Current Clinical Cases

Current Clinical Cases: Editorial Policies

Commitment to Integrity: Current Clinical Cases is committed to upholding the highest standards of editorial integrity, publication ethics, and rigorous scientific review. These policies outline the expectations for authors, reviewers, and editors involved with the journal.

1. Peer Review Process

• Model: The journal employs a rigorous single-blind peer review process. Reviewers' identities are kept confidential from authors; authors' identities are known to reviewers.
• Evaluation: Submitted manuscripts are meticulously evaluated for scientific accuracy, validity, novelty, significance, and ethical compliance.
• Reviewer Selection: Authors may suggest potential reviewers or request exclusions during submission. While the editorial team considers these suggestions, the final selection remains at the editors' discretion to ensure impartiality.
• Reviewer Conduct: All reviewers must be independent of the work, declare any potential competing interests before accepting a review invitation, and conduct their reviews objectively and confidentially.

2. Editorial Team Submissions

• Members of the Current Clinical Cases editorial team or board are permitted to submit their own research to the journal.
• To ensure impartiality, any submission by an editorial team member is handled by another editor who has no conflict of interest. The submitting editor/board member is entirely recused from all editorial tasks and decisions related to their manuscript.
• All relevant competing interests must be declared upon submission and will be published alongside the article if accepted.

3. Authorship

• Criteria: All individuals listed as authors must meet the criteria for authorship defined by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). This typically involves substantial contributions to conception/design, data acquisition/analysis/interpretation, drafting/revising the work critically, final approval of the version to be published, and agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work.
• Approval: Submission implies that all listed authors have approved the manuscript's content and agree to its submission. Explicit permission from each author to be included is required.
• Corresponding Author: The corresponding author is responsible for communication with the journal during submission, peer review, and publication, and ensures all authors meet criteria and approve the manuscript.

4. Originality, Plagiarism, and Prior Publication

• Originality: Submitted manuscripts must contain original work that has not been published previously (except as an abstract or preprint, see below) and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere.
• Plagiarism: Plagiarism, including the appropriation of another's ideas, processes, results, or words without giving appropriate credit, is strictly prohibited. This includes self-plagiarism (redundant publication). All sources must be accurately cited.
• Plagiarism Detection: The journal utilizes plagiarism detection software (e.g., PlagScan) to screen submissions. Manuscripts with similarity scores exceeding acceptable thresholds (e.g., typically considering a threshold around 25%, excluding references and standard phrases) will be subject to further review, require author explanation, and may be rejected if plagiarism is confirmed.
• Preprints:
  • Current Clinical Cases welcomes submissions of manuscripts that have been previously made available on preprint servers (e.g., medRxiv, bioRxiv), authors' institutional repositories, or personal websites. Presenting work at conferences also does not constitute prior publication.
  • Authors must declare the existence and provide a link to any preprint version in the cover letter upon submission.
  • Authors retain copyright to their preprint. If the manuscript is published in Current Clinical Cases, authors are expected to update the preprint record with a DOI link pointing to the final published version.

5. Ethical Oversight and Consent

• Human Subjects Research:
  • Must comply with the ethical principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki.
  • Must receive approval from an appropriate Institutional Review Board (IRB) or Ethics Committee before the study begins.
  • Manuscripts must include a statement confirming ethical approval, naming the committee and providing the approval reference number.
  • Informed consent must be obtained from all participants (or legal guardians). A statement confirming this must be included in the manuscript. Patient anonymity and confidentiality must be protected.
  • If a study was granted an exemption from requiring ethical approval, a statement from the ethics committee confirming the exemption must be included.
• Animal Research:
  • Must comply with relevant national and international guidelines for the humane care and use of laboratory animals (e.g., ARRIVE guidelines).
  • Must receive approval from an appropriate institutional ethics committee (e.g., Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee - IACUC).
  • Manuscripts must include a statement confirming ethical approval, naming the committee and providing the approval reference number. Efforts to minimize animal suffering must be described.
• Conflict of Interest (COI):
  • All authors must disclose any potential conflicts of interest – financial or non-financial, professional or personal – that could inappropriately influence (or be perceived to influence) their work.
  • Disclosure is required using the standardized ICMJE Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form (available via the ICMJE website and linked from our submission system). A completed form for each author should be submitted alongside the manuscript.
  • The source(s) of funding for the research must be explicitly disclosed. If no conflicts exist, authors must state this clearly.

6. Open Access Policy and Copyright

• Principle: Current Clinical Cases provides immediate, worldwide, barrier-free access to the full text of all published articles. We operate an open access model where neither readers nor their institutions are charged subscription or access fees.
• License: Articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (CC BY-NC 4.0).
• Permissions: This license allows users to:
  • Share: Copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format.
  • Adapt: Remix, transform, and build upon the material.
• Conditions: Users must adhere to the following conditions:
  • Attribution: You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license (CC BY-NC 4.0), and indicate if changes were made. Do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
  • NonCommercial: You may not use the material for commercial purposes.
• Copyright: Authors retain the copyright of their published articles.

7. Post-Publication Policies

• Corrections: While rigorous proofreading occurs, errors may occasionally be identified post-publication. If a significant error affecting the interpretation of the work or scientific record is found, the journal, following COPE guidelines, may issue:
  • A Corrigendum (for author-introduced errors).
  • An Erratum (for publisher-introduced errors).
  • Contact the journal editorial office if you believe a correction is needed.
• Retractions: In cases of major errors that invalidate the work (e.g., data fabrication, significant honest error) or proven scientific misconduct (e.g., plagiarism), an article may be retracted following COPE guidelines. A retraction notice explaining the reason will be published and linked to the original article.

8. Appeals, Complaints, and Misconduct

• Handling: Appeals against editorial decisions, complaints about journal processes, or allegations of research or publication misconduct are taken very seriously.
• Process: Concerns should be directed to the publisher [Provide Specific Contact Method - e.g., dedicated email address like [email address removed] or link to a contact form]. The publisher will investigate following established procedures, often guided by COPE recommendations.
• Confidentiality: Investigations are handled confidentially where possible, respecting the rights of all parties involved.

9. Professional Conduct

• Current Clinical Cases maintains a zero-tolerance policy towards abusive behavior or harassment directed at its staff, editors, reviewers, or authors.
• Any individual engaging in such unprofessional conduct may have their submission withdrawn, be barred from future involvement with the journal, or face other appropriate actions at the discretion of the editor and/or publisher.