Journal of Bone and Joint Infection
Journal of Bone and Joint Infection
JBJI

Manuscript types

The following types of manuscripts can be considered for peer-reviewed publication in the Journal of Bone and Joint Infection (JBJI):

  • Original full-length articles: Manuscripts describing clinical, pre-clinical, epidemiological investigations, clinical trials, clinical observations, and other relevant investigations shall be based on sound patient series, validated analytical methods, and appropriate statistical evaluation. Original research articles should be structured as follows: Introduction (clearly stating an objective or hypothesis), Methods (describing the study design and methods applied, including the study setting and dates, patients or participants with inclusion and exclusion criteria, and/or participation or response rates, or data sources, and how these were selected for the study), Results (describing the results of the study in the context of the published literature and addressing study limitations), and Discussion (addressing relevant implications for clinical practice or health policy). If the manuscript contains photos or parts of photos of patients, informed consent from each patient must be obtained. Patients' identities and privacy should be carefully protected in the manuscript. A section "Ethical statement" needs to be included after the last regular section. A structured abstract is required. The word limit is 3000 words (excluding the abstract and references). The Abstract should contain up to 250 words and be structured using the headings Introduction, Methods, Results, and Conclusions. There should be a maximum of 40 references. Data in the text should not be repeated extensively in tables or figures.
  • Brief reports are short original articles. They have a word limit of 1500 words (excluding the abstract and references). The abstract should have up to 50 words and be in an unstructured format. There should be a maximum of 12 references and 2 tables or figures.
  • Guidelines/recommendations/consensus papers: Submissions of national guidelines, recommendations, or consensus statements are considered for publication when they represent the statements of an official party (e.g. a national expert group) and are endorsed by the corresponding society. Manuscripts may be published in national journals (in a language other than English) and JBJI in parallel, provided the editors of both journals have given permission prior to submission, and full transparency is guaranteed. The word limit is 3000 words (excluding the abstract and references), and the Abstract should have up to 250 words and be unstructured. There should be a maximum of 60 references. Data in the text should not be repeated extensively in tables or figures. Guidelines that derive from a recognized society will not undergo peer review. The journal and the editorial board members take no responsibility for the content, and the views expressed in the society guidelines may not necessarily reflect the views of the journal and their editorial board members. This statement will be published in the disclaimer paragraph of published manuscripts.
  • Reviews: We differentiate between narrative reviews, systematic reviews, and systematic reviews plus meta-analysis. Please note that narrative review articles are usually invited by the editors; however, unsolicited material may be submitted but will be considered for publication only after discussion and review with the editorial team. For special-theme issues, submissions may be invited by the editors. Systematic review articles can and should be submitted unsolicited. Systemic review articles consisting of a meta-analysis should be submitted as original articles, and the format of original articles should be used. The word limit is 5000 words (narrative review) or 3000 (systematic review) (excluding the abstract and references). The Abstract should be up to 250 words and either unstructured (narrative review) or structured (systematic review). There should be a maximum of 60 references. Data in the text should not be repeated extensively in tables or figures.
  • Viewpoints: Viewpoints are normally by invitation only. Unsolicited articles are rarely considered, but if you wish to enquire further about the suitability of your article, you can email the editors-in-chief. Viewpoints aim to highlight recent exciting research articles in the field of bone and joint infection. Opinions are welcome as long as they are factually based. Viewpoints can also in the form of a "Commentary" that is relevant to the journal's scope. Authors are asked to provide a balanced overview of the field and not to discuss and cite primarily their own work or that of their close colleagues. There should be no more than six authors. Viewpoints should not exceed 1300 words, excluding references, and the Abstract should be no more than 50 words. There should be a maximum of 10 references, and only 1 figure or 1 table.
  • Case reports: Case reports are considered when they present unusual aspects of common problems or novel perspectives upon, or solutions to, clinically relevant issues. The latter criterion is important to the editorial team. Usual aspects of common problems are not considered for publication. If the manuscript contains photos or parts of photos of patients, informed consent from each patient must be obtained. Patients' identities and privacy should be carefully protected in the manuscript. A section "Ethical statement" needs to be included after the last regular section. The Abstract should be up to 50 words stating the presentation, treatment, clinical problem, and the takeaway message. The word limit is 1500 words (excluding the abstract and references). There should be a maximum of 12 references and 1 table or figure. Please include only those images/illustrations that are absolutely necessary to communicate the presentation or treatment. Please note that submissions that do not fulfill the aforementioned criteria will be rejected without peer review. Our current rejection rate of case reports is approximately 80%.
  • Clinical pictures in BJI: Clinical images are considered when they provide visual information that will be useful to the readership. The message of the picture should be educational, not an extreme example of a bone and joint infection. The word limit is 300 words (excluding references), with no abstract and no tables. The clinical picture can be supplemented with a video. Video submission without an image and manuscript will not be considered. There should be a maximum of two references and three authors. Authors must obtain signed informed consent for publication.
  • Letters: Letters to the editor that pertain directly to an article published in the JBJI will be considered for publication. Letters must be submitted within 6 months of the publication date of the article. Authors of the original article cited in the letter will also be invited to reply. The word limit is 500 words (excluding references), with no abstract and maximum 1 table or 1 figure. There should be a maximum of five references (one reference should be the cited article) and three authors.