Peer review is the cornerstone of the scientific process. It ensures that only high-quality research with significant scientific merit reaches publication, thereby fostering trust within the scientific community. By meticulously scrutinizing the methodology, data analysis, and interpretation presented in manuscripts, reviewers contribute significantly to maintaining the standards of excellence expected in scientific research.

Reviewers should adhere to the basic principles as established by COPE.

As per journal policies, the peer review is conducted for transparency on Publishing Manager. Therefore, reviewers are asked to create an account in the system to receive an official invitation to review an article. Following the invitation to review, reviewers will receive the article abstract to assess the aims, key points, and conclusions of the manuscript and decide whether to accept the review.

Before starting the review, please, evaluate the following issues:

• Does the article match my expertise? If not, you can refuse the review and suggest a possible reviewer who is an expert in the field.
• Do I have enough time to review the manuscript?
• Are there any potential conflicts of interest to declare? For more information, please, check the section “COI: Application to Reviewers”.

Once the request for review has been accepted, reviewers have 21 days to finalize the report.

Reviewers have four options to provide an overall feedback on the article:

• Accepted: The paper is suitable for publication in its current form.
• Revised: Minor revisions must be addressed by the authors before the paper can be considered for publication.
• Revised Major: The manuscript presents severe criticisms that must be addressed by the authors. The paper’s corrections will be re-evaluated by the reviewers, who will decide whether to accept the article or reject it.
• Rejected: The article presents significant flaws that cannot be addressed.

How to write a report

When reviewing the article, please give due consideration to the following items:

TOPIC AND ORIGINALITY

• Is the topic of the paper aligned with the aims and scopes of the Journal? Does the study bring any innovation to the medical field? Are there other similar studies in the literature? Does the study meet the journal’s qualitative standard? Are the findings of sufficient scientific significance to warrant publication? Does sufficient literature evidence support the outcomes?

OVERALL ORGANIZATION, CLARITY AND METHODOLOGY

• Title: Does the title clearly describe the article?
• Abstract: Does the Abstract reflect the content of the article?
• Introduction: Does the introduction outline the author’s objectives and clearly articulate the problem under investigation? Typically, the introduction should provide a succinct summary of pertinent research to offer context and elucidate how the author’s findings either challenge or expand upon existing literature.
• Methodology: Does the author accurately describe the data collection process? Is the chosen methodology appropriate for addressing the research question? Is there adequate information provided for replication? Does the article detail the procedures followed in a logical manner? If novel methods are employed, are they sufficiently elucidated? Was the sampling method appropriate? Are equipment and materials adequately described? Does the article specify the type of data collected and provide precise measurement descriptions?
• Results: Have the authors effectively communicated their research findings in written form? Are the results presented clearly and in a logical sequence? Consideration should be given to the appropriateness of the statistical analyses conducted. Are the statistical methods accurate? If statistical analysis is unfamiliar, please notify the editor when submitting your report.
• Discussion/Conclusions: Are the claims made in these sections substantiated by the results and deemed reasonable? Have the authors discussed how the results align with expectations and previous research? Does the article support or challenge existing theories? Does the conclusion articulate how the research contributes to advancing scientific knowledge? Have the study’s limitations been adequately addressed and analyzed?

FIGURES AND TABLES

• Are figures readable and of high quality? Are data adequately reported in tables? Are the data reported in figures and tables coherent with those reported in the manuscript?

REFERENCES

• Are references appropriate, relevant, and recent? Are there too many self-citations?

CONFLICT OF INTERESTS 

• Is there any real, potential, or perceived conflict of interest that the authors must declare?
• Disclosed potential COIs should include any relevant commercial or other source of funding for either author(s) or the sponsoring institution, the associated department(s), or organization(s).
• Potential competing interests include consultancies, employment, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent applications and registrations, and grants or other funding.

ETHICS STATEMENT AND INFORMED CONSENT

• When reporting experiments on animals and human subjects, the authors should indicate whether institutional and national standards for the care and use of laboratory animals were followed. Moreover, for studies on human subjects, all investigators should ensure that the planning, conduct, and reporting of human research are in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration as revised in 2013. Please evaluate the ethics statements and data availability statements to ensure their sufficiency.
• According to the study’s design, is informed consent from patients required? If so, can the statement be considered valid?

Please note it is mandatory to provide the authors with thorough and detailed comments in order to improve the manuscript and reach the qualitative standard of the Journal. Comments should be articulated thoughtfully to ensure that the author comprehends the necessary actions for enhancing their paper rather than solely highlighting its deficiencies. In case reviewers suspect misconduct, they should not independently investigate but promptly inform the editors about this suspect.

In order to streamline the feedback preparation process, a checklist that summarizes some of the abovementioned considerations is provided on Publishing Manager, the journal’s online system to manage peer-review process. This allows reviewers to easily indicate the improvements authors should address and bear in mind the evaluation parameters.

Authors are requested to provide a list of changes and a point-to-point reply letter to reviewers’ comments when revising their article. The editor may evaluate the revised version if only minor revisions were requested, or it may be sent back to the original reviewers. Subsequently, you will be prompted to confirm whether the revisions are deemed satisfactory or if more revisions are required.

Confidential Process

Submitted manuscripts are confidential property, and therefore, Editors must not share information about manuscripts, including submission and/or status in the review process, except for authors and reviewers.

Editors, authors, and reviewers are required to keep confidential all details of the editorial and peer review process for submitted manuscripts. The peer review process is confidential and conducted anonymously; the identities of reviewers are not released.

Reviewers must maintain the confidentiality of manuscripts. Reviewers must not publicly discuss authors’ work and must not retain the manuscript for their personal use. Reviewers must not upload the manuscript to AI software, where confidentiality cannot be assured. Correspondence with the journal, referees’ reports and other confidential material must not be published, disclosed or otherwise publicized without prior written consent. It is our policy to keep their names confidential, and we do our utmost to ensure this confidentiality. However, we cannot guarantee the confidentiality of this information if legal action requires the disclosure of identity.

AI in Peer-Review

According to ICMJE guidelines, reviewers may use AI technology to aid their review after obtaining permission from the journal. However, they should be aware that using AI in manuscript processing can breach confidentiality. Manuscripts often contain sensitive information that must remain within the peer-review process. In addition, generative AI tools have significant limitations, including outdated information and the risk of generating biased or false content. Therefore, reviewers are advised not to upload manuscripts to generative AI tools.

If any part of the manuscript evaluation was supported by an AI tool, we ask peer-reviewers to transparently declare the use of such tools in their review report.