Instructions for Authors

Ochsner Journal welcomes submissions of original research, literature reviews and commentaries, quality improvement studies, articles about innovative programs, case reports, editorials, and letters to the editor in accordance with the submission requirements.

All article submissions are peer reviewed by at least two referees who are blinded to the authors' names and institutions. Acceptance of a manuscript is determined by peer review score, compliance with author instructions, quality, usefulness, relevance, importance to physicians, and perceived interest to Ochsner Journal readers. The Editor-in-Chief makes the final decision on publication.

Please do not submit a manscript unless you are committed to revising it in accordance with the reviewers' comments. Papers withdrawn after peer review represent an enormous waste of time and resources.

All accepted manuscripts are subject to editorial revision.

Operationally, Ochsner Journal complies with the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals from the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors and with the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing and the International Standards for Editors from the Committee on Publication Ethics.

GENERAL INFORMATION

No-Fee Open Access Publishing

Ochsner Journal is completely open access—no content is behind a paywall—and authors are not charged for publication. Unlike many subscription journals that charge high open access fees, Ochsner Journal does not charge open access fees, article processing fees, or any other types of page/publication fees.

Authorship Requirements

Authors are fully responsible for all statements and for the veracity of their work. Ochsner Journal follows the authorship guidelines of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors: each named author must meet all of the following criteria:

  1. substantial contributions to conception and design of the work; or the acquisition of data, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND
  2. drafting the work or reviewing it critically for important intellectual content; AND
  3. final approval of the version to be published; AND
  4. 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.

A list of the specific contributions of each author is required in the cover letter.

The corresponding author must be a staff physician or permanent senior staff member. Residents, fellows, and medical students cannot be identified as the corresponding author. The corresponding author's contact information will be published with the paper. However, staff in the editorial office generally work with the submitting author (often a resident, fellow, or medical student) throughout the submission, review, and publication processes.

The senior staff member designated as corresponding author (generally an attending) must be the signatory of the cover letter.

Acknowledgements

Contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in an Acknowledgements section. Examples of people who might be acknowledged include medical illustrators, editors, administrative support staff, and colleagues who provided general (review, editing) or technical support.

AUTHOR VERIFICATION REQUIREMENT EFFECTIVE JULY 2024

As of July 2024, every author’s primary email address must be an institutional email address. This requirement applies not only to the submitting author but also to all authors of each paper. Authors may use a web-based email account (eg, gmail, hotmail, yahoo) as a CC email address, but the primary must be their institutional email address.

Papers that are submitted with noninstitutional email addresses will be returned to the submitting author.

We strongly encourage all submitters to also provide ORCID IDs (https://orcid.org/register) for all authors on the title page of the paper so all authors can be easily verified. Alternatively, authors may provide a link to their Google Scholar page, their Research Gate page, or their profile page on their institution’s website.

Policy on Use of Artificial Intelligence Tools in Manuscript Development

In accordance with the position statement of the Committee on Publication Ethics, the Ochsner Journal policy with regard to artificial intelligence (AI) tools and large language models such as ChatGPT is as follows:

  • An AI tool cannot be listed as an author of a paper. Rationale: AI tools cannot meet the requirements for authorship because they cannot take responsibility for the submitted work. Further, AI tools are not legal entities, so they cannot assert the presence or absence of conflicts of interest or sign the Ochsner Journal licensing agreement.
  • Authors who use AI tools in the writing of a manuscript, production of images or graphical elements, or collection and analysis of data must disclose this use in the Methods or Acknowledgments section of the paper and in the cover letter. This disclosure must transparently and specifically state how the AI tool was used, which tool was used (including version), and which sections of the paper are affected. Sufficient detail must be provided to enable replication of the approach. Rationale: Authors are fully responsible for the content of their manuscripts, even the parts produced by an AI tool, and are therefore liable for any breach of publication ethics and for any inaccuracies.

Plagiarism

We use plagiarism detection software to check all submissions, including tables and figures, to ensure that none of the material has been previously published. Submissions that are overly duplicative of previously published work will be rejected. Submissions with minor duplication will be returned to the authors for revision prior to peer review.

Abbreviations

Do not use abbreviations other than those that are common and mainstream (MRI, CT, ECG, BMI). Abbreviations make reading and understanding a paper difficult, particularly for readers who are not experts in the field. If you use abbreviations in tables or figures to save space, spell out all abbreviations in a note under the table. If you use abbreviations in the text, spell each out abbreviation at its first mention with the abbreviation in parentheses, and then only use the abbreviation in subsequent text.

Research Ethics and Patient Consent

For all research articles, authors must state in the Methods section if the study was approved by the institutional review board/ethics board and provide details about how participants gave informed consent.

Ochsner Journal complies with the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors requirement that clinical trials be registered in a public trials registry at or before the time of first patient enrollment as a condition of consideration for publication. The trial registry name and URL and the registration number of the trial must be provided.

To ensure that patient privacy is respected and maintained according to HIPAA requirements, Ochsner Journal requires a signed patient consent form for all case reports and case series, regardless of whether the patient is pictured or how completely the information is de-identified. Cases will not be considered for publication without the full knowledge and consent of the patient, or in the case of minors, the patient’s parent or guardian. Telephone consents will not be accepted. Images of signatures and machine signatures of any type (including Docusign) cannot be accepted.

Author Attestation, License for Publishing CC BY, Financial Disclosure, and Permissions for Acknowledgments

An Author Attestation, License for Publishing CC BY, Financial Disclosure, and Permissions for Acknowledgements form signed and dated in pen by all authors must be uploaded to the ScholarOne Manuscripts portal at the same time as your manuscript submission. This form is required for all article types, including letters and editorials. We will accept more than one signature page. Manuscripts will not be sent for peer review until this form—with physical signatures from all authors—is submitted. Machine signatures (including Docusign) will not be accepted. Signatures that are cut and pasted image files will not be accepted. Failure to submit an appropriately completed Author Attestation, License for Publishing CC BY, Financial Disclosure, and Permissions for Acknowledgements form will delay manuscript processing and may result in immediate rejection.

Authors must disclose financial involvement with any organization or entity connected with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. Examples of financial involvement include employment, stock holdings, consultancies, financial support of research through grants or contracts, participation in a speakers’ bureau, provision of expert testimony, or receipt of honoraria. All authors should prepare a statement revealing any such financial affiliations and include it with the manuscript submission. The manuscript should also clearly identify any financial support of the research described in the manuscript

Copyright Permission for Republication (if applicable)

If you use a figure or table that has been previously published, you must acknowledge the original source and obtain written permission from the copyright holder to reproduce the material. The written permission must be uploaded with your manuscript submission. Obtaining such permission is the author’s responsibility. We strongly discourage republications of figures and tables.

MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS

Cover Letter: A cover letter is a required document. Prepare a cover letter that lists the specific contributions of each author to the study.

  • If any portion of the work has been presented at a meeting or published elsewhere, provide details of the presentation/publication in the cover letter.
  • It the paper has been deposited with a preprint server, provide the details and the digital object identified (DOI) in the cover letter.
  • If the manuscript has been commissioned for a theme issue of Ochsner Journal, mention the commission in the cover letter.

Title: The title should clearly indicate the focus of your paper and be easy to read.

Title Page: Because reviewers are blinded to the authors' names and institutions, a separate title page is a required document. The following information is required on the title page. Submissions that do not include all these components will be returned to the authors:

  • Title of the manuscript.
  • Running title (less than 10 words).
  • FULL NAME (no abbreviations for first names) of each author, his/her highest academic degree(s), his/her role/position (eg, senior staff, resident, medical student), his/her departmental and institutional affiliation(s).
  • Name, full institutional postal address, business telephone number (do not provide the individual's mobile number), and institutional email address of the corresponding author.
    • Important Note: The corresponding author must be a staff physician or permanent senior staff member. Residents, fellows, and medical students cannot be identified as the corresponding author on papers submitted to Ochsner Journal
  • 3 to 6 medical subject heading (MeSH) keywords for indexing purposes. Access the MeSH database here. 
  • Identification of ANY financial or proprietary interest related to the submitted manuscript, no matter how small. If none, include the following disclaimer: The authors have no financial or proprietary interest in the subject matter of this article.

Structured Abstract: Ochsner Journal requires a structured abstract for ALL article types except letters and editorials.

  • Abstracts are limited to 250 words.
  • Abstracts for original research articles and reviews/commentaries must include the following sections: Background, Methods, Results, Conclusion.
  • Abstracts for case reports must include the following sections: Background, Case Report, Conclusion.

Manuscript Type: Depending on the type of paper you’re submitting, structure your paper according to the appropriate industry-standard reporting guidelines.

  • Systematic Review/MetaanalysIs: Use the PRISMA checklist. 
    • To ensure that your review will be of use to the research community, register it at the PROSPERO website. 
  • Observational Study (cohort, case control, cross-sectional): Use one of the STROBE checklists. 

For other article types, refer to this library of guidelines. 

Letters to the Editor: Ochsner Journal does not accept case reports or study reports as letters to the editor. Ideally, letters will comment on articles published in the Journal or present timely information and/or opinions. Letters are typically brief, approximately 500 words or less, and generally include references.

Editorials: Editorials are the appropriate format for the presentation of opinion and commentary in more detail than a letter. Tables and figures can be included with editorials. References are required.

Manuscript Formatting: All manuscripts must be submitted as Microsoft Word .docx or .doc documents. Do not submit PDFs.

To ensure that the document sent to peer reviewers is easy to read, manuscripts MUST BE formatted in 12-point type and double-spaced, with 1-inch margins. Number the pages. Do not number the lines. Do not right justify anything.

Use subheadings.

  • Original research articles: Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, and Conclusion.
  • Literature reviews: Introduction and Conclusion, as well as additional subheadings that accurately depict the literature topics.
  • Case reports: Introduction, Case Report, Discussion, Conclusion.

If your article reports the results of a Food and Drug Administration–regulated device or drug, you must include both the institutional review board number and the registration number from ClinicalTrials.gov in the Methods section.

Cite all figures and tables consecutively with Arabic numerals in the appropriate places in the text (Figure 1, Table 1). Cite all references with superscript numerals consecutively in the text.

References: References must be called out in the text in chronological order. If you cite references in tables, cite all the reference numbers after the table callout in the text, maintaining chronological order. Include the reference list at the end of the text. If you use reference management software, remove the field codes—in other words, unlink the reference callouts and the reference citations—prior to submission. To remove the field codes, select the entire document and then press Ctrl+Shift+F9 or Cmd+6 to unlink all fields and remove hidden links.

DO NOT USE the citation function in Microsoft Word. Every one of those codes must be manually removed. Ctrl+Shift+F9 does not remove them. Papers submitted with references managed via the citation function in Microsoft Word will be returned.

Check your reference list for duplications prior to submission.

Cite primary sources. If an article is discussed in a review, cite the original article, not the review discussing it.

References are critically important, so take care with reference formatting. Format references in AMA style. Basically, just follow what you see at PubMed.

  • Author names are given as lastname initial (Doe JK). Do not put a comma after the last name and do not use periods in the initials. Do not use full first names. Do not format as firstname lastname.
  • List all authors up to 6, but if more than 6, list the first 3 names followed by et al.
  • Only the first word of an article title is capitalized. Exception: Capitalize proper nouns and abbreviations.
  • Abbreviate names of journals according to PubMed.
  • Italicize the journal abbreviation and put a period at the end of it.
  • Use extended page numbers (unlike PubMed). If the page numbers are shown as 333-5 in PubMed, show the page numbers as 333-335 in your reference list.
  • Include the DOI as part of the citation if the article has a DOI.

Sample journal article reference:

Rice KL, Castex J, Redmond M, Burton J, Guo JW, Beck SL. Bundling interventions to enhance pain care quality (BITE Pain) in medical surgical patients. Ochsner J. 2019;19(2):77-95. doi: 10.31486/toj.18.0164

Sample website reference:

Tobacco use: smoking & secondhand smoke. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. September 2010. Accessed March 29, 2016. http://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/TobaccoUse/SecondhandSmoke/index.html

Sample book chapter reference:

Church TS, Lavie CJ, Sarzynski MA, Swift DA. Exercise and lipids. In: Ballantyne CM, ed. Clinical Lipidology: A Companion to Braunwald’s Heart Disease. Elsevier; 2015:210-216.

Figures and Photographs: Upload all graphics as separate files (not embedded in the text) and in an appropriate image format, such as TIFF or JPEG format. Do not paste graphics onto a blank page in Word and upload the Word file as a graphic.

  • Provide color figures whenever possible.
  • Figures must be at least 200 DPI in resolution.

Figure Legends: On a separate page of your manuscript following the reference list, create a figure legends page that includes a caption for each figure.

  • List figure legends in the order of their textual citation. Use Arabic numerals that correspond to the numbers of the figures.
  • If you use symbols, arrows, numbers, letters, or acronyms in a figure, identify and explain each one clearly in the legend.
  • We strongly discourage the use of any previously published material. If you submit a previously published figure, you must provide written permission to republish from the copyright holder.

Tables: Include each table on its own page after the figure legends page.

  • Include a title for each table.
  • Use Word’s table function to construct table rows and columns. Do not submit tables as image files.
  • Do not use any color or shading in tables and include all borders.
  • Include explanatory material in footnotes. Use superscript lowercase letters in alphabetical order to designate footnotes.
  • If you use symbols, arrows, numbers, letters, or acronyms in a table, identify and explain each one clearly in the footnotes.
  • Include units of measure for all values.
  • We strongly discourage the use of any previously published material. If you submit a previously published table, you must provide written permission to republish from the copyright holder.

ONLINE SUBMISSION PROCESS

Submit all manuscripts, figures, tables, and accompanying documents online at the Ochsner Journal ScholarOne Manuscripts submission portal. You will be required to enter all authors' names, institutions, and email addresses. You will also be required to upload the following files: cover letter, title page, main document, and the Author Attestation, License for Publishing CC BY, Financial Disclosure, and Permissions for Acknowledgements form. If you are submitting a case report, you will be required to upload a patient consent form. Optional file types are figure, image (for photos or films), table, and supplementary file.

If you do not have a ScholarOne Manuscripts account, click the Create an Account link in the navigation bar and follow the instructions.

ASSISTANCE

If you have any questions about submission requirements or encounter any difficulties with manuscript submission, contact the Ochsner Journal editorial office:

Phone: (504) 842-3761

Email: ocjournal@ochsner.org