1 Original Research Article

Manuscripts must follow the IMRaD structure:

• Introduction: Background, knowledge gap, and specific objectives/hypotheses
• Materials and Methods: Study design (with ICMR/CONSORT/STROBE designation), setting, period, sample size justification (with formula), inclusion/exclusion criteria, intervention or exposure, outcome definitions, statistical analysis plan
• Results: Present sequentially as per objectives; use past tense; avoid repeating table/figure content verbatim in text
• Discussion: Interpretation in context of existing literature; strengths and limitations; clinical/public health implications
• Conclusions: Brief, specific, justified by data; avoid over generalisation.

2 Case Series

Case series describe a group of patients with similar clinical characteristics, diagnoses, treatments, or outcomes and should provide clinically meaningful observations that contribute to medical knowledge. Case series must include patient consent for publication. Structure:

• Introduction: (why this case series is notable)
• Case Presentations: (timeline of symptoms, examination, investigations, diagnosis, management)
• Discussion: (differential diagnosis, learning points, comparison with published literature)
• Conclusions

6.3 Required Sections in All Manuscripts

• Ethics Statement (IEC approval + consent; see Section 3.2)
• Author Contributions (CRediT taxonomy)
• Funding Declaration
• Conflict of Interest Declaration
• Data Availability Statement
• Acknowledgements (preceding references)
• AI Use Declaration (if applicable)
• References

7.Statistical Reporting Standards 

The journal follows the SAMPL (Statistical Analyses and Methods in the Published Literature) guidelines. Authors must adhere to the following: 

• State the statistical software used (name, version, manufacturer) 

• Justify the sample size with power calculation (state alpha, power, expected effect size, and attrition assumptions) 

• Report measures of central tendency with appropriate dispersion (mean ± SD for normally distributed data; median with IQR for non-parametric data) 

• Report 95% Confidence Intervals (CI) alongside p-values for all major outcomes 

• p-values must be reported to three decimal places (e.g., p = 0.032); not as 'p < 0.05' alone 

• Specify whether tests are one-tailed or two-tailed 

• For multivariable analysis: report both unadjusted and adjusted odds/hazard ratios with 95% CI 

• Survival analysis: Kaplan-Meier curves required; log-rank test for group comparisons; Cox regression for multivariable analysis 

• For diagnostic studies: report sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, LR+, LR–, and AUC (ROC) with 95% CI 

8.  Peer Review Process 

All manuscripts undergo double-blind peer review by a minimum of two independent reviewers with relevant expertise. Statistical review is mandatory for all original research articles. All identifying information must be removed from the main manuscript file before submission. 

9. Reference Style 

Vancouver Referencing System (Mandatory) 

This journal uses the Vancouver (ICMJE) referencing style. References are numbered consecutively in the order they appear in the text (not alphabetically). Numbers are placed in square brackets, superscript or inline. 

Format Examples 

Journal Article (print) 

Surname AB, Surname CD, Surname EF. Title of article. Abbreviated Journal Name. Year;Volume(Issue):Pages. DOI if available. 

Example: Sharma R, Patel MK, Singh GS. Lymph node positivity ratio as a prognostic factor in oral squamous cell carcinoma: a retrospective cohort study. Oral Oncol. 2024;152:106784. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oraloncology.2024.106784 

Book 

Author AB. Title of Book. Edition (if not first). Place of Publication: Publisher; Year. 

Example: Park K. Park's Textbook of Preventive and Social Medicine. 26th ed. Jabalpur: Bhanot Publishers; 2023. 

Chapter in Edited Book 

Author AB. Title of chapter. In: Editor AB, editor. Title of Book. Place: Publisher; Year. p. XX-XX. 

Indian Regulatory / Government Documents 

Ministry/Department Name, Government of India. Title of Document. Place of Publication: Publisher/Ministry; Year [cited DD Mon YYYY]. Available from: URL 

CTRI Registration 

Clinical Trials Registry – India (CTRI). [Study title]. CTRI Registration No. CTRI/YYYY/MM/XXXXXX [registered DD/MM/YYYY]. Available from: https://ctri.nic.in 

Journal abbreviations should follow Index Medicus / PubMed standards. A minimum of 50% of references should be from the past 5 years for original research articles.