Standards for authors

1. Writing standards for manuscripts

A. Specific standards for manuscripts writing
- Original research papers
- Thematic reviews
- Clinical cases
- Videforum
- Images of the month
- News and updates in gastroenterology and hepatology
- Letters to the Editor

B. Common standards and other supporting documents
- Units, generic names and abbreviatons
- Bibliographical references
- Figures, photographs, graphs, tables and videos- Bibliographical references
- Patient or health-related photographs
- Conflicts of Interest
- Revision and Correction
- Ethical Standards
- Other documents and ethical standards
- Data protection
- Statistics

C. Editorial policies, copyright and open access information

-Open access policy
-Aims and scope
-Editorial process and peer review
-Licence terms
-Copyright
-Charges for authors
-Publisher information
-Digital preservation policy

Downloading documentation
- Agreement for Submission and Publication of Articles in the RAPD

1. Writing standards for manuscripts

The monographic issues, thematic reviews, updates and commented articles will be commissioned by the Editorial Board, but the submission of any of these contributions at the request of an author will be considered and evaluated with great interest by the RAPD Online Management for their inclusion in the journal.

All manuscripts will be subject to specific standards, depending on the type of collaboration, and to common ethical and legal standards.

A. Specific standards for manuscripts writing

They refer to the recommended length and structure of each type of manuscript. As a basic unit of extension for texts, in all contributions, the following features are taken into consideration: pages of 30-31 lines, line spacing 1.5, font size 12, 75-80 characters without spaces per line and a total of 400-450 words per page. The texts should be sent proofread with the spell checker and in a fully editable format for all its contents (main text, figures, keys or captions of figures, tables, graphs, drawings).

ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPERS

Original research papers may be up to 12 pages (5.100 words), excluding bibliographic references and captions of figures and tables. It is not recommended that the number of inserted images exceed 10, including tables and figures.

Colour illustrations and videos will not represent an economic charge for the authors, but the insertion of videos, for technical reasons, must be agreed before publishing the manuscript. However, the RAPD Online publishing method allows us to consider, in specific cases, the admission of longer papers, or the inclusion of a larger number of images whenever the characteristics of the material presented require it. It is not advisable to have more than 9 authors in a paper, except in collaborative works. In these original research papers, the first nine authors will be listed at the beginning of the work and the rest of the participants will be listed at the end of the first page of the manuscript.

Through the Manuscript Center, and in order to send an original research paper, you will be required to provide the following information:

- General information:
1 - Full title of the work in Spanish (optional also in English).
2 - Surname and first name of all authors. It is advisable to enter a hyphen between the first and second surname.
3 - Centre(s) of provenance (department, institution, city and country).
4 - Full postal address of the responsible author, to whom correspondence should be addressed, including telephone and fax number and e-mail address.
5 - Declaration on the existence or not of funding for the work or conflicts of interest.

- Main body of the manuscript, which must contain:

1 - Structured abstract in Spanish (optional also in English) and 3-5 keywords. The abstract will have a maximum length of 250 words and should be divided into:

a) Introduction and Objectives
b) Material and Methods
c) Results
d) Conclusions

2 - List of abbreviations used in the text.

3 - Text: it must include the following sections:
a) Introduction
b) Material and Methods
c) Results
d) Discussion
e) Conclusions, each one adequately headed

4 - Bibliography: according to the specifications set out in the group of common standards (See Common Standards and other supporting documents).

5 - Acknowledgements.

6 - Captions of figures.

7 - Text tables and figures.

THEMATIC REVIEWS

the texts on Thematic Reviews may have an extension of up to 15 pages (6.375 words), excluding bibliographic references and the footnotes of figures and tables and chapters corresponding to Updates up to 20 pages (8.500 words). In both cases the number of images inserted must not exceed 15, including tables and figures. However, the RAPD Online publishing method allows us to consider, in specific cases, the admission of longer papers, or the inclusion of a larger number of images whenever the characteristics of the material presented require it.

Illustrations in color will not represent economic charge for the authors. Exceptionally, the inclusion of videos will be allowed. It is not advisable to have more than 4 authors per chapter.

Through the Manuscript Center, and in order to send Thematic Reviews and Updates, authors will be required to provide the following information:

- General information:

1 - Full title of the work in Spanish (optional also in English).

2 - Surname and first name of all authors. It is advisable to enter a hyphen between the first and second surname.

3 - Centre(s) of provenance (department, institution, city and country).

4 - Full postal address of the responsible author, to whom correspondence should be addressed, including telephone and fax number and e-mail address.

5 - Declaration on the existence or not of funding for the work or conflicts of interest.

- Main body of the manuscript, which must contain:

1 - Structured abstract in Spanish (optional also in English) and 3-5 keywords. The abstract will have a maximum length of 250 words.

2 - Text: structured according to the criteria of the author(s), for a better understanding of the topic developed.

3 - Bibliography: according to the specifications set out in the group of common standards (See Common Standards and other supporting documents).

4 - Acknowledgements.

5 - Captions of figures.

6 - Text tables and figures.

7 - Optional, an abstract in Spanish (optional also in English) with a maximum length of 350 words, emphasizing the most outstanding information of the manuscript.

CLINICAL CASES

The manuscripts in this section will include 1-5 clinical cases, which due to the infrequent, unusual nature of their clinical behavior, or for providing some diagnostic or therapeutic novelty, deserve to be communicated.

The length of the texts in the Clinical Cases section should not exceed 5 pages (2.125 words), excluding bibliographic references and captions of figures and tables and the number of images included should not exceed 5, including tables and figures. However, the RAPD Online publishing method allows us to consider, in specific cases, the admission of longer papers, or the inclusion of a larger number of images whenever the characteristics of the material presented require it.

Colour illustrations and videos will not represent an economic charge for the authors, but the insertion of videos, for technical reasons, will be agreed before publishing the clinical case. No more than 5 authors will be admitted, except in specific and reasoned cases.

Through the Manuscript Center, and in order to send a clinical case, you will be required to provide the following information:

- General information:

1 - Full title of the work in Spanish (optional also in English).

2 - Surname and first name of all authors. It is advisable to enter a hyphen between the first and second surname.

3 - Centre(s) of provenance (department, institution, city and country).

4 - Full postal address of the responsible author, to whom correspondence should be addressed, including telephone and fax number and e-mail address.

- Main body of the manuscript, which must contain:

1 - Structured abstract in Spanish (optional also in English) and 3-5 keywords. The abstract will have a maximum length of 250 words.

2 - Introduction. To present the clinical problem reported.

3 - Description of the clinical case.

4 - Discussion. To highlight the peculiarities of the case and its consequences.

5 - Bibliography: according to the specifications set out in the group of common standards (See Common Standards and other supporting documents).

6 - Acknowledgements.

7 - Captions of figures.

8 - Text tables and figures.

CLINICAL CASE STUDIES WITH VIDEO OR VIDEOFORUM

Manuscripts submitted to this section should feature between 1 and 5 clinical cases. These should be of significant merit for publication due to their rarity, unusual clinical presentation, or the inclusion of diagnostic or therapeutic innovations.

The text for the Video Forum section must not exceed 5 pages (2,125 words), excluding bibliographic references and captions for figures and tables. A maximum of 5 images (including tables and figures) may be included. However, the RAPD Online editorial process allows for the consideration of longer manuscripts or additional images in specific circumstances, provided the nature of the material justifies it.

There is no charge to authors for the inclusion of colour illustrations or videos. Nevertheless, due to technical requirements, the inclusion of videos must be agreed upon with the Editor in advance. A maximum of 5 authors is permitted, except in exceptional and duly justified cases.

Videos must be submitted in AVI, MPEG, MP4 or MOV format, at a recommended high-quality resolution (720p or 1080p). They must not contain any personal data of the patients. It is recommended that they are edited to minimise their duration, which must not exceed 5 minutes. If the video incorporates sound, this must be processed in MP3 format. If the videos to be included are in other formats, you may contact the editorial office to verify their validity. They must not exceed 2GB. In the event of any problem during the video upload in the manuscript centre, the videos must be sent to the following email address: webmaster@sapd.es

When submitting Clinical Cases with Video or Video Forum entries via the Manuscript Centre, the following information will be required:

I. General Information

1º - Full title of the work in both Spanish and English.

2º - Surnames and First Names of all authors.

3º - Institutional Affiliation(s) (department, institution, city, and country).

4º - Full postal address of the corresponding author, including telephone number, fax, and email address.

II. Manuscript Body

1º - Structured Abstract: In Spanish (English version optional) and 3–5 keywords. The abstract must not exceed 250 words.

2º - Introduction: Presenting the clinical problem addressed.

3º - Clinical Case Description.

4º - Discussion: Highlighting the unique aspects of the case and its clinical implications.

5º - References: In accordance with the specifications set out in the General Guidelines (see General Guidelines and supplementary documentation).

6º - Acknowledgements.

7º - Figure Captions.

8º - Tables and Figures.

9º - Videos.

IMAGES OF THE MONTH

The manuscripts included in this section can take two formats, according to the preference of the authors.

- Format A. Images with formative value: They will include images of any kind, clinical, radiological, endoscopic, anatomopathological, macro and microscopic, that contribute to the formation of postgraduate studies and therefore deserve to be shown for their peculiarity, or to represent a characteristic example.

- Format B. Key Images for a diagnosis: They will include images of any kind, clinical, radiological, endoscopic, anatomopathological, macro and microscopic, together with a summarized medical history, that raise the possible final diagnostic resolution. This will be presented in a different section in the same issue of the journal.

The length of the texts in the Images of the Month section should not exceed 1 page (425 words), in the clinical description of the image presented and 2 pages (850 words), excluding bibliographic references and the captions of figures and tables, in the commentary on the image (Format A) or in the diagnostic resolution of the case (Format B). However, the RAPD Online publishing method allows us to consider, in specific cases, the admission of longer papers, or the inclusion of a larger number of images whenever the characteristics of the material presented require it. Colour illustrations and videos will not represent an economic charge for the authors, but the insertion of videos, for technical reasons, will be agreed before publishing the images of the month. No more than 3 authors will be admitted, except in specific and reasoned cases.

Through the Manuscript Center, and in order to send an Image of the Month, you will be required to provide the following information:

- General information:

1 - Full title of the work in Spanish (optional also in English).

2 - Surname and first name of all authors. It is advisable to enter a hyphen between the first and second surname.

3 - Centre(s) of provenance (department, institution, city and country).

4 - Full postal address of the responsible author, to whom correspondence should be addressed, including telephone and fax number and e-mail address.

5 - Image of the month format chosen.

- Main body of the manuscript, which must contain:

1 - Structured abstract in Spanish (optional also in English) and 3-5 keywords. The abstract will have a maximum length of 250 words.

2 - Description of the image.

3 - Comments to the image.

4 - Bibliography: according to the specifications set out in the group of common standards (See Common Standards and other supporting documents).

5 - Captions of figures.

NEWS AND UPDATES IN GASTROENTEROLOGY AND HEPATOLOGY

This section will be dedicated to the commentary of the scientific and medical novelties that have occurred in a recent period in the specialty of Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

This section will systematically and periodically analyse all facets of digestive diseases.

The texts on "News in Gastroenterology" may have an extension of up to 5 pages (2.125 words), excluding bibliographic references and the captions of figures and tables added. In both cases the number of images inserted must not exceed 5, including tables and figures. However, the RAPD Online publishing method allows us to consider, in specific cases, the admission of longer papers, or the inclusion of a larger number of images whenever the characteristics of the material presented require it. It is not advisable to have more than 3 authors per chapter.

Through the Manuscript Center, you will be required to provide the following information:

- General information:

1 - Name of the reviewed bibliographic area and period analysed.

2 - Surname and first name of all authors. It is advisable to enter a hyphen between the first and second surname.

3 - Centre(s) of provenance (department, institution, city and country).

4 - Full postal address of the responsible author, to whom correspondence should be addressed, including telephone and fax number and e-mail address.

5 - Declaration on the existence or not of funding for the work or conflicts of interest.

- Main body of the manuscript, which must contain:

1 - Structured abstract in Spanish (optional also in English) and 3-5 keywords. The abstract will have a maximum length of 250 words.

2 - Description of the bibliographic material analysed.

3 - Critical comments on the results contained in the selected works.

4 - Bibliography: According to the specifications set out in the group of common standards (See Common Standards and other supporting documents). If two or more original research papers have been chosen for analysis, it is advisable to divide the section into chapters at the authors' discretion.

5 - Captions of figures.

6 - Text tables and figures.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

This section will be dedicated to comments on any manuscript published in the RAPD Online. In this section, more general comments can also be included, establishing hypotheses and suggestions specific to the authors, within the scientific scope of Gastroenterology. The length of the texts in the Letters to the Editor section should not exceed 2 pages (850 words), including bibliographic references. Two figures or tables may be included and the number of authors must not exceed four.

Through the Manuscript Center, and in order to send a Letter to the Editor, you will be required to provide the following information:

- General information:

1 - Full title of the work in Spanish (optional also in English).

2 - Surname and first name of all authors. It is advisable to enter a hyphen between the first and second surname.

3 - Centre(s) of provenance (department, institution, city and country).

4 - Full postal address of the responsible author, to whom correspondence should be addressed, including telephone and fax number and e-mail address.

5 - Declaration on the existence or not of funding for the work or conflicts of interest.

- Main body of the manuscript, which must contain:

1 - Text of the manuscript.

2 - Bibliography: according to the specifications set out in the group of common standards (See Common Standards and other supporting documents).

B. Common standards and other supporting documents

It refers to the set of mandatory standards, both for uniformity in the presentation of manuscripts, and for compliance with the laws in force. In general, the style of the manuscripts should follow the guidelines established in the Vancouver agreement contained in the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (http://www.ICMJE.orga).

Units, generic names and abbreviations:

- Units: biochemical and hematological parameters shall be expressed in International Units (SI), except hemoglobin which shall be expressed in g/dL. Length, height and weight measurements shall be expressed in units of the Metric System and temperature in degrees Celsius. Blood pressure shall be measured in millimeters of mercury. There is an application available for the conversion of non-international (non-IS) units into international units (SI) (http://www.techexpo.com/techdata/techcntr.html).

- Generic names: generic names of medicines, clinical instruments and tools as well as software should be used. Where a trademark is the subject of research, the trade name and manufacturer's name, city and country shall be included in brackets the first time the generic name is mentioned in the Methods section.

- Abbreviations: abbreviations should be avoided, but if they are to be used, in order not to repeat long technical names, the complete word should appear first in the text, followed by the abbreviation in brackets, which will be used from that moment on in the manuscript.

Bibliographical references:

Bibliographic references will be presented in order of appearance in the manuscript, assigning a sequential number, which will appear at the appropriate place in the text, in brackets. This numbering will be maintained and will be used to order the listing of all references at the end of the manuscript, as normal text and never as a footnote. Personal communications and unpublished data will not be included in the final list of bibliographic references, although they will be mentioned at the appropriate place in the text, in parentheses, as appropriate, i. e. personal communication, or unpublished data. When a bibliographic reference includes more than 6 authors, the first 6 will be cited, followed by the latter author of the abbreviation et al.

The style of bibliographic references will depend on the type and format of the source quoted:

- Article from a medical journal: journal names will be abbreviated according to the style of the Medicus/Medline Index (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/journals?itool=sidebar).

- Article already published in journals edited on paper and on the Internet: authors (last name and first letter of the first name, comma separation between authors), the full name of the manuscript, the abbreviation of the journal, the year of publication and after a semicolon, the volume of the journal and after a colon the complete numbers of the first and last page of the work will be quoted.

Kandulsky A, Selgras M, Malfertheiner P. Helicobacter pylori infection: A Clinical Overview. Dig Liver Dis 2008; 40:619-626.

Alvarez F, Berg PA, Bianchi FB, Bianchi L, Burroughs AK,Cancado EL, et al. International Autoimmune Hepatitis Group Report: review of criteria for diagnosis of autoimmune hepatitis. J Hepatol 1999; 31:929-938.

- Article accepted, published only on the Internet, but not yet included in an issue of the journal: authors, full name of the manuscript, abbreviation of the journal, the year and month from which the article is available on the Internet and DOI. The original work to which reference is made usually details how to quote the said manuscript.

Stamatakos M, Sargedi C, Stefanaki C, Safi oleas C, Matthaiopoulou I, Safi oleas M. Anthelminthic treatment: An adjuvant therapeuticstrategy against Echinococcus granulosus. Parasitol Int (2009), doi:10.1016/j.parint.2009.01.002

Inadomi JM, Somsouk M, Madanick RD, Thomas JP, Shaheen NJ. A cost-utility analysis of ablative therapy for Barrett’sesophagus, Gastroenterology (2009), doi: 10.1053/j.gastro.2009.02.062.

- Article of a journal that is published only on the Internet, but in a conventional order: authors, full name of the manuscript, abbreviation of the journal (can be added in brackets online), year of publication and after a semicolon the volume of the journal and after a colon the complete numbers of the first and last page of the work will be quoted. If the original work to which reference is made provides the DOI and the Internet address (URL), it can be added at the end of the reference.

Gurbulak B, Kabul E, Dural C, Citlak G, Yanar H,Gulluoglu M, et al. Heterotopic pancreas as a leading point for small-bowel intussusception in a pregnant woman. JOP (Online) 2007; 8:584-587.

Fishman DS, Tarnasky PR, Patel SN, Raijman I. Managementof pancreaticobiliary disease using a new intra-ductal endoscope: The Texas experience. World J Gastroenterol 2009; 15:1353-1358. Available from: URL: http://www.wjgnet.com/1007-9327/15/1353.asp. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3748/wjg.15.1353

- Article of a journal published only on the Internet, but not conventionally arranged: authors, full name of the manuscript, abbreviation of the journal, year of publication and DOI will be quoted.

Rossi CP, Hanauer SB, Tomasevic R, Hunter JO, Shafran I, Graffner H. Interferon beta-1a for the maintenance of remission in patients with Crohn’s disease: results of a phase II dose-finding study.BMC Gastroenterology 2009, 9:22doi:10.1186/1471-230X-9-22.

- Article published in abstract or in a supplement of a journal: authors (last name and first letter of the first name, comma separation between authors), the full name of the manuscript, the word abstract in square brackets, the abbreviation of the journal, the year of publication and after a semicolon, the volume of the journal followed by the abbreviation Suppl, or Supl in brackets and after a colon the complete numbers of the first and last page of the work will be quoted.

Klin M, Kaplowitz N. Differential susceptibility of hepatocytesto TNF-induced apoptosis vs necrosis [Abstract]. Hepatology 1998; 28(Suppl):310A.

- Books: authors of the book (last name and first letter of the first name, comma separation between the authors), the title of the book, the city where it has been published, the name of the publisher and the year of publication will be quoted.

Takada T. Medical Guideline of Acute Cholangitis and Cholecystitis. Tokyo: Igaku Tosho Shuppan Co; 2005.

- Chapter of a book: authors of the chapter will be quoted (last name and first letter of the first name, comma separation between authors), followed by In: the names of the publishers of the book and, after a period, the name of the book. The city where it has been published, the name of the publisher, the year of publication and after a colon the complete numbers of the first and last page of the work will be quoted.

Siewert JR. Introduction. In: Giuli R, Siewert JR, Couturier D, Scarpignato C, eds. OESO Barrett’s Esophagus. 250 Questions. Paris: Hors Collection, 2003; 1–3.

- Information from a document produced at a meeting: this type of reference should be avoided whenever possible. But if needed to be quoted, the title of the topic discussed, the name of the meeting and the city where it was held will be quoted. The entity organizing the meeting, and the year as well as the electronic address by which the document can be accessed must also be quoted.

U.S. positions on selected issues at the third negotiating session of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Washington, D.C.: Committee on Government Reform, 2002. (Accessed March 4, 2002, at: http://www.house.gov/reform/min/inves_tobacco/index_accord.htm).

Figures, tables and videos:

Iconography, whether photographs, x-rays, diagrams or graphs, will be referred to under the generic name "Figure". References to figures, tables and videos should be highlighted in bold. They shall be numbered with Arabic numerals, according to their order of appearance in the text.

- Photographs: the photographs will be sent in digital TIFF (. TIFF), JPEG (. JPG) or BMP format, in black and white or color, well-contrasted, with an appropriate resolution (preferably 150-300 dots per inch). In the case of JPEG files, the minimum compression should be used to maintain maximum quality, i. e. in a non-reduced size.

X-rays, ultrasound, CT and MRI images should be scanned in gray scale and saved in JPG format if they cannot be obtained directly in electronic format.

Endoscopic imaging and other techniques that generate color images should be scanned in color, if they cannot be obtained directly in electronic format.

Special details will be marked with arrows, using for these and any other type of symbols the maximum contrast in relation to the figure.

The files with figures will be identified according to their order of appearance in the text, with the file name, number and surname of the first signatory (e. g.: fig1_Gómez. jpg) or title of the article. Each image must have a descriptive associated figure caption. Figure captions must be given in a separate text document, making clear reference to the figures to which they refer. Images may be inserted into Word/PowerPoint files to facilitate their identification or association with the figure captions, but they should always be sent as separate images in the formats mentioned above.

If patients appear in photographs they should not be identifiable. In the event that this cannot be achieved, the publication of the photograph must be accompanied by a written permission (Photographs Permission Form).

- Diagrams, drawings, graphs and tables: diagrams, drawings, graphs and tables will be sent in digital format, such as high-resolution images or preferably in Word/PowerPoint format with editable text. Diagrams, drawings, graphs or scanned figures from other publications will not be accepted. For diagrams, drawings, graphs, tables or any other figure, black must be used for lines and text and in a light background, preferably white. If it is necessary to use several colors, easily distinguishable ones with high contrast to the background must be used.

Graphs, symbols and letters shall be of sufficient size to be clearly identifiable when reduced. Tables should be done with the tool -Table- (not with the use of tabs and drawing lines or text boxes).

- Videos: Videos must be submitted in AVI or MPEG format, processed with CINEPAC RADIUS or MPEG codecs and with a 720x576 or 320x288 resolution. It is recommended to edit them in order to reduce their duration to 2 minutes maximum. If the video incorporates sound, it must be processed in MP3 format. If the videos to be included are in other formats, please, contact the editorial board to verify if they can be accepted. For the inclusion of videos in articles, you must be authorized beforehand by the editorial committee.

Patient or health-related photographs

If the Article includes photographs that contain information related to the health of individuals (such as images of patients, clinical samples or other sensitive data), The Author represents and warrants that:

It has obtained the express, free and informed consent of the persons involved or, where applicable, their legal representatives, for the capture and use of such images in the Article.
You have the necessary rights to include such photographs in the Article, respecting the Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 licence.
All necessary measures have been taken to ensure the confidentiality and protection of the privacy of the persons involved.

Conflicts of Interest

As stipulated in the conflict of interest section of the Journal's publication guidelines and in accordance with the rules of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, it is necessary to communicate in writing the existence of any relationship between the authors of the article and any public or private entity from which a possible conflict of interest could arise.

The Author declares that he/she has informed The Journal of any conflict of interest that could influence the interpretation or presentation of the Article. Conflicts of interest, if any, will be clearly indicated in the Article itself.

Revision and Correction

The Journal reserves the right to revise, rectify or withdraw the Article if substantial errors, ethical breaches or violations of the terms of this agreement are detected. The Author will be notified and given the opportunity to respond before corrective action is taken.

Ethical Standards

The Author assures that the Article complies with the applicable standards of ethics and scientific integrity. In particular, the Author warrants that:

The work has been carried out with the approval of the relevant Ethics Committee and with respect for the rules laid down by the Human Rights committees for research involving human subjects and laboratory animals.
The necessary permissions have been obtained, especially the consent of the patients in order to safeguard their privacy, and the necessary consent forms have been completed.
Necessary permissions have been obtained for the reproduction of copyrighted materials from third parties, if applicable.
The content of the Article is original, non-plagiarised, and has not been falsified or manipulated.
Images and data relating to the health of individuals have been obtained and used in accordance with clause 5 of this agreement.

Data protection

The personal data requested from the authors will be used by the Andalusian Society of Digestive Pathology (SAPD), exclusively for the purpose of managing the publication of the article submitted by the authors and accepted in the RAPD online. Unless otherwise indicated, by submitting the article the authors expressly authorise that their data relating to name, surname, institutional postal address and e-mail address be published in the RAPD online, possibly in the annual abstracts published by the SAPD on CD support, as well as on the SAPD website and in Medline, or other bibliographic search agencies, to which the RAPD online may have access.

Statistics

RAPD Online does not require an exhaustive description of the statistical methods used in carrying out a research study, but it does specify certain requirements that must appear in the manuscripts as standards of good practice. A basic document on this subject can be found at: Bailar JC III, Mosteller F. Guidelines for statistical reporting in articles for medical journals: amplifications and explanations (http://www.sapd.es/public/guidelines_statistical_articles_medical_journals.pdf ). Ann Intern Med 1988; 108:266-73.

- The statistical methods used, as well as the software and the name of the software used must be clearly stated in the Material and Methods Section.
-To express mean, standard deviation and standard error, the following formats must be used: "mean (SD)" and "mean ± SE". To express the median, the values of the interquartile range (IQR) must be used.
- The P must be used in capital letters, reflecting the exact value and expressions such as less than 0.05, or less than 0.0001 should be avoided.
- Whenever possible, findings (means, percentages, odds ratios and others) should be quantified and presented with appropriate error indicators, such as confidence intervals.
- Studies showing levels of statistical significance should include the calculation of sample size. Authors should state research losses, such as dropouts from clinical trials.

3. Editorial policies, copyright and open access information

1. Open Access Policy

The Revista Andaluza de Patología Digestiva (RAPD Online) is an open access journal. All published articles are available immediately and free of charge, with no embargo period and no need for readers to register.

Users may read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, link to the full texts of the articles, crawl them for indexing, incorporate them as data into software, or use them for any other lawful purpose, in accordance with the Creative Commons licence applied to each article.

Articles published from 15 January 2026 onwards are distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence (CC BY 4.0).

2. Aims and Scope

1. Aims and characteristics of RAPD

The Revista Andaluza de Patología Digestiva is the official journal of the Sociedad Andaluza de Patología Digestiva (SAPD), which since 2007 has been published only in electronic format under the name RAPD Online. Its purpose is to disseminate all epidemiological, clinical, basic and sociological aspects of digestive diseases, through contributions submitted to the journal from Andalusia and from the entire scientific community. The official language of the journal is Spanish, but manuscripts in English are accepted. Since January 2024, the journal has been published in full in both Spanish and English. RAPD Online is published bimonthly, with one issue especially devoted to the SAPD Annual Meeting, and with the Editorial Committee deciding to reserve one or more annual issues for the monographic development of a topic related to the specialty.

All submitted contributions must be original and not under simultaneous review by another journal for publication. The publication of abstracts or posters is not considered duplicate publication. Manuscripts will be evaluated by expert reviewers, appointed by the Editorial Committee, before being accepted for publication. The initial editorial assessment and first communication with authors are typically completed within approximately 30–60 days. The average time between receipt of the manuscript and publication may vary depending on the peer review process, revisions, and editorial production schedule..

2. Contents of RAPD

Regular issues of RAPD Online include sections defined as

Original articles on clinical or basic research.
Thematic reviews on gastroenterology.
Clinical cases.
Image of the month.
News and updates in gastroenterology and hepatology.
Letters to the Editor.

Other contributions considered of interest by the Editorial Committee, related to different aspects of clinical practice in the recent past, biographical comments or other contents of a cultural nature, or related to scientific activities in any geographical setting, will be included in RAPD Online in specially designed sections.

3. Editorial Process and Peer Review

1. Manuscript Submission

The preferred route for manuscript submission is via the SAPD website (https://www.sapd.es/rapd/enviar-original/), accessing the RAPD Online page ("Enviar un original") and clicking on the “Access to the Manuscript Centre” button located on the journal access page. Through this, you will enter the Manuscript Center, from which it is possible to submit manuscripts and all the required documentation. To use this tool you must be registered in advance; access requires a username and password. If you are a member of SAPD, you may use your usual username; if not, you may request a user account for access to the Manuscript Center through the registration form available on the website (https://www.sapd.es/cm/registro/). You may write to webmaster@sapd.es to resolve any problems with manuscript submission.

2. Peer Review

The editorial review process involves the submission and management of manuscripts through an online manuscript center and the peer review of articles. Only articles that, in the opinion of the Editorial Committee, are of sufficient interest and quality and comply with the established editorial standards will be accepted for publication.

The journal uses double‑blind peer review (neither the author nor the reviewer knows the identity of the other).

The editorial process consists of 5 steps:

Initial review by the editorial team
The editor‑in‑chief, deputy editor, or associate editor reviews the manuscript to assess whether its subject matter, originality and scientific quality are suitable for possible publication in the journal. The manuscript may be rejected at this stage, in which case the corresponding author will be notified. Exceptionally, manuscripts submitted by members of the editorial team will be accepted. In such cases, the manuscript will be assigned to another editor, who will manage the review process in its entirety. The editor‑author will only receive the automatic communications from the editorial platform about the status of the manuscript. Likewise, the editor‑author must include a Conflicts of Interest section at the end of the article, in which they declare their authorship and guarantee the transparency of the process. If the manuscript is considered suitable, it will be assigned to an associate editor in the relevant subject area, who will be responsible for inviting reviewers.
Invitation of reviewers
The responsible editor will invite reviewers with experience in the area of the manuscript. The number of reviewers may vary depending on the type of study. People with relevant conflicts of interest will not be considered potential reviewers. If a reviewer declines the invitation, the editor will invite another in their place.
Review of the manuscript
Reviewers will critically assess the manuscript and issue a recommendation choosing from: Accept, Requires revisions, or Reject. They may also provide comments aimed at improving the quality of the manuscript. Reviews are expected to be thorough and objective.
Editorial decision
The editor‑in‑chief will receive the reviewers’ recommendations and make the final decision. In case of discrepancies between the evaluations (for example, when one reviewer recommends acceptance—with or without revisions—and another recommends rejection), the editor‑in‑chief may request an evaluation from additional reviewers or assume the final decision directly.
Communication of the editorial decision
The corresponding author will receive the Editorial Committee’s decision by e‑mail, together with the reviewers’ comments. If the decision is “requires revisions”, once the authors submit the revised version, the manuscript will be sent again to the reviewers for a second evaluation. After this, the editor‑in‑chief will issue the final decision. Finally, the editorial office will review formal aspects such as grammar and style.

4. Licence terms

Articles published in RAPD Online from 15 January 2026 onwards are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence (CC BY 4.0).

This work is licensed under

CC BY 4.0

This licence allows the use, distribution, reproduction and adaptation of the content in any medium or format, provided that the original work is properly cited, the source is indicated, and any changes made, if any, are stated.

Articles published between 1 January 2024 and 14 January 2026 were distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution‑NonCommercial‑NoDerivatives 4.0 International licence (CC BY‑NC‑ND 4.0), unless another licence is expressly indicated in the article itself.

The licence applicable to each article will be the one indicated on the article’s individual page and/or in the corresponding PDF.

5. Copyright

Authors retain the copyright on their articles published in RAPD Online. By submitting and publishing a manuscript in the journal, authors authorise RAPD Online and the Sociedad Andaluza de Patología Digestiva to publish, disseminate, preserve and index the article in the formats and platforms used by the journal.

Articles published from 15 January 2026 onwards are distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence (CC BY 4.0). This licence does not limit the ownership of copyright by the authors, but establishes the conditions for the use and reuse of the published content.

The institutional copyright indicated in the website footer refers to the structure, design and general contents of the website of the Sociedad Andaluza de Patología Digestiva, and does not modify the licence or the rights applicable to the scientific articles published.

6. Charges for authors

RAPD Online does not charge authors any fees for the submission, evaluation, editorial processing or publication of manuscripts.

The journal does not apply submission fees, editorial processing fees, article processing charges (APC), page charges, colour charges, or publication fees.

There are also no charges for downloading, reading or accessing the published articles.

The journal is published in open access format, with articles in Spanish and English since 2024. Access, reading and downloading of all published articles are free of charge.

7. Publisher information

Publishing entity / Publisher: Sociedad Andaluza de Patología Digestiva

Journal: Revista Andaluza de Patología Digestiva — RAPD Online

Address: Colegio de Médicos de Sevilla, Avda. de la Borbolla, 47, 41013 Seville

Country of publication: Spain

Website of the publishing entity: https://www.sapd.es/

Editorial contact: Ángeles Pérez Aisa

Journal e‑mail: rapdonline@sapd.es

Editorial/technical support: Sulime Diseño de Soluciones, S.L.U.

Functions:

The company Sulime provides the journal with comprehensive technical support, web development and editorial support services. In the technical area, it is responsible for the administration, maintenance and supervision of the dedicated server, ensuring the proper functioning of the platform and the security of the contents. In terms of web development, it carries out the design, implementation, updating and continuous improvement of the journal’s website, ensuring its accessibility, performance and adaptation to current technological standards. It also provides editorial support through the layout and preparation of contents for publication, ensuring the correct presentation, coherence and formal quality of the articles and issues of the journal.

8. Digital preservation policy

RAPD guarantees the preservation and continuous access to its contents through the implementation of backup and secure storage systems.

All published contents are hosted on a dedicated server provided by the company Arsys and managed directly by SAPD’s web and technical provider (Sulime Diseño de Soluciones, S.L.U.), which has an automated backup system, keeping replicas corresponding to the last three days. This mechanism allows information to be recovered in the event of possible technical incidents or data loss.

In addition, all published issues are archived in an external NAS‑type storage system, which provides an additional layer of security and redundancy. This system ensures the long‑term preservation of the contents, minimising the risk of loss and guaranteeing their integrity.

Through these measures, the journal undertakes to preserve its digital heritage reliably and sustainably, ensuring its availability for the scientific community.

Standards for authors

1. Writing standards for manuscripts

A. Specific standards for manuscripts writing

B. Common standards and other supporting documents

Patient or health-related photographs

Conflicts of Interest

Revision and Correction

Ethical Standards

Other documents and ethical standards:

Data protection

Statistics

3. Editorial policies, copyright and open access information

1. Open Access Policy

2. Aims and Scope

1. Aims and characteristics of RAPD

2. Contents of RAPD

3. Editorial Process and Peer Review

1. Manuscript Submission

2. Peer Review

4. Licence terms

5. Copyright

6. Charges for authors

7. Publisher information

8. Digital preservation policy