From the Editor’s desk

Abstract

Acta Paediatrica is one of the oldest scientific paediatric journals in the world. We now receive more than 1000 manuscripts per year and can only publish about 30% of them. The impact factor is increasing as well as the number of hits on the web. Acta Paediatrica– formerly Acta Paediatrica Scandinavica– is a truly international journal. Currently, we receive an increasing number of manuscripts from countries like China, India, Brazil and Turkey. However, the journal is based in Scandinavia with the editorial office located in Stockholm and the publisher in Copenhagen. There is some preference for articles on classical Scandinavian topics such as promotion of breastfeeding, prohibition of corporal punishment, noninvasive neonatology including treatment with CPAP, and developmental care. Acta Paediatrica also has a strong tradition of publishing papers on diabetes, allergy and social paediatrics. Articles should be of some general paediatric interest. Very specialized articles, for example, technical articles on the setting of ventilators etc., are referred to more specialized journals. We now also want to promote articles on developmental programming and adolescent medicine. The journal is still publishing in print and the electronic format. As soon as an article is accepted, it is posted on the web. Articles can be published with open access on demand. Original articles are the most important contributions. It is essential that they are written with the general paediatrician in mind. Jargon and abbreviations should be avoided. Titles must be short and appeal immediately to the reader. The content should be of general international interest, and articles with a title such as …Disease X in Southern Y-land…will usually be immediately rejected. Clinical Observations are accepted only occasionally, and starting from next year, most authors of Clinical Observations will be encouraged to accept transfer of their manuscript for consideration by Clinical Case Reports, an Open Access journal to be launched by Wiley-Blackwell focusing exclusively on case reports. They will be peer reviewed as usual. On the other hand, we welcome educational clinical overviews. Letters are still welcome. We will try to publish more Editorials commissioned by the Editorial Board. We also welcome noncommissioned Viewpoints, Commentaries and Different Views. Feature articles on hot topics written by a medical journalist are published under the heading Acta Perspectives. However, we welcome articles to Acta Perspectives also from readers. They could deal with any aspect of children’s rights and their wellbeing. Furthermore, we also welcome historical perspectives of paediatric interest. The perspectives should be well illustrated, without an abstract, and only up to 5 references.