http://www.tropicalgastro.com/about-the-journal.

htm

Tropical Gastroenterology was created in the year 1986 by Professors Badri Nath Tandon and Samiran
Nundy as a quarterly journal comprising literature and original work in the fields of gastroenterology,
hepatology, gastrointestinal surgery and paediatric gastroenterology. Tropical Gastroenterology was
initially advanced as a forum of sorts, to discuss relevant issues and make discoveries in the fore-
mentioned fields. It was typically felt that gastroenterological diseases were the most common medical
problems bothering the populations of developing countries and that the spectrum of diseases seen was
considerably different from those seen in the West, which thus received lesser emphasis there. The
Editorial team then, determined to sculpture practical and theoretical knowledge in this field through
publishing and making widely available original research. We quote a line from the editorial of our first
issue, “Why Tropical Gastroenterology? We were a little unhappy at paying half our month’s salary for
journal subscriptions which contained articles entitled, ‘Plasma alpha-Amino-gamma-butyric acid to
leucine ratio: non-specificity as a marker for alcoholism’. May we not read articles that tell us how to
manage a duodenal ulcer patient who cannot afford antacids leave alone cimetidine?” At its inception
funds were restricted and number of articles wanting. However there was never a dearth of journal
staff, volunteer workers or doctors across various fields that faithfully devoted their time and ideas
towards helping Tropical Gastroenterology grow, and still continue to do so. During the nascent years
the Digestive Diseases Foundation provided financial support and now Tropical Gastroenterology is
entirely funded through advertising itself. In 1988, Professor Nundy left the journal and Professor
Bhupinder Singh Anand took his place; in 1991 Professor Subrat Acharya took over the editorship along
with Dr Girish Pandey; under their instruction the journal grew steadily. After Dr Girish Pandey
withdrew, Dr Vineet Ahuja was included in the Editorial Board in 2007.

The journal is associated with the Gastroenterology Research & Education Society and the Indian
Association of Surgical Gastroenterology. Tropical Gastroenterology has exclusive sections pertaining to
developments in endoscopic procedures, paediatric gastroenterology and surgical gastroenterology; a
special column, ‘La Voix’ (The Voice) was incorporated in 2008. In 2008, the Tropical
Gastroenterology website was created and the entire submission and review process was made on line.
Included in every issue are the editorial, and the original articles, reviews and case reports. Tropical
Gastroenterology runs on a no-profit-no loss principle. We receive papers from different parts of Asia
and Africa, but mainly from India, and we would very much like to receive contributions from different
countries, including some from South America. Over the years we have received increasing citations
including those in books and international journals. The Editorial Board is committed to
establishing Tropical Gastroenterology as a journal of the highest international standing. Carpe Diem.
http://www.tropicalgastro.com/instructions.htm

INSTRUCTIONS TO AUTHORS

All authors are requested to submit their manuscripts online.

Tropical Gastroenterology essentially follows the ICMJE requirements for manuscripts submitted to
biomedical journals (http://www.icmje.org/).

We accept the following types of articles:

1. QUARTERLY REVIEW: This type of work should normally summarise the present state of knowledge
on a relevant subject. The abstract should consist of 250 words with 3 to 10 keywords; the body of
the article may be up to a maximum of 4000 words and should contain no more than 75
references. The text may be divided into headings and sub-headings as the author decides
relevant.

2. ORIGINAL ARTICLE: This represents a scientific report of the results of original clinical research in
a relevant area. The abstract should consist of 250 words with 3 to 10 keywords; the body of the
article may be up to a maximum of 3000 words and should contain no more than 50 references.
The body of the article should be written under the following headers: Introduction, Methods,
Results, Discussion and Conclusion. A statement that the research protocol was approved by the
relevant institutional review board or ethics committee and that all human participants had given
written informed consent must be contained within the body of the text.

3. REPORT FROM THE TROPICS: This should underline approaches to diagnosis and treatment in
tropical countries and should stress the use of less expensive, clinical, non-technical methods of
diagnosis and management of gastrointestinal diseases in the tropics. The abstract should consist
of 150 words with 3 to 10 keywords; the body of the article may be up to a maximum of 1000
words and should contain no more than 20 references. The text should be written under the
following headers: Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion and Conclusion.

4. CASE REPORT: These should highlight rare cases seen in tropical countries, the abstract should
consist of 150 words with 3 to 10 keywords; the body of the article may be up to a maximum of
1000 words and should contain no more than 20 references. The text should be written under the
following headings: Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion and Conclusion.

5. EDITORIAL: Editorials are usually invited by the editors; however in case an author does wish to
write us an editorial an outline of the writing may be sent to the Editorial Office and if the topic is
adjudged a relevant one, an invitation to write the editorial shall then be sent out. The article
may be up to a maximum of 1500 words and should contain no more than 25 references.
6. SELECTED SUMMARY: This should summarise a relevant article published elsewhere, in the authors
own words. This should be followed by a critical commentary. There is no word limit, but there
should be no more than 20 references.

7. ‘LA VOIX’(The Voice): Submissions to this column may include anecdotal experiences, a
happenstance that may have personally affected the physician, an issue related to medicine in
general that the person feels strongly about; accounts of personal experiences or descriptions of
material from outside the usual areas of medical research and analysis; special reports i.e. articles
of special interest to the medical community, which may not be related to gastroenterology;
sketches, pictures, photographs or any other material that is publishable may also be sent. There
is no word limit but it should be noted that it may not be possible for us to publish very lengthy
material due to technical constraints.

Title page

The title page should carry the following information:

1. The title of the article

2. Authors’ names and institutional affiliations.

3. The name of the department(s) and institution(s) to which the work should be attributed.

4. Disclaimers, if any.

Corresponding authors. The name, mailing address, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail
5.
address of the author responsible for correspondence about the manuscript.

6. Source(s) of support in the form of grants, equipment, drugs.

Word counts. A word count for the text only and a separate word count for the abstract are
7.
required.

8. The number of figures and tables need to be mentioned on this page.

Abstract and Key Words

An abstract (on a separate page) should follow the title page. The abstract should be divided into the
following headings: Background, Aim, Method, Results, and Conclusion. Abbreviations, where defined
within the body of the abstract may be used. The key words should be mentioned after the
conclusion, identify 3 to 10 key words or short phrases that capture the main theme of the article.
Terms from the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) list of Index Medicus
(http://www.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/) only should be used.

References

• We use the Vancouver style of referencing.

• Avoid using abstracts as references.

• References to papers accepted but not yet published should be designated as “in press” or
“forthcoming”; authors should obtain written permission to cite such papers as well as verification
that they have been accepted for publication.

• Information from manuscripts submitted but not accepted should be cited in the text as
“unpublished observations” with written permission from the source.

• Avoid citing a “personal communication” unless it provides essential information not available
from a public source, in which case the name of the person and date of communication should be
cited in parentheses in the text.

• Authors are responsible for checking that none of the references cite retracted articles except in
the context of referring to the retraction.

• References should be numbered consecutively in the order in which they are first mentioned in the
text.

• Identify references in text, tables, and legends. References cited only in tables or figure legends
should be numbered in accordance with the sequence established by the first identification in the
text of the particular table or figure.
• The titles of journals should be abbreviated according to the style used in Index Medicus.

• List all authors when there are six or fewer; when there are seven or more, list the first six,
followed by “et al.”

• For articles published in journals indexed in MEDLINE, we consider PubMed the authoritative source
for information about retractions.

Tables

Type or print each table with double spacing on a separate sheet of paper. Number tables
consecutively in the order of their first citation in the text and supply a brief title for each. Do not
use internal horizontal or vertical lines. Give each column a short or abbreviated heading. Authors
should place explanatory matter in footnotes, not in the heading. Explain in footnotes all
nonstandard abbreviations. For footnotes use the following symbols, in sequence:

*,†,‡,§,||,¶,**,††,‡‡

Identify statistical measures of variations, such as standard deviation and standard error of the
mean.

Be sure that each table is cited in the text.

If you use data from another published or unpublished source, obtain permission and acknowledge
them fully.

Illustrations (Figures)

We require figures be submitted in either JPEG or GIF formats.

For x-ray films, scans, and other diagnostic images, as well as pictures of pathology specimens or
photomicrographs, send sharp, glossy, black-and-white or colour photographic prints 5 x 7 inches.
Letters, numbers, and symbols on figures should be clear and even throughout, and of sufficient size
that when reduced for publication each item will still be legible. Figures should be made as self-
explanatory as possible. Titles and detailed explanations must be written in the legends. Pictures
must be numbered according to their appearance in the text. For images sent as hard copies the
name of the first author, title of manuscript image number and title of the image and an arrow
indicating top must be mentioned in soft pencil or felt pen on the reverse side of the image and two
copies of each image must be sent.

For histology photographs, the stain used and magnification should be mentioned.

Symbols, arrows, or letters used in photomicrographs should contrast with the background.

If photographs of people are used, either the subjects must not be identifiable or their pictures must
be accompanied by written permission to use the photograph.

If a figure has been published, acknowledge the original source.

When submitted electronically, legends for all figures should be included in the file with the text and
should not appear on the figures.

Cover letter

Manuscripts must be accompanied by a cover letter, which should include the following information.

• A statement of financial or other relationships that might lead to a conflict of interest

• A statement that the manuscript has been read and approved by all the authors is original and
honest work and has not been sent to any other journal for publication.

• The name, address, and telephone number of the corresponding author, who is responsible for
communicating with the other authors about revisions and final approval of the proofs, if that
information is not included on the manuscript itself.

Special Notes:

1. Results should be presented with only as much precision as is of scientific value. For example,
measures of association, such as odds ratios, should ordinarily be reported to two significant
 digits.

2. Drug Names: Generic names should be used. When proprietary brands are used in research,
include the brand name and the name of the manufacturer in parentheses after the first mention
of the generic name in the Methods section. Exact doses used, method of administration and
duration of treatment must be very accurately mentioned.

3. Double spacing of all portions of the manuscript— including the title page, abstract, text,
acknowledgments, references, individual tables, and legends—and generous margins where a hard
copy has been sent. When manuscripts are submitted electronically, the files should be double
spaced. Authors should number all pages of the manuscript consecutively, beginning with the title
page.

4. Units of Measurement: Authors should express all measurements in conventional units as

mentioned in the latest issue of Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine. Temperatures should be
in degrees Celsius. Blood pressures should be in millimeters of mercury, unless other units are
specifically required by the journal.

5. Abbreviations and Symbols: Use only standard abbreviations. Avoid abbreviations in the title.
The full term for which an abbreviation stands should precede its first use in the text unless it is a
standard unit of measurement.

6. Copyright form: The corresponding author will be required to sign and date a copyright form once
a formal acceptance of the manuscript has been sent out. This form is available online, may be
downloaded, and printed. A scanned copy of the copyright form may be sent by email to the
Editorial Office or faxed at the following number: +91 11 26589130. Alternatively, a hard copy
may also be sent via post to the following address:
The Editorial Office
Tropical Gastroenterology
Room number: 3066
All India Institute of Medical Sciences
Ansari Nagar 110029
New Delhi, India

7. E-submissions: For more efficient processing and to ensure prompt responses and shorten lag time
between manuscript receipt and decision we request authors to use the electronic mode of
submission wherever possible. The average time to decision is 4 weeks. We request authors not to
contact the Editorial Office before this period.
8. Official translation: Where the author’s native language is not English an official translation will
be required. Manuscripts may be rejected purely on the grounds of lack of language clarity and
incorrect grammar recurring throughout the body of the manuscript.

9. Original prints: Five original prints of the accepted article will be sent to every author within 4
weeks of publishing the journal.