For many years, this journal has been a vehicle for the delivery of timely and thoughtful information and opinion on the many issues that involve the ENT community. Firstly, I would like to join all the members of the Italian Society of Otorhinolaryngology in thanking the past editors-in-chief for their service to our readers. I also would like to thank those who served on the journal staff and its editorial board, and particularly the reviewers for providing the support and feedback necessary to find, develop and publish high-quality material. Finally, I really want to thank Prof. Fausto Chiesa for the excellent job he has done.
In the past 10 years, Acta Otorhinolaryngologica Italica has evolved to become a frequently-cited journal, and it recently received an impact factor that reflects the dedication and expertise of our editors and reviewers. As you may know, the Journal Citation Reports for 2010 have been recently released and the Journal was given an Impact Factor of 0.427. I offer my thanks to both readers and authors, who have helped us by citing articles from our journal. To improve this result, we hope to receive high quality manuscripts from Italian and international authors.
Starting with this volume, we've made some significant changes. Our aim, in fact, is to follow the process that had already begun in taking the journal from its infancy to maturity. For this reason, we've decided to meet the standards set out by the “Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals" developed by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (http://www.icmje.org), and have refined our Author Guidelines accordingly. For more information on submitting a paper, please visit the journal's guide for authors (www.actaitalica/journal). For readers of our journal, these changes should have a positive impact. We hope you enjoy and learn from our journal, as in the past, and find it a source of up-to-date and high-quality information in the ENT field. For authors, both current and future, we expect that these changes will improve our citation rankings, and we hope that your publication in this journal will benefit you as well. For us, it is important what our authors have to communicate. Papers are welcomed in multiple areas, and those in which the novelty of the study has been accurately portrayed -- ranging from the medical/ clinical perspective to basic and experimental research -- are encouraged. Articles concerning scientific investigations and well-prepared systematic reviews (including meta-analyses) on themes related to basic science, clinical otorhinolaryngology and head and neck surgery have high priority. The Journal will traditionally publish original articles (clinical trials, cohort studies, case-control studies, cross-sectional surveys, and diagnostic test assessments) of interest in the field of otorhinolaryngology as well as case reports (unique, highly relevant and educationally valuable cases), case series, clinical techniques and methodologies (a short report of unique or original methods for surgical techniques, medical management, or new devices or technologies), editorials (including editorial guests – special contributions) and letters to the editors. Finally, the journal will host invited reviews and commissioned commentaries from opinion leaders.
We had accumulated several case reports that were originally submitted to the previous editorial team and subsequently transferred to our watch. The articles have been entirely handled by the current editors. While the excess number of case reports will lead to a delay in their publication, it should be noted that a fundamental decision has to be taken to progressively reduce the priority of case reports.
Now that we've begun to change, we will also hope to continue to evolve and have good idea on how to proceed. In guiding the editorial team in the choices we have to make, we ask our readers to help us to explore new ways to make the journal useful: please share your ideas and thoughts with us. We can be reached at ti.ttacinu.mr@lroacilatiatca. We look forward to hearing from you soon.
I strongly encourage you to submit your work for consideration for publication in Acta Otorhinolaryngologica Italica. An enthusiastic submission requires an energetic and dedicated editorial board to ensure that your article will be reviewed and published rapidly. To reach this goal, we have tested many solutions and have adopted a simple Online Submission System for Authors and Reviewers. Starting immediately, all manuscripts and editorial communications should be sent via our Online Submission System by logging on to http://actaitalica.it/journal and following the instructions. First-time users are required to register before making submissions. Finally, we must take into account ethical problems such as plagiarism, self-plagiarism and ignoring conflicts of interest. For these reasons, we ask all authors to send a Permission Form that clearly states the extent of their contribution.
I truthfully hope that you will find future issues of interest, and that you will enjoy and benefit from reading the publication at least as much I have in the past.