Foregut

This Journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics.

This Journal recommends that authors follow the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals formulated by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).

Please read the guidelines below then visit Foregut’s submission site to upload your manuscript. Please note that manuscripts not conforming to these guidelines may be returned. Remember you can log in to the submission site at any time to check on the progress of your paper through the peer review process.

Sage Publishing disseminates high-quality research and engaged scholarship globally, and we are committed to diversity and inclusion in publishing. We encourage submissions from a diverse range of authors from across all countries and backgrounds.

Only manuscripts of sufficient quality that meet the aims and scope of Foregut will be reviewed.

There are no fees payable to submit or publish in this Journal.

As part of the submission process you will be required to warrant that you are submitting your original work, that you have the rights in the work, and that you have obtained and can supply all necessary permissions for the reproduction of any copyright works not owned by you, that you are submitting the work for first publication in the Journal and that it is not being considered for publication elsewhere and has not already been published elsewhere. Please see our guidelines on prior publication and note that Foregut will consider submissions of papers that have been posted on preprint servers; please alert the Editorial Office when submitting (contact details are at the end of these guidelines) and include the DOI for the preprint in the designated field in the manuscript submission system. Authors should not post an updated version of their paper on the preprint server while it is being peer reviewed for possible publication in the Journal. If the article is accepted for publication, the author may re-use their work according to the Journal's author archiving policy. If your paper is accepted, you must include a link on your preprint to the final version of your paper.

If you have any questions about publishing with Sage, please visit the Sage Journal Solutions Portal.

 

1. What do we publish?
1.1 Aims & Scope
1.2 Article types
1.3 Writing your paper

2. Editorial policies
2.1 Peer review policy
2.2 Authorship
2.3 Acknowledgements
2.4 Funding
2.5 Declaration of conflicting interests
2.6 Research ethics and patient consent
2.7 Clinical trials
2.8 Reporting guidelines
2.9 Research data

3. Publishing policies
3.1 Publication ethics
3.2 Contributor’s publishing agreement
3.3 Open access and author archiving

4. Preparing your manuscript
4.1 Formatting
4.2 Artwork, figures and other graphics
4.3 Supplemental material
4.4 Reference style
4.5 English language editing services

5. Submitting your manuscript
5.1 ORCID
5.2 Information required for completing your submission
5.3 Permissions

6. On acceptance and publication
6.1 Sage Production
6.2 OnlineFirst publication
6.3 Access to your published article
6.4 Promoting your article

7. Further information
7.1 Appealing the publication decision

 

1. What do we publish?

1.1 Aims & Scope
Foregut is the journal of the American Foregut Society (AFS) which is an interdisciplinary society made up of gastroenterologists and surgeons. We are the only subscription journal to focus exclusively on foregut disease, and link medical, endoscopic and surgical disciplines. We will publish quarterly for two years, then bimonthly going forward. Our editorial board and associate editors are composed of equal numbers of foregut surgeons and gastroenterologists.

1.2 Article Types

Follow the Author Submission Checklist to ensure your manuscript complies with the submission guidelines.

Original Articles. These are full length original research articles on the medical and surgical aspects of diseases to the esophagus and stomach. Word and reference limits: Text: 3,500 words, excluding abstract, references, tables, and figures; Abstract: 250 words structured as: background, methods, results and conclusions; References: 40 maximum. A maximum combined number of 7 tables & figures may be included for publication and should follow the references. Additional tables and figures may be included as supplemental data content.

• Randomized Controlled Trials should include a CONSORT diagram and patient flowchart as one of the figures. Clinical Trials should list the clinical trial registry website and trial number at the end of the "conclusions" section of the abstract.

Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses. These are well organized, structured and detailed review of the scientific literature of a specific topic or clinical question on foregut disease. Word and reference limits: Text: 6,000 words, excluding abstract, references, tables, and figures; Abstract: 250 words structured as: background, methods, results and conclusions; References: 75 maximum. A maximum combined number of 7 tables & figures may be included for publication and should follow the references. Additional tables and figures may be included as supplemental data content.

• For meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials, authors must provide the PRISMA flow diagram and checklist found in the PRISMA STATEMENT.
• For meta-analyses of observational studies, authors must provide the MOOSE checklist.
• Authors must follow the EQUATOR reporting guidelines in the manuscript for meta-analyses and systematic reviews.

Review Articles. These are comprehensive and thorough reviews of a clinical foregut disease or problem that ideally is faced by both medicine and surgery. Word and reference limits: Text: 6,000 words, excluding abstract, references, tables, and figures; Abstract: 250 words structured as: background, methods, results and conclusions; References: 75 maximum. A maximum combined number of 7 tables & figures may be included for publication and should follow the references. Additional tables and figures may be included as online-only supplemental data content.

Invited Manuscripts. These are succinct but thorough articles on specific aspects of foregut disease. Author(s) will be invited by the editors often to contribute to a thematic issue. These manuscripts will undergo expedited peer review. They will focus on specific aspects of foregut disease and are reviewed internally by the editorial team. Word and reference limits: Text: Word counts for these articles will be included in the invitation and are exclusive of abstract, references, tables, and figures; Abstract: 100 words unstructured; References: 30 maximum. A maximum combined number of 6 tables & figures may be included for publication and should follow the references.   

Invited Commentary. These commentaries are to provide additional context to the corresponding article either from a surgical or medical perspective or from the large foregut community. Word and reference limits: Text: 1,000 words exclusive of references. Abstract is not required. References: 5 plus the corresponding article. No figures or tables.                                

Case of the Issue. These are case reports that provide a unique educational contribution to Foregut. There will be only one per issue and therefore selection will be highly competitive and most case reports will be rejected. Word and reference limits: Text: 1,000 words, excluding abstract, references, tables, and figures; Abstract: 100 words unstructured. References: 10 maximum. A maximum combined number of 2 tables & figures may be included for publication and should follow the references. Videos are acceptable (see section 1.2.3 below for video requirements).

Letters to the Editor. These letters are welcome and will be accepted if they are commenting on an article published in Foregut. They should contain novel ideas or different perspectives about the corresponding article supported by data and references. Word and reference limits: Text: 500 words with 3 authors maximum. References: 5 maximum. No figures or tables.                               

Brief Communication. These are succinct articles communicating novel concepts or ideas in foregut disease. They may also highlight a new technique, describe a unique case series, translational research or exploratory research insights used in foregut management. Word and reference limits: Text: 1,500 words, excluding abstract, references, tables, and figures; Abstract: 100 words unstructured; References: 15 maximum. A maximum combined number of 2 tables & figures may be included for publication and should follow the references.

How I Do It/Teach It with Video. These are primarily invited but unsolicited articles may be considered focusing on surgical or endoscopic techniques in foregut disease management that are educationally focused. They are accompanied with a short video of < 8 minutes that matches and enhances the article text. These are not case reports. Word and reference limits: Text: 1,500 words, excluding abstract, references, tables, and figures; Abstract: 100 words unstructured; References: 15 maximum. A maximum combined number of 2 tables & figures may be included for publication and should follow the references.

1.2.1 Manuscript Preparation
All manuscripts should be typed and submitted using Microsoft Word documents in 12 pt Arial font. Double-spaced throughout, with margins of 2.5 cm (1 inch) on all sides. Pages must be numbered, starting with the Abstract and continuing through to the end of the manuscript. Place the number in the lower right-hand corner of each page. Continuous line number should be added to the manuscript.

Manuscripts should be organized as follows:

• Title page
• Abstract
• Key Learning Points
• References
• Figures/Tables

Title page should include title; short title, authors' names with highest degree; authors' institutions; corresponding author contact information; conflict of interest statement (for all authors), 3-5 key words and word count for main text as defined in the article types.

Manuscripts should be submitted with no identifying information (the anonymized manuscript for review). Once accepted, any identifying information such as the institution can be included.

Abstract formatting depends on the type of manuscript as described above. Structured manuscripts should include: Background, Methods, Results and Conclusion sections.

Key learning points should be created as three bullet points articulating the key findings, new findings or key learning points.  This should be limited to 50 words.

Please submit figures as separate attachments in JPEG, TIFF, EPS, or PDF formats (300 PPI resolution). Each figure may have up to 4 panels labelled A-D. All figure legends should be listed on one page following the references and before the tables.

Figures/images should be original to the authors and not published elsewhere. Figures/images from other publications may be used with permission and referenced appropriately. It is the author’s responsibility to request and receive permission for previously published figures or images. If the article is a Sage article and the figure was created by the author (no third party permissions), then you can include it with appropriate citation under the STM Association Permissions.

A visual abstract is required for all original research manuscripts. The template to create a visual abstract for Foregut can be downloaded here. Placeholders have been added in the template, but authors should add text and graphics/icons as applicable for their content. The final product should be clear and concise. Please do not include the entire abstract text, but rather present a brief summary of the key findings. Live examples can be found in this collection.

For more information on how to create an effective visual abstract, please visit this guide, which includes many examples of effective visual abstracts.

1.2.2 Revised Manuscript Submission
Manuscripts that are returned to the author for revision should be submitted with a point-by-point response to the reviewers’ comments, a clean copy of the manuscript and a copy with tracked changes.

1.2.3 Video Requirements
Sage Track has a file size limitation of 350MB for submissions. Follow these instructions to compress video files to fit within this limitation. Upon acceptance, authors will receive a link to a Dropbox where the fully-rendered video can be sent for publication. In addition:

• <10 minutes
• Acceptable formats are quicktime, mpeg, and avi.
• Zip files should be avoided wherever possible.
• Video files should be tested for playback before submission, preferably on computers not used for its creation, to check for any compatibility issues
• Narration of the video is recommended but not required

1.3 Writing your paper

The Sage Author Gateway has some general advice and on how to get published, plus links to further resources. Sage Author Services also offers authors a variety of ways to improve and enhance their article including English language editing, plagiarism detection, and video abstract and infographic preparation.

1.3.1 Make your article discoverable
For information and guidance on how to make your article more discoverable, visit our Gateway page on How to Help Readers Find Your Article Online.

 

2. Editorial policies

2.1 Peer review policy
Foregut adheres to a rigorous double-anonymized reviewing policy in which the identity of both the reviewer and author are always concealed from both parties. Each manuscript, including invited manuscripts, are reviewed by at least two reviewers. Reviewers make comments to the author and recommendations to the Editors who then makes the final decision.

As standard practice, Sage does not permit the use of author-suggested reviewers.

2.2 Authorship
Papers should only be submitted for consideration once consent is given by all contributing authors. Those submitting papers should carefully check that all those whose work contributed to the paper are acknowledged as contributing authors.
The list of authors should include all those who can legitimately claim authorship. This is all those who:

1. Made a substantial contribution to the concept or design of the work; or acquisition, analysis or interpretation of data,
2. Drafted the article or revised it critically for important intellectual content,
3. Approved the version to be published,
4. Each author should have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for appropriate portions of the content.

Authors should meet the conditions of all of the points above. When a large, multicenter group has conducted the work, the group should identify the individuals who accept direct responsibility for the manuscript. These individuals should fully meet the criteria for authorship.

Acquisition of funding, collection of data, or general supervision of the research group alone does not constitute authorship, although all contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in the Acknowledgments section. Please refer to the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) authorship guidelines for more information on authorship.

2.3 Acknowledgements
All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in an Acknowledgements section. Examples of those who might be acknowledged include a person who provided purely technical help, or a department chair who provided only general support.

Please supply any personal acknowledgements separately to the main text to facilitate anonymous peer review.

2.3.1 Third party submissions
Where an individual who is not listed as an author submits a manuscript on behalf of the author(s), a statement must be included in the Acknowledgements section of the manuscript and in the accompanying cover letter. The statements must:

• Disclose this type of editorial assistance – including the individual’s name, company and level of input
• Identify any entities that paid for this assistance
• Confirm that the listed authors have authorized the submission of their manuscript via third party and approved any statements or declarations, e.g. conflicting interests, funding, etc.

Where appropriate, Sage reserves the right to deny consideration to manuscripts submitted by a third party rather than by the authors themselves.

2.3.2 Writing assistance
Individuals who provided writing assistance, e.g. from a specialist communications company, do not qualify as authors and so should be included in the Acknowledgements section. Authors must disclose any writing assistance – including the individual’s name, company and level of input – and identify the entity that paid for this assistance. It is not necessary to disclose use of language polishing services.

2.4 Funding
Foregut requires all authors to acknowledge their funding in a consistent fashion under a separate heading.  Please visit the Funding Acknowledgements page on the Sage Journal Author Gateway to confirm the format of the acknowledgment text in the event of funding, or state that: This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

2.5 Declaration of conflicting interests
It is the policy of Foregut to require a declaration of conflicting interests from all authors enabling a statement to be carried within the paginated pages of all published articles.

Please ensure that a ‘Declaration of Conflicting Interests’ statement is included at the end of your manuscript, after any acknowledgements and prior to the references. If no conflict exists, please state that ‘The Author(s) declare(s) that there is no conflict of interest’. For guidance on conflict of interest statements, please see the ICMJE recommendations here.

2.6 Research ethics and patient consent
Medical research involving human subjects must be conducted according to the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki.

Submitted manuscripts should conform to the ICMJE Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals, and all papers reporting animal and/or human studies must state in the methods section that the relevant ethics committee or institutional review board provided (or waived) approval. Please ensure that you have provided the full name and institution of the review committee, in addition to the approval number.

For research articles, authors are also required to state in the methods section whether participants provided informed consent and whether the consent was written or verbal.

Information on informed consent to report individual cases or case series should be included in the manuscript text. A statement is required regarding whether written informed consent for patient information and images to be published was provided by the patient(s) or a legally authorized representative. Please do not submit the patient’s actual written informed consent with your article, as this in itself breaches the patient’s confidentiality. The Journal requests that you confirm to us, in writing, that you have obtained written informed consent but the written consent itself should be held by the authors/investigators themselves, for example in a patient’s hospital record. The confirmatory letter may be uploaded with your submission as a separate file.

Please also refer to the ICMJE Recommendations for the Protection of Research Participants.

All research involving animals submitted for publication must be approved by an ethics committee with oversight of the facility in which the studies were conducted. The Journal has adopted the ARRIVE guidelines.

2.7 Clinical trials
Foregut conforms to the ICMJE requirement that clinical trials are registered in a WHO-approved public trials registry at or before the time of first patient enrolment as a condition of consideration for publication. The trial registry name and URL, and registration number must be included at the end of the abstract.

2.8 Reporting guidelines
The relevant EQUATOR Network reporting guidelines should be followed depending on the type of study. For example, all randomized controlled trials submitted for publication should include a completed CONSORT flow chart as a cited figure and the completed CONSORT checklist should be uploaded with your submission as a supplementary file. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses should include the completed PRISMA flow chart as a cited figure and the completed PRISMA checklist should be uploaded with your submission as a supplementary file. The EQUATOR wizard can help you identify the appropriate guideline. If your research involves animals, you will be asked to confirm that you have carefully read and adhered to the ARRIVE guidelines.

Other resources can be found at NLM’s Research Reporting Guidelines and Initiatives.

2.9 Research data

The journal is committed to facilitating openness, transparency and reproducibility of research, and has the following research data sharing policy. For more information, including FAQs please visit the Sage Research Data policy pages.

Subject to appropriate ethical and legal considerations, authors are encouraged to:

• share your research data in a relevant public data repository
• include a data availability statement linking to your data. If it is not possible to share your data, we encourage you to consider using the statement to explain why it cannot be shared.
• cite this data in your research

 

3. Publishing policies

3.1 Publication ethics
Sage is committed to upholding the integrity of the academic record. We encourage authors to refer to the Committee on Publication Ethics’ International Standards for Authors and view the Publication Ethics page on the Sage Author Gateway.

3.1.1 Plagiarism
Foregut and Sage take issues of copyright infringement, plagiarism or other breaches of best practice in publication very seriously. We seek to protect the rights of our authors and we always investigate claims of plagiarism or misuse of published articles. Equally, we seek to protect the reputation of the Journal against malpractice. Submitted articles may be checked with duplication-checking software. Where an article, for example, is found to have plagiarized other work or included third-party copyright material without permission or with insufficient acknowledgement, or where the authorship of the article is contested, we reserve the right to take action including, but not limited to: publishing an erratum or corrigendum (correction); retracting the article; taking up the matter with the head of department or dean of the author's institution and/or relevant academic bodies or societies; or taking appropriate legal action.

3.1.2 Prior publication

If material has been previously published it is not generally acceptable for publication in a Sage journal. However, there are certain circumstances where previously published material can be considered for publication. Please refer to the guidance on the Sage Author Gateway or if in doubt, contact the Editor at the address given below.

3.2 Contributor’s publishing agreement
Before publication, Sage requires the author as the rights holder to sign a Journal Contributor’s Publishing Agreement. Sage’s Journal Contributor’s Publishing Agreement is an exclusive license agreement which means that the author retains copyright in the work but grants Sage the sole and exclusive right and license to publish for the full legal term of copyright. Exceptions may exist where an assignment of copyright is required or preferred by a proprietor other than Sage. In this case copyright in the work will be assigned from the author to the society. For more information please visit the Sage Author Gateway.

3.3 Open access and author archiving
Foregut offers optional open access publishing via the Sage Choice program. For more information please visit the Sage Choice website. For information on funding body compliance, and depositing your article in repositories, please visit Sage Publishing Policies on our Journal Author Gateway.

3.3.1 Submitting to PubMed

Sage fully understands the demands on authors whose work is funded by bodies such as the NIH. Sage and Foregut (under the exclusive license agreement an author signs to publish with us) allow authors the right to post their final accepted, pre-published version of their manuscript (not the final PDF) to PubMed Central. As an author with an NIH-funded work, you may post the final accepted manuscript to PubMed Central. Additionally, we have updated our policy on author accepted manuscripts, so authors are permitted to make their papers publicly available immediately after publication.

Below you will find step-by-step instructions for completing this process. If you have any problems uploading your manuscript or questions regarding NIH policies, please contact the NIH customer service and tech department at info@ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.

1. Create an account or log in to existing account at http://www.nihms.nih.gov/
2. Deposit Manuscript Files and Link to NIH Funding

   Upload a copy of the accepted final peer-reviewed manuscript and associated files (e.g., Microsoft Word document and figures) via the NIHMS. At the same time, identify the NIH funding associated with the manuscript. It usually takes less than 10 minutes to complete this task.

   You can find helpful tutorials regarding the entire process here.

3. Authorize NIH to Process the Manuscript

   The author designates the number of months after publication when the manuscript may be made publicly available in PMC. The author then confirms, via the NIHMS, a statement that the deposit of the manuscript is consistent with any publication and copyright agreements, and that NIH may begin processing the manuscript for use in PMC.

4. Approve the PMC-formatted Manuscript for Public Display

   The NIHMS will convert the deposited files into a standard PMC format and email the author to approve the PMC-formatted manuscript for public display. The author then reviews and approves the PMC-formatted manuscript via the NIHMS. Corrections to the manuscript, if necessary, may be requested at this time. 

Following completion of Step 4

• The NIHMS will email the author and all PIs the citation with the PMCID once it is assigned;

• PMC will automatically make the paper publicly available after the designated delay period has expired.

 

4. Preparing your manuscript for submission                                                     

4.1 Formatting
The preferred format for your manuscript is Word.

4.2 Artwork, figures and other graphics
For guidance on the preparation of illustrations, pictures and graphs in electronic format, please visit Sage’s Manuscript Submission Guidelines.

Figures supplied in color will appear in color online regardless of whether or not these illustrations are reproduced in color in the printed version. For specifically requested color reproduction in print, you will receive information regarding the costs from Sage after receipt of your accepted article.

4.3 Supplemental material
This Journal is able to host additional materials online (e.g. datasets, podcasts, videos, images etc.) alongside the full-text of the article. For more information please refer to our guidelines on submitting supplemental files.

4.4 Reference style
Foregut adheres to the AMA Manual of Style. View the guide here to ensure your manuscript conforms to this style.

4.5 English language editing services
Authors seeking assistance with English language editing, translation, or figure and manuscript formatting to fit the Journal’s specifications should consider using Sage Language Services. Visit Sage Language Services on our Journal Author Gateway for further information.

 

5. Submitting your manuscript

Foregut is hosted on Sage Track, a web based online submission and peer review system powered by ScholarOne™ Manuscripts. Visit https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/foregut to login and submit your article online.

IMPORTANT: Please check whether you already have an account in the system before trying to create a new one. If you have reviewed or authored for the Journal in the past year it is likely that you will have had an account created.  For further guidance on submitting your manuscript online please visit ScholarOne Online Help.

5.1 ORCID
As part of our commitment to ensuring an ethical, transparent and fair peer review process Sage is a supporting member of ORCID, the Open Researcher and Contributor ID. ORCID provides a unique and persistent digital identifier that distinguishes researchers from every other researcher, even those who share the same name, and, through integration in key research workflows such as manuscript and grant submission, supports automated linkages between researchers and their professional activities, ensuring that their work is recognized.

The collection of ORCID IDs from corresponding authors is now part of the submission process of this Journal. If you already have an ORCID ID you will be asked to associate that to your submission during the online submission process. We also strongly encourage all co-authors to link their ORCID ID to their accounts in our online peer review platforms. It takes seconds to do: click the link when prompted, sign into your ORCID account and our systems are automatically updated. Your ORCID ID will become part of your accepted publication’s metadata, making your work attributable to you and only you. Your ORCID ID is published with your article so that fellow researchers reading your work can link to your ORCID profile and from there link to your other publications.

If you do not already have an ORCID ID please follow this link to create one or visit our ORCID homepage to learn more.

5.2 Information required for completing your submission
You will be asked to provide contact details and academic affiliations for all co-authors via the submission system and identify who is to be the corresponding author. These details must match what appears on your manuscript. The affiliation listed in the manuscript should be the institution where the research was conducted. If an author has moved to a new institution since completing the research, the new affiliation can be included in a manuscript note at the end of the paper. At this stage please ensure you have included all the required statements and declarations and uploaded any additional supplementary files (including reporting guidelines where relevant).

5.3 Permissions
Please also ensure that you have obtained any necessary permission from copyright holders for reproducing any illustrations, tables, figures or lengthy quotations previously published elsewhere. For further information including guidance on fair dealing for criticism and review, please see the Copyright and Permissions page on the Sage Author Gateway.

 

6. On acceptance and publication           

6.1 Sage Production
Your Sage Production Editor will keep you informed as to your article’s progress throughout the production process. Proofs will be made available to the corresponding author via our editing portal Sage Edit or by email, and corrections should be made directly or notified to us promptly. Authors are reminded to check their proofs carefully to confirm that all author information, including names, affiliations, sequence and contact details are correct, and that Funding and Conflict of Interest statements, if any, are accurate.

6.2 OnlineFirst publication
OnlineFirst allows final articles (completed and approved articles awaiting assignment to a future issue) to be published online prior to their inclusion in a journal issue, which significantly reduces the lead time between submission and publication. Visit the Sage Journals help page for more details, including how to cite OnlineFirst articles.

6.3 Access to your published article
Sage provides authors with online access to their final article.

6.4 Promoting your article
Publication is not the end of the process! You can help disseminate your paper and ensure it is as widely read and cited as possible. The Sage Author Gateway has numerous resources to help you promote your work. Visit the Promote Your Article page on the Gateway for tips and advice.

Follow and tag @foregut_journal on Twitter to promote your paper and stay up-to-date on the latest news from the journal.

 

7. Further information

Any correspondence, queries or additional requests for information on the manuscript submission process should be sent to the Foregut editorial office as follows: editorialoffice@foregut.org

7.1 Appealing the publication decision
Editors have very broad discretion in determining whether an article is an appropriate fit for their journal. Many manuscripts are declined with a very general statement of the rejection decision. These decisions are not eligible for formal appeal unless the author believes the decision to reject the manuscript was based on an error in the review of the article, in which case the author may appeal the decision by providing the Editor with a detailed written description of the error they believe occurred.

If an author believes the decision regarding their manuscript was affected by a publication ethics breach, the author may contact the publisher with a detailed written description of their concern, and information supporting the concern, at publication_ethics@sagepub.com