

Surgical Videos. These are submissions currently only offered by EAST as part of their annual meeting content. Specific guidelines are established by that society. This category is published online only.

Letter to the Editor. Letters should contain brief and thoughtful analyses of an article published in the Journal. Selected letters will be published at the Editor’s discretion upon receipt of a response letter from the original authors. If an author does not provide a response to the letter, publication of the original letter is at the Editor’s discretion. Letters may include up to three co-authors and are limited to 1,000 words and must include a reference section citing the article about which the letter was written. No letters will be published without this reference. This category is published online only.

MANUSCRIPT COMPONENTS

1. Author Forms – JTACS Conflict of Interest Disclosure/Copyright Transfer Agreement:
   • JTACS Conflict of Interest Disclosure: Each author MUST complete the JTACS Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form at the time of the INITIAL submission. A link to the JTACS form can be found here. Co-authors should supply their completed forms to the corresponding author for inclusion with the manuscript files prior to submission. PEER REVIEW WILL NOT PROCEED UNTIL ALL FORMS HAVE BEEN SUBMITTED.
   • Copyright Transfer Form: Each author must complete and submit the journal’s copyright transfer agreement via an online form. The corresponding/submitting author completes the form as part of the Editorial Manager submission process. Co-authors are emailed a link to the form to the email address provided upon submission. The copyright transfer form is required prior to acceptance of the manuscript.


2. Cover Letter – The cover letter should include:
   • Full title.
   • Article type (see section Manuscript Types above for a full list of paper types).
   • Confirmation that your submission has not been published elsewhere (see Preprint policy above, if applicable).
   • The following statement: “I, AUTHOR, have reviewed and edited the submission to omit any identifying information. I hereby submit this self-blinded manuscript for consideration in The Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery.”
   • Corresponding Author's contact information.
   • Indicate membership in AAST, EAST, WTA, PTS, TAC, CWIS, or ANZAST to have color graphics reproduction fees waived. If this is not included, you will be charged full price for the color graphic reproduction in the print journal.


3. Title Page - The Title Page should include:
• Complete manuscript title.
• Include Word count (see allowed number of words per article type in the above table)
• Short title (running head) of not more than 45 characters.
• Authors' full names, highest academic degrees, affiliations, and ORCID number, at a minimum of the corresponding author, although all authors should make an effort to have an ORCID number.
• E-mail addresses for all authors (please provide telephone numbers or mailing addresses for authors who do not have e-mail addresses).
• Name and address for correspondence, including telephone number and e-mail address of the corresponding author.
• Address for reprints, if different from that of the corresponding author.
• Conflict of interest disclosure statement should state that all JTACS Disclosure forms have been supplied and are provided as supplemental digital content.
• In studies funded by ANY entity with a proprietary or financial interest in the outcome of the study, the corresponding author will be required to provide a COI statement placed on the title page of the manuscript stating the following: “I, xxxxxxxx, attest on behalf of all authors, that we had full access to the data of the study, conducted all data analyses independently from the funding entity, and take complete responsibility for the integrity and accuracy of the data reported in the manuscript.” Author Contribution statement detailing the contribution each author (use initials) made to the study (e.g., literature search, study design, data collection, data analysis, data interpretation, writing, critical revision, etc) under a separate heading.
• Disclose the meeting where the paper was presented, if any.
• Disclosures of funding received for the work, including from any of the following organizations: National Institutes of Health (NIH); Wellcome Trust; and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), industry and foundations.
• The authors will be required to submit social media information as follows:
  • A media summary of a maximum of 280 characters summarizing the paper findings.
  • Up to 3 hashtags as well as social media handles for authors and affiliated institutions. Be as specific as possible to ensure the social media release reaches the proper audience.
• Acknowledgements may also be included.


4. Abstract with Key Words
• Submit your abstract as a separate file.
• Structured abstracts are required for Original Research, Systematic Reviews, and Brief Reports.
• Limit the abstract to 300 words.
• Limit the use of abbreviations and acronyms; do not cite references.
• Use the following subheads for structured abstracts: Background, Methods, Results, Conclusions, and Level of Evidence (only for Original Research Including human subjects and Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses.
• Indicate study type (prognostic/epidemiological, therapeutic/care management, diagnostic test/criteria, economic/value-based evaluations, and Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis) after Level of Evidence (e.g. Level III, Prognostic/Epidemiological).
• List three to five keywords.


5. Text – The manuscript must include:
• Four main headings: Background, Methods, Results, and Discussion.
• Define abbreviations at first mentioned in the text and in each table and figure. If a brand name is cited, supply the manufacturer's name and address (city and state/country).
• Acknowledgments may also be included.
• All citations must be cited sequentially within the article and in the references.
• Follow the limits for the maximum number of words, tables, and references for the manuscript type (see section Manuscript Types above).
• All required checklists should be uploaded at submission as Supplemental Digital Content (SDC).


6. Point-by-Point Response

For Revisions, you must upload a point-by-point discussion addressing each of the reviewer’s comments (see section Manuscript Submission below for details) as a separate file under the file type “Response to Reviewers.” Do not provide the Response to Reviewers on letterhead or sign the document, or include any other author- or institutional-identifying information.

7. Figures & Tables
• All figures must be submitted in a separate file from the text file.
• Each figure is limited to a maximum of four parts or panels. Multi-panel images that do not abide by this limit will be placed online as supplemental digital content.
• List figures numbers consecutively within the text and online submissions.
• Lettering should be large enough that it will remain legible after figure reduction.
• Figure parts (A, B, C, D) may be left unlabeled (but clearly marked in the figure legend) for design layout by the Journal's publisher.
• For details concerning figure specifications, please see Creating Digital Artwork below.

7a. Color Figures

Due to the high cost and limited allocation of color pages, starting with Volume 97, Issue 1 (July issue of 2024), only certain figure types will be reproduced in color in the print journal. The instructions below should be followed regarding illustrations (figures and pictures). 

Figures should be submitted in color or black and white as they are to appear in the final published article. Members of the affiliated societies of JTACS will receive a maximum of 2 eligible color illustrations per article free of charge. Non-member authors and members with more than 2 eligible color figures will be billed for the color images at the following rates: $750 (first color figure); $250 (each subsequent figure). 

Only the following image types will be reproduced as color illustrations:

• Surgical Pictures
• Surgical or Research Diagrams
• Heat Maps
• Histology Pictures
• Immunofluorescence Pictures
• Flow Cytometry Graphs
• Selected Radiology Image Reconstructions 

The following figure types should be submitted only in black-and-white or grayscale. Please provide figure legends for readability in black and white. The figures will be produced only in black-and-white or grayscale (with or without patterns), regardless of affiliated member status:

• Computer Generated Graphs:
• Bar
• Column
• Pie
• Line
• Histogram
• Kaplan-Maier Curves
• ROC Curves
• Algorithms
• Flow Charts

For circumstances outside those above described, members may add a request for color illustrations in the submission cover letter to the Editor-in-Chief. A decision will be made on a case-by-case basis. 

The corresponding author will be asked the following two questions in the submission process to determine the ultimate cost of producing eligible color figures in the manuscript if accepted for publication: 

Are any authors a member of AAST, EAST, WTA, PTS, TAC, CWIS, or ANZAST? (Members of the affiliated societies of JTACS will enjoy 2 eligible color illustrations free of charge. Any additional color figures will be subject to guidelines and fees outlined in the Information for Authors. Indicate which additional figures should be in color in the relevant space below.) 

• Yes
• No

Non-member authors and members with more than 2 eligible color figures should review the instructions, guidelines, and fees to produce figures in color in the print version of JTACS. Should your manuscript be accepted for publication, you agree to pay the charges at the following rates: $750 (first color figure); $250 (each subsequent figure). 

If this charge meets with your approval, please specify which figures should be printed in color. If your institution or affiliation will cover the cost, please provide the contact information for the purchasing agent. You will be invoiced after publication.  

• I agree to pay the print color figure charge
• No charge-Member 2 free eligible color figures
• No charge-Manuscript does not have any color figures 

Please specify which figures should be in color in print (eg, Figure 2, Figure 4): 

[open field]

Please provide the billing contact (if different from corresponding author): 

[open field]

8. Tables
• Use the table creating/editing features in MS Word or WordPerfect.
• Do not embed tables within the body of the manuscript.
• Do not use Excel or comparable spreadsheet programs.
• Group all tables in a separate file or at the end of the text.
• Cite tables consecutively in the text.
• Each table must appear on a separate page and should include the table title, appropriate column heads, and explanatory legends (include definitions of any abbreviations used).
• Tables should be self-explanatory and supplement, rather than duplicate, the material in the text.


9. Visual Abstract
• All revised manuscripts must contain a Visual Abstract. If a Visual Abstract is not included with the final files, the manuscript will be returned to the author for inclusion prior to processing for additional peer-review.
• One of the templates shown below must be used. Do not alter the color palette. You can download the templates here.
• The visual abstract must be simple, uncluttered, and clearly allow the reader to understand what you did and what you found
• The take-home message should be consistent with your media summary
• The abstract will be created in Microsoft PowerPoint using one of the provided templates with color, font, and formatting recommendations
• In general, there will be a title across the top, the middle band will summarize your methods, results, and conclusion, and a bottom band that contains author and citation details
• Icons can help illustrate a point, and can be obtained from databases such as https://thenounproject.com and https://iconfinder.com.
• Authors will be responsible for proper attribution and costs
• The social media team will review all abstracts prior to publication

STYLE AND FORMATTING

GENERAL FORMATTING GUIDELINES

Please submit your manuscript in accordance with the following requirements:

• Create your manuscript with MS Word (save as .doc or .docx file).
• Use Times New Roman, 12-point typeface for the main text and abstract.
• Format main text and abstract with 1-inch margins; double space and number all pages.
• Tables and figures cannot be embedded within the text.
• Tables may be included at the end of the document.
• Figures must be submitted as separate files in TIF, EPS, or JPEG file formats.
• Photos should be submitted in TIF file format. Please crop out any patient identifiers, unwanted text, and excessive white space.
• Diagrams, drawings, and graphs must have a resolution of at least 1200 dpi (dots per inch).
• For photographs and radiographs with text, set the resolution to at least 600 dpi.
• Photographs, radiographs, and other halftone images must have a resolution of at least 300 dpi.
• Please save color images in CMYK mode (not RGB).
• Do not submit ASCII text files.
• Do not submit LaTeX files. To refer to equations or formulae, please render in text or refer to figure (i.e., provide an image of the equation in .jpg/.tiff/.eps).
• Do not use automatic numbering or footnotes for references.

HOUSE STYLE

• Format manuscript style after the American Medical Association Manual of Style (11th edition;). Stedman's Medical Dictionary (27^th edition) and Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (10^th edition) should be used as standard references. JTACS also requests that authors adhere to the Inclusive Language guidelines set forth in section 11.12 of the manual of style. The following article explains the AMA’s work around the reporting of race and ethnicity in medical and science journals:
  https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2783090.


• General Use of Racial/Ethnic Terms

Specific examples include using racial and ethnic terms in adjectival form (Black women, Hispanic men, White patients, Asian participants) rather than as nouns (Blacks, Whites, Hispanics, Asians). Indigenous is capitalized when referring to humans, and along with specific categories for Indigenous people (e.g., First Nation, Pacific Islander, Native Hawaiian, Navajo, Iroquois), is preferred to the broader Native American.

• Methodologic considerations

If race and ethnicity were collected or are reported, the reasons for collecting these data (including whether required by a funding agency) must be stated. The source of the classifications used must also be reported, including who identified the participant's race/ethnicity (self-identified, investigator observed).

For studies using secondary data, the source of racial and ethnic classifications must also be reported. If this information is unknown, the potential implications of misidentification or misclassification must be discussed and stated as a limitation in the discussion section.

• Reporting results

Demographic information, including race and ethnicity, when collected, should be reported at the beginning of the results section.

• Other Style Requirements:
  • Refer to drugs and therapeutic agents by their accepted generic or chemical names; do not abbreviate them.
  • Use code numbers only when a generic name is not yet available. In that case, it is required to supply the chemical name and include a figure giving the chemical structure of the drug.
  • Copyright or trade names of drugs should be capitalized and placed in parentheses after the name of the drug.
  • Names and locations (city and state in USA; city and country outside USA) of manufacturers of drugs, supplies, or equipment cited in a manuscript are required to comply with trademark law and should be provided in parentheses.
  • Units of measure should be expressed in the metric system.
  • Temperatures should be expressed in degrees Celsius.
  • Conventional units should be written as SI units, as appropriate.

Abbreviations

• Write out the full term for each abbreviation at its first use unless it is a standard unit of measure.
• For a list of standard abbreviations, consult the Council of Biology Editors Style Guide (available from the Council of Science Editors, 9650 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20814) or other standard editorial resources.

References

• The authors are responsible for the accuracy of the references.
• References must be (double-spaced) at the end of the manuscript.
• Cite the references in the text in the order of appearance.
• Cite unpublished data – such as papers submitted but not yet accepted for publication and personal communications (including e-mail) – in parentheses in the text.
• Please list all authors. If a reference contains more than six (6) contributors, name only the first six authors and then use et al. If a reference cites a consortium or multi-center trials group, list up to ten authors followed by et al. and the official name of the study group.
• If you are using EndNote to format your references, please use the Vancouver style template and modify this to include up to 6 authors.
• Refer to the “List of Journals Indexed in Index Medicus” for abbreviations of journal names or access the list at https://www.nlm.nih.gov/archive/20130415/tsd/serials/lji.html.

Sample references are given below:

Journal article
Shackford SR, Kahl JE, Calvo RY, Kozar RA, Haugen CE, Kaups KL, et al. Gunshot wounds and blast injuries to the face are associated with significant morbidity and mortality: results of an 11-year multi-institutional study of 720 patients. J Trauma Acute Care Surg. 2014 Feb;76(2):347-52

Epub Ahead of Print
Collins N, Miller R, Kapu A, Martin R, Morton M, Forrester M, et al. Outcomes of adding acute care nurse practitioners to a Level I trauma service with the goal of decreased length of stay and improved physician and nursing satisfaction. J Trauma Acute Care Surg. Epub 2014 Jan 6.

Entire Book
Moore EE, Feliciano DV, Mattox KL. eds. Trauma – 8^th Ed. New York, NY: McGraw Hill Education; 2017

Book Chapter
Moore HB, Gonzalez E, Moore, EE. Trauma-Induced Coagulopathy In: Moore EE, Feliciano DV, Mattox KL. eds. Trauma – 8th Ed. New York, NY: McGraw Hill Education; 2017

Database
National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC). National Violent Death Reporting System. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/datasources/nvdrs/index.html Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Atlanta, GA. Accessed Month DD, YYYY.

Government/Organization Reports
US Department of Health and Human Services. Protection of human subjects. 45 CFR §46. http://www.hhs.gov/ohrp/humansubjects/guidance/45cfr46.html. Revised January 15, 2009. Effective July 14, 2009. Accessed Month DD, YYYY.

World Health Organization. Equitable access to essential medicines: a framework for collective action. http://apps.who.int/medicinedocs/en/d/Js4962e/1.html. Published March 2004. Accessed Month DD, YYYY.

Legislation
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, H.R. 3590, 111th Congress (August 25, 2010). www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/111/hr 3590. Accessed Month DD, YYYY.

Newspapers (print & online)
Hartocollis A. At Bellevue, a desperate fight to ensure the patients’ safety. New York Times. November 1, 2012:A1.

Fink S. In hurricane’s wake, decisions not to evacuate hospitals raise questions. Pro Publica. November 1, 2012. Available at: http://www.propublica.org/article/in-hurricanes-wake- decisions-not-to-evacuate-hospitals-raise-questions. Accessed Month DD, YYYY.

Web Sites
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Ten Leading Causes of Death and Injury

– Unintentional Injury. Injury Prevention & Control: Data & Statistics Web site. http://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/LeadingCauses_images.html. Updated Month DD, YYYY.

CREATING DIGITAL ARTWORK

Please refer to Creating Digital Artwork (PDF), located on the home page at www.editorialmanager.com/jt. The PDF document contains instructions and advice on how to use the system, guidance on the creation/scanning and saving of electronic art, and supporting documentation

To ensure the highest quality reproduction of figures, please follow these guidelines carefully. Please also note that the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery is not responsible for the quality of images in print; it is the responsibility of authors to submit publication-quality, high-resolution images. If you have questions, consult a graphics specialist.

CREATING AND SAVING FILES

• Figure art should be created, saved, and submitted as either a .jpg, .tiff or .eps file.
• Each file should be saved as the figure number that is referenced in the manuscript’s text (e.g., “Figure 1”). Please do not include author identifiers in the file name.
• Art should be created and/or scaled to the size and orientation intended for print.
• Artwork generated in office suite programs (CorelDraw, MS Work, etc) and artwork downloaded from the internet (low-resolution .jpg/.gif/.png files) cannot be used.

FORMATTING

• All figures must be saved as grayscale (black and white) or CMYK (color).
• Electronic photographs, radiographs, CT scans, and scanned images must have a resolution of at least 300 dpi (dots per inch).
• Line art (pure black and white figures with no shades of gray) must have a resolution of at least 1200 dpi.
• Digital image files should be cropped to remove non-printing borders, such as extended white or black space framing an image.
• Each figure is limited to 4 panels. If more panels are needed to illustrate a particular point (i.e., Western blots, histological slides, etc), please contact the editorial office before submission.
• Figures that show evidence of gross digital manipulation will be returned to the authors.

SUBMITTING FIGURES

• Attach a separate file for each individual art submission.
• Figures must be labeled using the description field provided in the Attach Files section (e.g., Figure 1, Figure 2). This will label each figure in the PDF generated by Editorial Manager.
• Editorial Manager will automatically perform a quality check of all figures submitted. If your figures are not of high resolution (min. 300 dpi) or in the correct color mode (CMYK, not RGB), your manuscript will be returned to you.
• Carefully review the PDF conversion of your submitted files to ensure that figures upload without error and appear as intended.

SUPPLEMENTAL DIGITAL CONTENT

Authors of appropriate manuscript types may submit Supplemental Digital Content (SDC) to enhance their article's text and to be considered for online-only posting.

• SDC may include the following types of content: text documents, required EQUATOR checklists, JTACS Conflict of Interest Disclosure forms, graphs, tables, figures, graphics, illustrations, audio, and video.
• If an article with SDC is accepted, our production staff will create a URL with the SDC file. The URL will be placed in the call-out within the article.
• Cite all Supplemental Digital Content consecutively in the text
• Citations should:
  • include the type of material submitted.
  • be clearly labeled as "Supplemental Digital Content or (SDC)."
  • include a sequential number.
  • provide a brief description of the SDC.
• Please provide a list of SDC and a brief legend at the end of the text before the References.
• List each legend in the order in which the material is cited in the text.
• The legends must be numbered to match the citations from the text.
• Include a title and a brief summary of the SDC content.
• For audio and video files, please include the author’s name, videographer, participants, length (minutes), and size (MB).
• Authors who include patient images in their work must obtain written permission from the patients and submit this permission with the manuscript. Authors must mask patients' eyes and remove patients' names from supplemental digital content, unless written consent has been obtained from patients and can be submitted with the content.
• JTACS Conflict of Interest Disclosure Forms from all authors must be uploaded as SUPPLEMENTAL DIGITAL CONTENT in order for a submission to be considered for editorial review.
• Please note: SDC files are not copy-edited. They will be presented digitally as submitted.

DIGITAL FILE SIZE & TYPE

• Maximum file size for all supplemental digital content: 10 MB each.
• Documents, graphs, and tables may be presented in any format.
• Figures, graphics, and illustrations may be submitted with the following file extensions: .tif, .eps, .ppt, .jpg, .pdf, .gif.
• Audio files may be submitted with the following file extensions: .mp3, .wma
• Video files may be submitted with the following file extensions: wmv, mov, qt, .mpg, .mpeg, .mp4
• Video files should also be formatted with a 320 X 240-pixel minimum screen size.

For more information, please review LWW's requirements for submitting supplemental digital content: http://links.lww.com/A142

MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION

All manuscripts must be submitted through the web-based tracking system at
http://www.editorialmanager.com/jt/. When you are uploading your manuscript, you must choose your Article Type (Original Research, Systematic Review and Meta-analysis, Review Article, Brief Report, etc), Content Source (Independent submission, AAST YEAR podium, EAST YEAR Podium, etc), and Classification (e.g. Abdominal Compartment Syndrome, Abdominal Trauma, Acute Coagulopathy of Trauma, Penetrating Cervical Trauma, etc) in that order from the pulldown menus.

FIRST-TIME USERS

Please click the Register button at http://www.editorialmanager.com/jt/. Upon successful registration, you will be sent an email containing your username and/or password, use the Forgot Your Password link on the journal’s manuscript submission site

If you have already registered with us as either a reviewer or an author, please do not register again. You may log in using your assigned user ID and password. If you have forgotten your username and/or password, use the Forgot Your Password link on the journal’s manuscript submission site (http://www.editorialmanager.com/jt/).

Upon first-time registration or when submitting a new manuscript, please take the time to add or update your personal information, including your ORCID number, if available, and your personal and institutional social media handles. Please be sure to complete all the requested information so the journal can contact you as needed and share your research more broadly.

AUTHORS

Please click the Login button at the top of the page and log in to the system as an author. Submit your manuscript in accordance with the authors' instructions. You will be able to track the progress of your manuscript through the system.

If you experience problems with the system, please contact the Editorial Office at [email protected].

SUBMITTING A REVISION

• For Revisions, you must upload a point-by-point discussion addressing each of the reviewer’s comments (see section Manuscript Submission below for details) as a separate file under the file type “Response to Reviewers.”
• In the text, all revisions must be highlighted or use MSWord’s “Track Changes” tool to show changes and corrections to the original version.
• A visual abstract must be submitted with the first revision of the manuscript.
• When submitting your revision, you must also include a separate final, “clean” version of the revised document, with all tracked changes accepted, in addition to your revised document with all visible changes.

SUBMITTING SUPPLEMENTAL DIGITAL CONTENT

• On the “Attach Files” page of the submission process, please select “Supplemental Audio, Video, or Data” for the SDC uploaded files as submission items.

AFTER ACCEPTANCE

ACCEPTANCE LETTER

• Upon acceptance, the corresponding author will receive an email letter from the Editor-in-Chief indicating what is needed to move forward with article publication.
  

  If all components requested in the acceptance letter are not provided, the manuscript will not be moved to production and publication will be delayed until that information is received.

PAGE PROOFS & CORRECTIONS

• Before publication, corresponding authors will receive electronic page proofs to check the typeset article. Authors are responsible for confirming the accuracy of scientific content, including the spelling of scientific terms in the manuscript and all graphics.
• Complete instructions will be provided with the e-mail for downloading, printing the files, and returning corrected proofs to the production editor.
• It is the author's responsibility to ensure that there are no errors in the proofs, including errors in scientific content, spelling of scientific terms, grammar, and syntax in the text and graphics.
• Changes that have been made to conform to journal style will stand, provided they do not alter the authors' meaning.
• Only changes that are critical to the accuracy of the content will be accepted.
• The publisher reserves the right to deny any changes that do not affect the accuracy of the content.
• Authors may be charged for alterations to the proofs beyond those required to correct errors or to answer queries.
• Proofs must be checked carefully and corrections returned within 48 hours of receipt, as requested in the cover letter accompanying the page proofs.
• Check the spelling, order, and affiliations of all authors, including full name and degrees for each author. After publication, errors of this type cannot be corrected, and PubMed records cannot be updated.
• If an error in scientific content or data is made by the author(s) or the Journal, please contact Michelle Gaffney, Managing Editor, via email at [email protected] to initiate production of a corrigendum or errata.

REPRINTS

• Authors will receive a reprint order form and a price list with the page proofs.
• Reprint requests should be faxed to the publisher with the corrected proofs, if possible.
• Reprints normally ship 6 to 8 weeks after publication of the issue in which the item appears.
• Contact the Author Reprint Department, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 351 W. Camden Street, Baltimore, MD 21201 with questions, (410) 528-4077, Fax: (410) 528-4434.

EMBARGO POLICY

Accepted papers may be discussed with journalists once a publication date has been confirmed. The Journal publishes in print at the beginning of each month. Approximately two weeks before print publication, articles are available to institutional OVID subscribers online. Selected articles may also publish online ahead of print at www.jtrauma.com.

In all cases, content appearing in the Journal is under embargo until online publication via OVID or jtrauma.com, whichever is first. Advance material can be provided to journalists or public information officers (PIOs) for background research only.

Please contact the editorial office or see the Journal’s complete embargo policy for further information (http://bit.ly/1wwgQnH).

CONTACTS

EDITORIAL OFFICE

General Correspondence:
Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery
[email protected]

Editor-in-Chief:
Raul Coimbra, MD, PhD
[email protected]

Biostatistical Editors:
Tabitha Garwe, PhD, MPH
[email protected]

Bishoy Zachary, BS, MPH
[email protected]

Managing Editor:
Michelle Gaffney
[email protected]

Editorial Assistants:
Carissa Holaska
Shreya Sinha
[email protected]

PUBLISHER INFORMATION:
Publisher
Ali Manieri, Senior Publisher, Health Learning, Research & Practice
Wolters Kluwer, 2001 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103
Tel: 215-521-8795
[email protected]

Production:
Meagan Wilson, Production Editor, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
Wolters Kluwer, 2001 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103
Tel: 646-674-6408
[email protected]

Product ads:
Lisa Bowling, [email protected]

Recruitment and Events ads:
Mike Rusch, [email protected].

Permissions
For Translation approval, License to republish and distribute, or Permission to reuse material in another publication or presentation, please email Andrew Wible at one of the following: [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

Reprints
Author Reprint Department, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 351 W. Camden Street, Baltimore, MD 21201; Tel: (410) 528-4077, Fax: (410) 528-4434.

Subscriptions
Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 16522 Hunters Green Parkway, Hagerstown, MD 21740; Tel: (800) 638-3030, Fax: (301) 223-2400.

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