Prepare a submission for OMJ

General instructions

Orissa Medical Journal (OMJ) follows the recommendations provided by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) for medical and biomedical publishing. Articles may be submitted in the following categories: Original Research, Review article, Case reports, Case series, Practitioner’s column, Letters to Editor, Recent Advances, News and Views.

All articles should be submitted online in MS Word with Arial font size 12 double spaced, Bold for the headings, 16 for the Title. Articles are considered for publication on condition that these are contributed solely to OMJ, that they have not been published previously in print and are not under consideration by another publication. In the selection of papers and in regard to priority of publication, the opinion of the Editor will be final. The Editor shall have the right to edit, condense, alter, rearrange or rewrite approved articles, before publication without reference to the authors concerned.

Title Page

The title page should include the concise and informative title of the manuscript, followed by the full name of each author, highest academic qualification, designation, department and institutional affiliation. The complete postal address of each affiliated institution should be provided. The corresponding author should be clearly identified, with their complete postal address, telephone/mobile number and email address. The sequence of authors should be clearly stated and should be identical to the sequence submitted in the manuscript submission system.

Author Declarations

A separate page should include the following declarations and statements, as applicable:

• Authorship and author contribution: All authors should confirm that they meet the journal's authorship criteria, have approved the submitted manuscript, and agree to the stated order of authorship and individual contributions.
• Acknowledgements: Individuals or organizations who contributed to the work but do not qualify for authorship should be acknowledged with their permission.
• Conflict of interest: All authors should disclose any financial or non-financial interests that could influence, or appear to influence, the work.
• Funding: All sources of financial or material support should be disclosed. If there was no specific funding, this should be stated.
• Data availability: Authors should state whether the data supporting the findings are available and, where appropriate, indicate how they may be accessed.
• Ethical approval: The name of the ethics committee/institutional review board and approval number or reference should be provided, where applicable.
• Informed consent: Where applicable, authors should state that informed consent was obtained from participants or their legally authorized representatives. For case reports and identifiable clinical information or images, consent for publication should be specifically obtained.
• AI and Originality Declaration: Authors must confirm that the manuscript is original, free from plagiarism and that any substantive use of AI-assisted tools has been appropriately disclosed.

Plagiarism and Research Integrity

Authors are responsible for ensuring that submitted manuscripts are original and free from plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, duplicate publication and inappropriate manipulation of data or images. All sources, including text, ideas, data, figures and images derived from other publications, must be appropriately acknowledged and cited. Manuscripts may be screened using plagiarism-detection software, and suspected research or publication misconduct will be investigated in accordance with applicable editorial and ethical standards, including relevant COPE and ICMJE recommendations. Authors remain responsible for the originality, accuracy and integrity of the submitted work.

Use of Artificial Intelligence

Authors should disclose the use of artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted technologies, including large language models (LLMs), chatbots or AI-based image-generation tools, in the preparation of a manuscript. The AI tool used and its purpose should be clearly stated in the manuscript and, where applicable, in the cover letter. AI tools should not be listed as authors or co-authors, as they cannot assume responsibility for the accuracy, integrity and originality of the work. Authors remain fully responsible for all content submitted, including AI-assisted content, and must verify its accuracy, originality, appropriate attribution and references. AI-generated material should not be cited as the primary source. If AI is used for data analysis, data collection, image generation or other substantive aspects of the research, its use should be described in the Methods section in sufficient detail. Use of AI for language editing or proofreading should also be disclosed where required by the journal. Authors should not upload confidential patient information or unpublished manuscripts to AI systems unless confidentiality and data protection are assured.

Abstract and Keywords

The first part of the manuscript should contain the abstract followed by a minimum of three and preferably up to five keywords. The abstract should be concise, informative and self-contained, and should accurately reflect the content of the manuscript. The format and word limit of the abstract will depend on the article type. Original Research Articles should have a structured abstract with appropriate headings such as Background/Objectives, Methods, Results and Conclusion. Review Articles may have a structured or unstructured abstract, as appropriate. Case Reports and Case Series should provide a concise summary of the clinical presentation, diagnostic assessment, management and outcome, with the principal clinical message. Abstracts are not required for Practitioner’s Columns, Letters to the Editor, Perspectives, and News and Views, unless specifically requested by the Editor. Keywords should preferably be selected from recognized indexing terminology such as Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) where applicable. The term “case report” should be included among the keywords for Case Reports.

Original Research Articles

Original Research Articles should report novel, scientifically rigorous research relevant to medicine, healthcare or public health. Manuscripts should generally follow the IMRAD structure: Introduction, Methods, Results and Discussion, with a structured abstract of about 250 words summarizing the Background, Objectives, Methods, Results and Conclusion. The Introduction should clearly state the rationale, research question and objectives; the Methods should provide sufficient detail regarding study design, participants, eligibility criteria, variables, outcomes, interventions, data collection, statistical analysis and ethical approval to allow assessment and reproducibility; the Results should present findings logically with appropriate tables and figures, including relevant effect estimates and measures of uncertainty; and the Discussion should interpret the findings in relation to existing evidence, acknowledge limitations and state their implications without overinterpretation. The article should not exceed 4000 words, excluding the abstract, references, tables and figures. The number of relevant references should be maximum 50 per article and preferably recent. Authors should use the appropriate reporting guideline for the study design, such as CONSORT for randomized trials, STROBE for observational studies, STARD for diagnostic-accuracy studies, SRQR/COREQ for qualitative research, and other applicable EQUATOR guidelines.

Review Articles

Review Articles should provide a comprehensive, balanced and up-to-date synthesis of published evidence on an important medical topic. Narrative reviews should clearly define the scope and objectives of the review, describe the principal literature sources and search approach where appropriate, critically appraise the available evidence, and identify important gaps or areas of controversy. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses should follow the PRISMA 2020 reporting guideline and include an appropriate search strategy, study-selection process, assessment of risk of bias and method of evidence synthesis. Scoping reviews should follow PRISMA-ScR where applicable. Review Articles should be around 3500 words, with an unstructured abstract of about 250 words, appropriate subheadings, and about 30 relevant references, giving priority to recent high-quality evidence, guidelines and landmark studies. Tables, figures and evidence-summary diagrams are encouraged where they improve clarity. Authors should clearly distinguish established evidence from emerging or uncertain findings.

Perspectives

These articles should provide an evidence based expert viewpoint on controversial, emerging or unresolved issues in medicine, healthcare, research, education or professional practice. The author should clearly articulate the central issue or argument, critically discuss the available evidence and acknowledge relevant opposing views or uncertainties. Perspectives may propose new interpretations, approaches or future directions, but should distinguish established evidence from the author's opinion. They should generally be around 1500 words, with about 20 relevant references; an abstract is optional.

Case Reports

They document and highlight new, unique, unexpected, or rare clinical cases, including specific symptoms, diagnoses, treatments, and follow-up data on individual patients. The word limit should be about 1500 words for the text and 150 words for the abstract with about 10 references. For case reports, the internationally recognized guideline is the CARE (CAseREport) Guidelines. These were developed to improve transparency, completeness, and consistency in reporting case reports in medical literature. The CARE checklist includes the following essential items:

• Title should clearly identify the report as a case report.
• Abstract should be an unstructured summary (background, case presentation, conclusion).
• Introduction – Brief context and rationale for reporting the case.
• Case Report should have the following information: Demographics and medical history of the patient, relevant clinical and laboratory data, chronological sequence of clinical events, methods and reasoning in reaching at the diagnosis, therapeutic Interventions and the follow-up with outcomes
• Discussion – Strengths, limitations, comparison with literature, lessons learned.
• Patient Perspective – The patient’s own viewpoint may be included whenever feasible.
• Consent – Explicit statement must be provided that written and informed consent was obtained.

Case Series

Authors should follow established principles of transparent reporting for observational studies. Where applicable, authors are encouraged to follow the STROBE statement. Surgical case series should follow the PROCESS 2023 guideline. Authors should clearly describe case selection, inclusion and exclusion criteria, clinical characteristics, diagnostic assessment, interventions, outcomes, follow-up, and limitations. Word limit is about 2500 words for texts with about 20 references and is 200 words for the abstract.

Practitioner’s Column

The Practitioner’s Column provides a platform for clinicians to share practical, evidence-informed insights, experiences, observations, clinical pearls, diagnostic or management dilemmas, and lessons from everyday medical practice, which may be different from the standard text-book teachings. Articles should address issues of relevance to practicing clinicians and translate clinical knowledge into practical learning. The manuscript should be concise, about 1000 words, with a clear title and appropriate subheadings. An abstract is not required. Authors should clearly distinguish personal clinical experience or opinion from established evidence, and important clinical recommendations should be supported by appropriate and preferably current references. The column should not be used for original research, systematic reviews, case reports, case series, clinical guidelines, or promotional content. Patient information must be anonymized, and appropriate consent should be obtained when identifiable patient information, photographs, or clinical material is included. Authors should disclose relevant conflicts of interest and sources of funding. A brief section of 3–5 key practice points may be included at the end. Manuscripts will undergo editorial review and, where appropriate, peer review.

Letters to the editor

There is now a specific reporting guideline for ‘Letters to the Editor’ called LETTERS (LETter To the EditoR Standards), published in the Journal of Korean Medical Science in 2024 and is listed by the EQUATOR Network as a reporting guideline. Letters should provide concise, relevant and constructive comments on articles recently published in the journal, discuss important observations or emerging issues in medicine, or present brief scientific observations that do not warrant a full-length article. Letters should generally be limited to 750 words, with no abstract, a maximum of 5 references, and preferably no more than one table or figure. Letters commenting on a published article should normally be submitted within 4–8 weeks of its publication and should clearly identify the article being discussed. Authors should maintain a respectful and evidence-based tone and substantiate factual or scientific statements with appropriate references. Letters should not contain defamatory, promotional or unsupported claims. Authors of the original article may be invited to respond, and the response may also be published alongside or following the letter. Conflicts of interest and relevant financial or other relationships should be disclosed. Patient-identifiable information should not be included unless appropriate consent for publication has been obtained. Letters will undergo editorial assessment and, when appropriate, peer review.

Recent Advances in Clinical Practices

These articles should provide a concise, up-to-date overview of important developments in a specific area of medicine that are likely to be relevant to practicing clinicians. Articles should focus on significant advances in diagnosis, treatment, prevention, technology or understanding of disease, rather than provide a comprehensive systematic review. The manuscript should preferably be around 1500 words, with a clear and informative title, appropriate subheadings and about 5 recent and relevant references, giving preference to high-quality original studies, systematic reviews, guidelines and consensus statements. An unstructured abstract of 150 words may be included.

News and Views

‘News and Views’ articles should highlight and briefly discuss important, timely developments in medicine, public health, medical education, research, technology or healthcare that are of interest to the medical community. Contributions should be concise, factual and balanced, and may include commentary on the significance and potential implications of the reported developments in medical field. The manuscript should generally be about 1000 words with an appropriate title, brief subheadings where necessary, and about 5 recent and relevant references. An abstract is not required. Information should be based on reliable and preferably primary or authoritative sources, with clear distinction between established facts, reported claims and the author's interpretation. Authors should avoid sensationalism, promotional content and unsupported opinions. For controversial issues, relevant perspectives should be presented fairly. Contributions may be subject to editorial or peer review at the editor's discretion.

Statistical Analysis

The statistical methods used in the study should be described clearly and in sufficient detail in the Methods section to allow assessment and, where appropriate, reproducibility of the analysis. Authors should describe the sample size determination, including the basis for the expected effect size or difference, significance level, statistical power, and allowance for anticipated dropouts or missing data, where applicable. For studies in which a formal sample size calculation is not appropriate, authors should provide a clear justification for the sample size used. The statistical tests or models employed, statistical software and version, and level of statistical significance should be specified. The choice of statistical methods should be appropriate to the study design, type and distribution of data, and research objectives. Where applicable, authors should report effect estimates with appropriate measures of uncertainty, such as 95% confidence intervals, rather than relying solely on P values. Handling of missing data, adjustment for potential confounders, and methods for multiple comparisons should be described where relevant. Results should be reported using appropriate summary statistics, and statistical significance should be distinguished from clinical or practical significance.

Abbreviations

Standard and internationally accepted abbreviations may be used where appropriate. An abbreviation should be spelled out at its first occurrence in the main text, followed by the abbreviation in parentheses. Thereafter, the abbreviation may be used consistently. Abbreviations should generally be avoided in the title and abstract, unless they are universally recognized (e.g., DNA, HIV).

Units of Measurement

International System of Units (SI units) should be used wherever applicable. Measurements should be reported using appropriate metric units, with units clearly indicated after numerical values. Where non-SI or conventional units are commonly used in clinical practice, they may be provided in parentheses alongside the SI units when useful for clarity.

Drugs and Medical Products

Drugs should be identified by their generic (non-proprietary) names. Brand or proprietary names should generally be avoided; if a specific product is essential to the study, the brand name, manufacturer and location may be provided at its first mention. For all drugs administered, authors should specify the dose, dosage frequency, route of administration and duration of treatment, where relevant. For studies involving medications or medical products, sufficient information should be provided to allow the intervention to be clearly identified and, where appropriate, reproduced.

Manuscript Consistency

Authors should ensure consistency and accuracy throughout the manuscript. The same terminology, abbreviations, spelling, units of measurement, drug names, numerical formats and definitions should be used consistently in the text, tables, figures and supplementary material. Numbers, percentages, decimal places and statistical values should be reported in a consistent format. The information presented in tables and figures should agree with the corresponding text, and the same data should not be unnecessarily duplicated. All abbreviations should be used consistently after their first definition. References should be cited and numbered consistently in the order in which they appear in the text. Authors should carefully check all names, dates, numerical values, statistical results, citations and cross-references before submission. The final manuscript should be thoroughly proofread for language, grammar, typographical errors and formatting consistency.

References

OMJ recommends the Vancouver style of referencing, consistent with the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). References should be numbered consecutively in the order in which they are first cited in the text and identified by Arabic numerals in [square brackets]. The reference list should appear at the end of the manuscript in numerical order. Authors should follow the standard Vancouver format for journal articles, books, book chapters and electronic sources. For works with more than six authors, the first six authors should be listed followed by “et al.”; for six or fewer authors, all authors should be listed. Journal names should be abbreviated according to Index Medicus/MEDLINE where applicable. DOI numbers should be included whenever available. For electronic references, the complete URL and date of access should be provided where appropriate.

Authors are responsible for the accuracy, completeness and appropriate citation of all references. References should be verified against the original publication or authoritative source before submission. Authors should avoid citing retracted, predatory or unreliable sources and should cite the original article whenever possible rather than relying on secondary citations. References should directly support the statements for which they are cited, and citations should be checked for consistency between the text and reference list.

The number of references should be appropriate to the article type, subject and length of the manuscript. Authors should avoid excessive or unnecessary references. Specific reference limits, where applicable, are stated under the requirements for each article category.