A new ESAIC open access journal

Abstract

The European Journal of Anaesthesiology (EJA) has long been the main academic journal of the European Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care (ESAIC). It has been recognised for years as one of the leading scientific journals in its field in Europe; its impact factor has increased steadily reaching 4.33 in 2020. However, the number of pages per issue is limited (around one hundred pages every month in the printed version), therefore we are unable to publish some articles of good scientific quality. Currently, only 15% of manuscripts submitted are published after undergoing a weekly triage process and peer-review. This restrictive publication policy limits the dissemination of research and knowledge. It also reduces the visibility of the Society and European anaesthesiologists and intensivists. This constraint is disappointing as the quality of the manuscripts is improving steadily and we often reject interesting research or promising reviews due to page limits. To increase visibility within and beyond our society, to address the success of the EJA and the increase in submissions, and to provide an additional forum for the publication of valuable content, the ESAIC Board of Directors has decided to launch an on-line open-access journal: this will widen the readership of ESAIC publications. Open-access publications are now increasingly requested by International Academic Institutions as the underlying philosophy is to provide facilitated, unrestricted and free-of-charge access to articles. Such ready access will accelerate dissemination of the most recent scientific evidence. In addition to that, it will be a tool to build, with the editorial team and the reviewers, a new model of collaboration by compensating people for sharing their expertise with the journal, while creating a virtuous circle. Recognition of the work of reviewers would thus be improved. The new journal is an opportunity to develop and implement a collaborative open access model, allowing authors a reduced publication fee if they invest time and expertise in the life of the journal. The new journal entitled The European Journal of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care (EJAIC) is also an official publication of the ESAIC with a dedicated website (www.ejaintensivecare.com) with rapid electronic publication rapid electronic publication of peer-reviewed, high scientific quality content. EJAIC is open to experimental studies with clinical relevance, confirmation studies, and pilot studies. Authors and researchers are invited to submit the following article types for consideration for publication in EJAIC. Original research Randomised controlled trials (RCT) Systematic reviews (with or without meta-analyses) of RCTs Observational studies Systematic reviews and meta-analyses of observational studies Animal studies Diagnostic studies Quality improvement studies Narrative Reviews Study protocols Short Scientific Reports Case reports Limited article processing charges (APCs) will be applicable to authors. The fee for original research and RCTs is $1,500 (1280 €) and short reports, commentaries are $600 (512€) per article. The current EJA editorial team (Editor-in-Chief, Deputy Editors-in-Chief, Associate Editors, Language Editors, Methods and Statistics Editors, Book review Editor, and the Journal Manager) forms the editorial team of the EJAIC. Submitted manuscripts are subjected to weekly triage and a peer-review process. Creating a new journal is an ambitious challenge. The articles will only be referenced in PubMed after publication of several issues (hopefully by the end of 2022). The first impact factor (2024) will only be available early in 2025. Nevertheless, we are confident that there is a need for an open-access journal to expand the dissemination of high-quality papers and to promote Anaesthesiology, Intensive Care, Perioperative Medicine and Pain Medicine. EJAIC content will put a special emphasis on Intensive Care and Perioperative Medicine. We wish a long and successful scientific life to EJAIC!