PJAAI Instructions to Authors

The Philippine Journal of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (PJAAI) is a peer-reviewed, medical and health science journal in English that is published two times a year by the Philippine Society of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (PSAAI). Authors may include members and non-members of the PSAAI. 

Manuscripts, correspondences and other editorial matters should be sent via electronic mail to pjaai94.psaai@gmail.com. Manuscripts are received with the understanding that they are not under simultaneous consideration by another publisher. Accepted manuscripts become the permanent property of the PJAAI and are licensed with an Attribution-Non-Commercial Creative Commons License. Articles may be shared and adapted for non-commercial purposes as long as they are properly cited. Articles and any other material published in the PJAAI represent the work of the author(s) and should not be construed to reflect the opinions of the Editors or the Publisher. Articles that do not subscribe to the Instructions to Authors shall be promptly returned. 

ARTICLE TYPES 

PJAAI welcomes manuscripts on all aspects of Allergy and Immunology in the form of original articles, review articles, case reports, feature articles (clinical practice guidelines, clinical case seminars, book reviews, et cetera), editorials, letters to the Editor, brief communications and special announcements. 

Original articles

  • The abstract should contain no more than 200 words with a structured format consisting of the objective/s, methodology, results and conclusion. A manuscript for original articles should not exceed 25 typewritten pages (including tables, figures, illustrations and references) or 6000 words. 

Reviews 

  • Review articles provide information on the “state of the art.” PJAAI encourages that reviews not only summarize current understanding of a particular topic but also describe significant gaps in the research, and current debates. The abstract should be from 50 to 75 words and should not be structured. A manuscript for review should not exceed 15 typewritten pages (including tables, figures, illustrations and references) or 4000 words. 

Case Reports 

  • The abstract should be from 50 to 75 words and should not be structured. A manuscript for case reports should not exceed 10 typewritten pages (including tables, figures, illustrations and references) or 3000 words. 

Feature articles 

  • PJAAI may feature articles, either as part of an issue theme, such as Summary Clinical Practice Guidelines in Allergy and Immunology, or a special topic on Allergy and Immunology by an international expert or authority. The abstract should be from 50 to 75 words and should not be structured. A manuscript for feature articles should not exceed 25 typewritten pages (including tables, figures, illustrations and references) or 6000 words. 

Interhospital Grand Rounds 

  • PJAAI encourages submission of special articles that summarize and document the proceedings of allergy and immunology grand rounds, which includes presentation of medical problems of a particular patient, evaluation and work-up, treatment and clinical course, discussion of key diagnostic and management points, and commentaries by specialty experts. PJAAI recognizes the importance of this type of article as an educational tool for physicians and health practitioners. The abstract should be from 50 to 75 words and should not be structured. A manuscript for grand rounds should not exceed 25 typewritten pages (including tables, figures, illustrations and references) or 6000 words. 

Brief Communications 

  • Brief Communications are short reports intended to either extend or expound on previously published research OR present new and significant findings which may have a major impact in current practice. If the former, authors must acknowledge and cite the research which they are building upon. The abstract should be from 50 to 75 words and should not be structured. A manuscript for brief communications should not exceed 5 typewritten pages (including tables, figures, illustrations and references) or 1500 words. 

Editorials 

  • Editorials are articles that represent the scientific opinion and views of an author. Every issue of PJAAI includes an Editorial by the Editor-in-Chief and may include one or two additional editorials from experts from the scientific community commenting on a particular field or issue on allergy and immunology. No abstract or keywords necessary. 

Letters to the Editor 

  • PJAAI welcomes feedback and comments on previously published articles in the form of Letters to the Editor. No abstract or keywords necessary. A Letter to the Editor must not exceed 2 typewritten pages or 500 words. 

Special Announcements 

  • Special announcements may include upcoming conventions, seminars or conferences relevant to allergy and immunology. The Editors shall deliberate and decide on acceptance and publication of special announcements. Please coordinate with the Editorial Coordinator for any request for special announcements. 

COVER LETTER 

A cover letter must accompany each manuscript which should cite the title of the manuscript, the list of authors (complete names and affiliations and their specific role/s in writing the manuscript), with one (1) author clearly designated as correspondent, providing his/her complete postal/mailing address, telephone number, e-mail address and fax number. 

*All authors are required to obtain an ORCID ID. To register, kindly follow this link: https://orcid.org/register

The PJAAI cover letter template must be used. 

AUTHOR FORM 

For submission to the PJAAI to be accepted, all authors must read and sign the PJAAI AUTHOR FORM consisting of: (1) the Authorship Certification, (2) the Author Declaration (3) the Author Publishing Agreement and (4) the Statement of Disclosure of conflicts of Interest.  

The completely accomplished PJAAI Author Form shall be submitted along with the manuscript.  No manuscript shall be received without the PJAAI Author Form.

ADHERENCE TO EQUATOR NETWORK GUIDELINES

To improve and standardize the reporting of findings depending on the study type, authors should ensure compliance with the following EQUATOR (Enhancing the QUAlity and Transparency of Research) Network Guidelines. These guidelines are freely available at: http://equator-network.org. 

  1. CONSORT (2010) Checklist for Reporting Clinical Trials 
  2. CARE (2013) Checklist for Reporting Case Reports 
  3. COREQ (2007) Checklist for Reporting Qualitative Research 
  4. PRISMA (2009) Checklist for Reporting Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses 
  5. STROBE (2007) Checklist for Reporting Observational Studies
  6. STARD (2015) Checklist for Reporting Diagnostic Accuracy Studies 
  7. CHEERS (2013) Checklist for Reporting Economic Evaluation of Health Interventions 
  8. SQUIRE (2015) Checklist for Quality Improvement Reporting in Healthcare 
  9. ARRIVE (2013) Guidelines for Reporting Animal Research 

ICMJE FORM FOR DISCLOSURE OF POTENTIAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

In order to ensure scientific objectivity and independence, the PJAAI requires all authors to make a full disclosure of areas of potential conflict of interest. Such disclosure will indicate whether the person and/or his/her immediate family has any financial relationship with pharmaceutical companies, medical equipment manufacturers, biomedical device manufacturers, or any companies with significant involvement in the field of health care. 

Examples of disclosures include but are not limited to: ownership, employment, research support (including provision of equipment or materials), involvement as speaker, consultant, or any other financial relationship or arrangement with manufacturers, companies or suppliers. With respect to any relationships identified, author(s) must provide sufficiently detailed information to permit assessment of the significance of the potential conflict of interest (for example, the amount of money involved and/or the identification of any value of goods and services). 

The form is also downloadable at http://www.icmje.org/conflicts-of-interest/. 

ETHICS REVIEW APPROVAL 

For Original Articles, authors are required to submit a scanned soft copy of the Ethics Review Approval of their research. For manuscripts reporting data from studies involving animals, authors are required to submit a scanned copy of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee approval.

INFORMED CONSENT 

For Case Reports, Images in Allergy & Immunology and Clinical Case Seminars, authors are required to submit a soft copy of signed informed consent for publication from the involved subject/s (“Patient Consent Form”).  In case the involved subject/s can no longer be contacted (i.e., retrospective studies, no contact information, etc.) to obtain consent, the author must seek ethical clearance from the institutional board to publish the information about the subject/s. If the article is exempt from IRB, exercise of due diligence should be taken by the author(s) to obtain the consent. This must be described in full detail by the authors in their manuscript.

GENERAL GUIDELINES 

  1. The manuscript should be encoded using Microsoft Word, double-spaced throughout with 11⁄4 cm (1⁄2 inch) paragraph indentation, with 3-cm margins (11⁄4 inch) all around on A4 size paper. The preferred font style and size is Times New Roman 12. 
  2. The manuscript should be arranged in sequence as follows: (1) Title Page, (2) Abstract, (3) Text, (4) References, (5) Tables, and (6) Figures & Illustrations. 
  3. References should pertain directly to the work being reported. 
  4. All the sheets of the manuscript should be labeled with the family name of the main author (all in capital letters) and page number (in Arabic Numerals) printed on the upper right corner. 
  5. All manuscripts not complying with the above shall be promptly returned for correction and resubmission. 

Title Page 

1. The title should be as concise as possible. 

2. Only the full names of the authors directly affiliated with the work should be included (First name, Middle initial and Last name). There are 4 criteria for authorship (ICMJE recommendations): 

2.1. Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND 

2.2. Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; AND 

2.3. Final approval of the version to be published; AND 

2.4. 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. 

3. The highest educational attainment or title of the authors should be included as an attachment whenever appropriate.

4. Name and location of no more than one (1) institutional affiliation per author may be included.

5. If the paper has been presented in a scientific forum or convention, a note should be provided indicating the name, location and date of its presentation. 

Abstract 

For original articles, the abstract should contain no more than 200 words with a structured format consisting of the objective/s, methodology, results and conclusion. For feature articles, case reports, interhospital grand rounds, and brief communications, the abstract should be from 50 to 75 words and need not be structured. 

Keywords 

At least 3 keywords but no more than 6, preferably using terms from the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) list of Index Medicus, should be listed horizontally under the abstract for cross-indexing of the article. 

Text 

  1. Generally, the text should be organized consecutively as follows: Introduction, Methodology, Results and Discussion, and Conclusion (IMRAD format). 
  2. All references, tables, figures and illustrations should be cited in the text, in numerical order. 
  3. All abbreviations should be spelled out once (the first time they are mentioned in the text) followed by the abbreviation enclosed in parentheses. The same abbreviation may then be used subsequently instead of the long names. 
  1. All measurements and weights should preferably be in System International (SI) units. 
  2. If appropriate, information should be provided on institutional review board/ethics committee approval. 
  3. Acknowledgements to individuals/groups of persons, or institution/s should be included at the end of the text just before the references. Grants and subsidies from government or private institutions should also be acknowledged. 

References 

  1. References in the text should be identified by Arabic Numerals in superscript on the same line as the preceding sentence. 
  2. References should be typed double-spaced on a separate sheet. They should be numbered consecutively in the order by which they are mentioned in the text. They should not be alphabetized. 
  3. All references should provide inclusive page numbers, digital object identifier (doi), the source of the reference (i.e., PubMed, PubMed Central), and the website link to the reference.  
  4. Journal abbreviations should conform to those used in PubMed. 
  5. A maximum of six authors per article can be cited; beyond that, name the first three and add “et al.” 
  6. The style/punctuation approved by PJAAI conforms to that recommended by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) available at http://www.icmje.org. Follow format of the examples shown below: 

Journal Article  

Padua FR, Paspe MG. Antinuclear antibody in the rheumatic and non-rheumatic diseases among Filipinos. Acta Med Philippina. 1990; 26(2):81-85. 

One to Six Authors (Commentary, Online) 

Krause RM. The origin of plagues: old and new. Science. 1992;257:1073-1078. Barry JM. The site of origin of the 1918 influenza pandemic and its public health implications. [Commentary]. J Translational Med. January 20, 2004;2(3):1-4. http://www.translational- medicine.com/content/2/1/3. Accessed November 18, 2005. 

Mokdad AH, Bowman BA, Ford ES, Vinicor F, Marks JS, Koplan JP. The continuing epidemics of obesity and diabetes in the US. JAMA. 2001;286(10):1195-200. 

More than Six Authors 

McGlynn EA, Asch S, Adams J, et al. The quality of health care delivered to adults in the United States. N Engl J Med. June 26, 2003;348(26):2635-45. 

Authors Representing a Group 

Moher D, Schulz KF, Altman D; for the CONSORT Group. The CONSORT statement: revised recommendations for improving the quality of reports of parallel-group randomized trials. JAMA. 2001;285(15):1987-991. 

Book 

Byrne, DW. Publishing your medical research paper: What they don’t teach in medical school. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins, 1998. 

World Wide Web 

The key and critical objectives of JAMA. http://jama.ama-assn.org/misc/aboutjama.dtl. Accessed April 4, 2007. 

Tables 

1. Cite all tables consecutively in the text and number them accordingly. 

2. Create tables preferably using Microsoft Excel with one table per worksheet. 

3. Tables should not be saved as image files.

4. The content of tables should include a table number (Arabic) and title in capital letters above the table, and explanatory notes and legends as well as definitions of abbreviations used below.

5. Font should be Arial Narrow size 8.

6. Each table must be self-explanatory, being a supplement rather than a duplicate of information in the text.

7. Up to a maximum of five (5) tables are allowed. 

Figures and Graphs 

1. Figures or graphs should be identified by Arabic Numeral/s with titles and explanations underneath. 

2. The numbers should correspond to the order in which the figures/graphs occur in the text. It is recommended that figures/graphs also be submitted as image files (preferably as .jpeg or .gif files) of high resolution. 

3. Provide a title and brief caption for each figure or graph. Caption should not be longer than 15-20 words. 

4. All identifying data of the subject/s or patient/s under study such as name or case numbers, should be removed. 

5. Up to a maximum of five (5) figures and graphs are allowed. 

Illustrations and Photographs 

  1. Where appropriate, all illustrations/photographic images should be at least 800 x 600 dpi and submitted as image files (preferably as .jpeg or .gif files). 
  2. For photomicrographs, the stain used (e.g. H & E) and magnification (e.g. 400x) should be included in the description. 
  3. Computer-generated illustrations which are not suited for reproduction should be professionally redrawn or printed on good-quality laser printers. Photocopies are not acceptable. 
  4. All letterings for illustration should be done professionally and should be of adequate size to retain even after size reduction. 
  5. Figure legends should be numbered sequentially, typed double-spaced on a separate sheet of paper. Give the meaning of all symbols and abbreviations used in the figure. 
  6. Up to a maximum of five (5) illustrations/photographs are allowed. 

N.B.: For tables, figures, graphs, illustrations and photographs that have been previously published in another journal or book, a note must be placed under the specific item stating that such has been adapted or lifted from the original publication. This should also be referenced in the References portion. 

EDITORIAL OFFICE CONTACT INFORMATION: 

Philippine Journal of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology

Editor-in-Chief:  Regina Dionisio-Capulong, MD, FPPS, FPSAAI

E-mail: pjaai94.psaai@gmail.com

PUBLISHER

Philippine Society of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology

Suite 2504, Medical Plaza Ortigas Condominium

# 25 San Miguel Avenue, Ortigas Center, Pasig City, Philippines 1605