Instructions for Authors
1. INTRODUCTION AND SCOPE
The purpose of these Instructions to Authors is to guide the preparation, elaboration and submission of manuscripts to the Critical Patient Journal (RDC) – Scientific Journal of the Portuguese Society of Critical Care Nursing (SPEDC).
Authors must ensure compliance with these instructions, as well as with the provisions contained in the Editorial Statute of the RDC, available on the official website of the Journal, which regulate the principles, policies and procedures that frame the editorial activity.
The submission of a manuscript presupposes the acceptance of these rules by all authors involved in the work.
Failure to comply with the requirements defined in these Instructions to Authors may determine the preliminary rejection of the manuscript or the suspension of the respective editorial process, without prejudice to the application of the other provisions provided for in the Editorial Statute of the RDC.
2. TYPE OF ACCEPTED ARTICLES
The RDC accepts for editorial consideration original, unpublished, scientifically rigorous and relevant works for the area of nursing for people in critical situations and for the various contexts of care for critically ill patients.
The following types of manuscripts may be submitted:
● Original Research Articles – empirical studies that present unpublished results, resulting from the application of quantitative, qualitative or mixed methodologies;
● Systematic Review and Scoping Review Articles – rigorous syntheses of scientific evidence, developed according to internationally recognized methodologies, aimed at answering specific research questions or mapping and characterizing the available evidence on a given topic, identifying key concepts, knowledge gaps and priority areas for future research;
● Historical Research Articles – studies that contribute to the understanding and appreciation of the historical evolution of nursing and care for people in critical situations;
● Theoretical Articles or Essays – works of a conceptual, reflective or argumentative nature that promote critical discussion and the development of knowledge in nursing;
● Other types of manuscripts that, due to their scientific relevance, interest to readers and suitability for the editorial scope of the Journal, are considered relevant by the Editorial Team.
All submitted manuscripts must fit into the scientific scope of the DRC, present relevant contributions to the advancement of knowledge, to evidence-based clinical practice or to critical reflection on the care of critically ill people.
3. AUTHORS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The RDC does not establish a maximum limit for the number of authors of submitted manuscripts. All authors must be duly identified, and must indicate:
● Full name;
● Open Researcher and Contributor ID (ORCID iD);
● Email address;
● Telephone contact;
● Full institutional affiliation (institution, faculty, school, institute, department, and research unit or center, where applicable);
● City and country of the institution of affiliation.
When submitting a manuscript to the RDC, the authors declare that:
● The work is original and unpublished, except in duly identified and justified cases;
● They have the rights necessary for their publication;
● The manuscript does not constitute an infringement of the copyright, intellectual property rights or any other rights of any third party;
● Have obtained permission for the use, reproduction or adaptation of texts, images or any other materials protected by copyright, whenever applicable;
● All authors approved the final version of the manuscript and agree with its submission to the DRC;
● They comply with the ethical, legal and regulatory principles applicable to scientific research and academic publication.
The contents of the submitted and published manuscripts, as well as the opinions, ideas, interpretations and conclusions expressed therein, are the sole responsibility of the respective authors, and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Editorial Team, the Editorial Board or the Portuguese Society of Critical Patient Nursing.
3.1. CHANGE OF AUTHORSHIP
The composition of the list of authors must be definitively established at the time of submission of the manuscript.
Any request for inclusion, removal, replacement or change of the order of authors after submission will only be considered in exceptional circumstances and upon presentation of adequate reasons.
Requests for change of authorship must be formalized through the document Request for Change of Authorship, made available by the Critical Patient Journal.
The request must be submitted by the Corresponding Author and include:
● The identification of the manuscript;
● a description of the intended change;
● The respective reasoning;
● The updating of the Article File and Authors' Contribution, whenever applicable;
● Other documents that may be requested by the Editorial Team.
The Editorial Team may request additional information or documentation, including written confirmation from the authors involved, whenever it deems necessary to verify the legitimacy of the proposed change.
Requests for changes in authorship will be evaluated in accordance with the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
After the publication of the article, changes to authorship will only be considered in exceptional situations and may imply the publication of an editorial correction (corrigendum) or another mechanism provided for in the Journal's editorial policy.
4. AUTHORSHIP AND AUTHORSHIP CRITERIA
The RDC follows the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) regarding authorship and author contribution.
All those designated as authors must cumulatively meet the following criteria:
● Have contributed substantially to the conception or design of the study, acquisition, analysis or interpretation of the data;
● Have participated in the writing of the manuscript or in the critical review of its intellectual content;
● Have approved the final version of the manuscript to be submitted and, subsequently, to be published;
● Take responsibility for the accuracy, integrity and reliability of the work, committing to clarify any issues related to its scientific validity.
The acquisition of funding, the collection of data or the general supervision of the work, by themselves, do not constitute sufficient criteria for authorship.
Participants who have contributed to the development of the work, but who do not cumulatively meet the criteria described above, should be acknowledged in the "Acknowledgments" section, specifying, whenever possible, the nature of their contribution.
The ORCID iD is mandatory for all authors.
Authors should identify their individual contribution to the manuscript through the Article Form and Authors' Contribution, using the CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) taxonomy.
Where applicable, contributions related to the following functions should be identified:
● Conceptualization - Formulation or evolution of overarching research ideas, objectives, and goals.
● Data processing - Management of activities to annotate (produce metadata), clean and maintain research data (including software codes, where it is necessary to interpret the data itself) for initial use and subsequent reuse.
● Formal analysis - Application of statistical, mathematical, computer or other formal techniques to analyze or synthesize study data.
● Acquisition of funding - Acquisition of financial support for the project that generated this publication.
● Research - Conducting a research and investigation process, specifically conducting experiments or collecting data/evidence.
● Methodology - Methodological development or design; creation of models.
● Project administration - Responsibility for the management and coordination of research planning and implementation.
● Resources - Provision of study materials, reagents, materials, patients, laboratory samples, animals, instruments, computer resources or other analysis tools.
● Software - Programming, software development; design of computer programs; implementation of computer code and support algorithms; testing of existing code components.
● Supervision - Responsibility for supervising and leading the planning and execution of research activities, including external mentoring for the core team.
● Validation - Verification, as part of the activity or separately, of the overall replication/reproducibility of results/experiments and other research results.
● Visualization - Preparation, creation, and/or presentation of published work, specifically data visualization/presentation.
● Writing (original draft) – Preparation, creation, and/or presentation of the published work, specifically the writing of the initial draft (including substantive translation).
● Writing (review and editing) - Preparation, creation and/or presentation of published work by members of the original research group, specifically critical analysis, commentary or review - including pre- and post-publication phases.
5. PAPER SUBMISSION
In order to ensure transparency, traceability, efficiency and adequate management of the editorial process, all processing of manuscripts submitted to the RDC is carried out exclusively through the Open Journal Systems (OJS) platform.
The submission of articles implies the prior registration of the authors on the OJS platform and the respective authentication through the credentials defined at the time of registration.
All manuscripts must be submitted through the OJS platform, available on the Journal's official website.
5.1. REQUIREMENTS FOR SUBMISSION
Authors should:
● Mandatorily use the official Template of the DRC;
● Ensure that the manuscript complies with these Instructions to Authors and the provisions contained in the Editorial Statute;
● Correctly fill in all metadata requested by the platform;
● Upload all required files and documents;
● Submit the manuscript duly anonymized for double-blind peer review.
Submission implies full monitoring of all stages of the electronic process made available on the OJS platform.
5.2. REQUIRED DOCUMENTS
The submission must include the following documents:
● Cover Letter of the Paper for Submission;
● Statement of Responsibility;
● Declaration of Data Availability;
● Article File and Authors' Contribution;
● Individual Declaration of Conflicts of Interest (if applicable);
● Other documents deemed necessary by the Editorial Team, whenever applicable.
5.3. FILE FORMAT
Manuscripts must be submitted in Microsoft Word format (.doc or .docx), using the Article Template made available by the Journal.
The submitted files must be of adequate quality for evaluation and eventual publication.
5.4. ORIGINALITY OF THE MANUSCRIPTS
Articles submitted for publication must be original, unpublished and not simultaneously under consideration by another scientific journal or editorial entity.
The DRC may use internationally recognized similarity and originality detection systems to verify the conformity of submitted manuscripts.
5.5. INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS FOR SCIENTIFIC DEVELOPMENT
Manuscripts must be prepared in accordance with the recommendations of the ICMJE, contained in the document "Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals".
In addition, authors should use the scientific reporting guidelines appropriate to the methodological design of the study, in accordance with the recommendations of the EQUATOR Network (Enhancing the QUAlity and Transparency Of Health Research) initiative.
5.6. SUBMISSION FEES
RDC does not charge any fees for the submission of manuscripts (Article Submission Charges – ASC), however, in order to contribute to the sustainability of the editorial project, editorial processing fees (Article Processing Charges – APC) may be applied after the final acceptance of the articles for publication.
The following conditions apply:
|
Condition |
APC |
|
Corresponding Author SPEDC member with regularized situation |
0 € |
|
Corresponding Author who is not a member of SPEDC |
50 € |
The costs associated with the translation or specialized linguistic revision of manuscripts are the sole responsibility of the authors.
The existence, non-existence or value of APCs does not, under any circumstances, influence the editorial decision regarding the acceptance, revision or rejection of manuscripts, and all decisions are made exclusively based on the scientific merit, relevance and quality of the works submitted.
5.7. ADMISSION OF MANUSCRIPTS
All submitted articles must fully respect the editorial, ethical and scientific policies of the DRC.
Manuscripts that do not comply with the formal, ethical, scientific or editorial requirements defined by the Journal may be rejected in the preliminary evaluation phase, not proceeding to the peer review process.
5.8. CONTINUOUS PUBLICATION
In order to promote the rapid communication and dissemination of scientific knowledge, the DRC adopts a continuous publication model.
In this model, accepted articles are published online immediately after the conclusion of the editorial process and technical production, without the need to wait for the closure of an issue of the Journal.
After publication, the articles become their definitive version (Version of Record), receive a permanent digital identifier (DOI) and can be immediately cited and used by the scientific community.
6. ETHICAL REQUIREMENTS
Authors must ensure compliance with the ethical, legal and regulatory principles applicable to scientific research and academic publication, as well as the provisions contained in the Editorial Statute of the DRC.
6.1. RESEARCH WITH HUMAN SUBJECTS
Studies involving human participants must comply with internationally recognized ethical principles and applicable legislation.
Whenever required, authors must indicate in the manuscript:
● The Ethics Committee responsible for the evaluation of the study;
● The number or reference of the ethical approval;
● The date of approval, where applicable.
In cases where approval by the Ethics Committee is not required, authors must present the respective justification.
6.2. INFORMED CONSENT
Authors must declare that they have obtained informed consent from the participants whenever this is required by the nature of the study or by the applicable legislation.
In clinical cases, there must be express authorization for the publication of clinical information, images or other potentially identifiable elements.
6.3. CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
The Critical Patient Journal adopts a policy of total transparency regarding the declaration of conflicts of interest, recognizing that its disclosure is an essential component of the scientific integrity and credibility of the published research.
All authors must declare the existence or absence of potential financial, professional, institutional, academic, personal or other conflicts of interest that may influence, or be perceived as influencing, the design, realization, interpretation, writing or dissemination of the results of the study.
The declaration of conflicts of interest must be included in the manuscript.
In the absence of conflicts of interest, an explicit statement should be included, for example: "Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare the absence of conflicts of interest."
Whenever there is any conflict of interest regarding one or more authors, this circumstance must be clearly identified in the manuscript, describing the nature of the conflict.
In addition, only authors who present a potential conflict of interest should attach to the submission the respective Individual Declaration of Conflicts of Interest, duly completed and signed, using the model recommended by the ICMJE.
The existence of conflicts of interest does not constitute, in itself, a reason for rejection of the manuscript, as long as they are fully declared and properly managed during the editorial process.
The omission, concealment or false declaration of conflicts of interest may determine the rejection of the manuscript, the suspension of the editorial process, the retraction of published articles or the adoption of other measures provided for in the Editorial Statute of the Critical Patient Journal.
6.4. USE OF GENERATIVE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Critical Patient Journal recognizes that generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools can be a resource to support the preparation of scientific manuscripts, as long as their use is transparent, ethical and does not compromise the scientific integrity, originality of the work or the responsibility of the authors.
The use of generative AI tools must be expressly declared by the authors at the time of submission, through the Article Form and Authors' Contribution, and, whenever applicable, through a statement in the manuscript, in accordance with the Artificial Intelligence Policy of the DRC.
Where authors have used generative AI tools, they should indicate:
● The tool used;
● The version of the tool (when known);
● the purpose of its use;
● The location of the respective statement in the manuscript.
The use of generative AI is allowed to:
● Support for writing, linguistic revision and improvement of text clarity;
● Grammatical, spelling and stylistic correction;
● Translation of scientific texts;
● Support for computer programming or code development;
● Support for statistical analysis or data processing, provided that all results are fully verified by the authors;
● Support for the creation of schemes, illustrations or graphic elements, provided that such use is properly identified and does not mislead readers;
● Support for the organization of the information or preliminary structuring of the manuscript.
The use of generative AI is not allowed to:
● Fabricating, falsifying or manipulating scientific data;
● Create non-existent results or alter the results actually obtained in the research;
● Produce bibliographic references, citations or sources that do not exist, false or inaccurate;
● Manipulate images, figures, tables or graphs in a way that is likely to mislead or alter the scientific meaning of the results;
● Conceal or omit the use of AI tools when your declaration is mandatory;
● Entering manuscripts, personal data, identifiable clinical information or other confidential content into AI platforms that do not guarantee information protection and data confidentiality;
● Identify Artificial Intelligence tools as authors or co-authors of the manuscript.
Artificial Intelligence tools cannot be considered authors, nor assume any responsibility for the design, execution, interpretation, writing or scientific review of the submitted works.
The authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, authenticity, integrity, scientific quality and ethical compliance of all content submitted, including any part of the manuscript whose preparation has benefited from the use of Artificial Intelligence tools.
The use of generative AI tools to support scientific writing, linguistic review, translation or programming does not require prior authorization from the Journal, as long as it is duly declared and fully complies with the DRC's Artificial Intelligence Policy.
In case of doubt as to the need to declare the use of AI, authors should choose to disclose it, privileging the principles of transparency, scientific integrity and accountability.
Failure to comply with these provisions may lead to the preliminary rejection of the manuscript, the suspension of the editorial process, the retraction of published articles or the adoption of other measures provided for in the Editorial Statute, the Artificial Intelligence Policy of the DRC and the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
6.5. DATA AVAILABILITY
In accordance with the DRC Data Sharing Policy, all submitted manuscripts must be accompanied by the Declaration of Data Availability, a mandatory submission document.
The Declaration of Data Availability aims to inform the Editorial Team and, after publication, the readers about the availability of research data that support the results presented in the manuscript, promoting transparency, scientific integrity, research reproducibility and good Open Science practices.
Authors must fully complete the Declaration of Data Availability, indicating, whenever applicable:
● The availability of data supporting the results of the study;
● The place where the data is deposited;
● The persistent identifier (PID), such as the DOI or other equivalent identifier;
● The conditions of access to data;
● Or, when it is not possible to make them available, the respective reasoning.
The public availability of data is strongly encouraged, but is not a mandatory requirement for publication in the DRC. Whenever there are limitations arising from the protection of personal data, the confidentiality of participants, ethical, legal, contractual or institutional restrictions, the authors must indicate this circumstance in the Declaration of Data Availability and present the respective justification.
The absence of the Declaration of Data Availability at the time of submission, or its incomplete completion, may determine the return of the manuscript to the authors for regularization of the documentation before the beginning of the editorial evaluation process.
The authors are responsible for the accuracy, completeness and updating of the information contained in the Declaration of Data Availability, and undertake to communicate to the Editorial Team any relevant change that occurs during the editorial process or after the publication of the article, whenever such change may affect the availability, access or interpretation of research data.
Critically ill Journal encourages authors, whenever ethically, legally and methodologically possible, to deposit research data, protocols, supplementary materials, analysis codes, data collection tools and other scientific resources in internationally recognized institutional, thematic or open access repositories, preferably with the attribution of a persistent identifier (PID), such as a Digital Object Identifier (DOI), promoting its preservation, citation, reuse and interoperability.
Whenever possible, data should comply with the international principles of Open Science, namely the FAIR Principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable), contributing to a more transparent, reproducible and reusable research, without prejudice to the applicable ethical, legal and regulatory standards.
The DRC's Data Sharing Policy is aligned with the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the EQUATOR Network.
The Editorial Team may request from the authors, during the evaluation process, peer review or after the acceptance of the manuscript, additional information regarding the research data, the repositories used or the conditions of access to the data, whenever this is considered necessary for the purposes of scientific verification, editorial transparency, preservation of the integrity of the research or compliance with the Journal's Data Sharing Policy.
6.6. COMPLIANCE WITH DRC POLICIES
Matters related to research ethics, scientific integrity, conflicts of interest, use of artificial intelligence, data protection, informed consent and data sharing are regulated in greater detail by the Editorial Statute of the DRC, and the respective provisions are fully applicable.
7. EDITORIAL PROCESS AND PEER REVIEW
All manuscripts submitted to the RDC are subject to a scientific and editorial evaluation process aimed at ensuring the quality, relevance, originality and rigor of the published works.
7.1. PRELIMINARY ASSESSMENT
After submission, the manuscripts are subject to a preliminary evaluation carried out by the Editor-in-Chief or by an Editor designated by him.
At this stage, the manuscript's compliance with:
● The scope and objectives of the Journal;
● These Instructions to Authors;
● The applicable ethical and editorial standards;
● The minimum scientific requirements for the continuation of the editorial process.
Manuscripts that do not meet these requirements may be rejected in the editorial screening phase, without proceeding to peer review.
7.2. PEER REVIEW
Manuscripts deemed suitable go on to double-blind peer review, ensuring that authors and reviewers remain mutually anonymous throughout the evaluation process.
The review is usually carried out by at least two independent reviewers, selected according to their scientific competence and experience in the subject area of the manuscript.
Additional opinions may be requested where necessary.
7.3. EDITORIAL DECISION
Based on the opinions of the reviewers and the editorial assessment of the manuscript, one of the following decisions may be made:
● Acceptance without changes;
● Acceptance conditioned to minor revisions;
● Need for major revisions;
● Rejection of the manuscript.
Whenever changes are requested, authors must respond to the reviewers' comments and submit a new version of the manuscript within the deadline established by the Editorial Team, following the instructions described in section 7.4.
7.4. RESPONSE TO REVIEWERS AND SUBMISSION OF THE REVISED VERSION
Whenever the editorial decision determines the performance of small or large revisions, the authors must submit, within the deadline established by the Editorial Team:
● The version of the manuscript with all changes duly identified (using a different color or other marking method indicated by the Journal);
● The document Response to Reviewers, made available by the RDC, duly completed.
In the document Response to Reviewers, authors must respond, in a clear, objective and reasoned manner, to all comments and recommendations made by the reviewers and/or the Editorial Team.
Whenever a suggestion is not accepted, the authors must present the respective scientific justification.
Responses should identify, whenever possible, the exact location of the changes made to the manuscript (section and/or line), facilitating analysis by the Editorial Team and reviewers.
The absence of the document, its incomplete completion or the lack of identification of the changes made may determine the return of the submission to the authors for regularization before the continuation of the editorial process.
7.5. FINAL DECISION
The final decision on the acceptance or rejection of a manuscript rests with the Editor-in-Chief, taking into account the opinions issued by the reviewers and the applicable editorial recommendations.
Matters related to the editorial process, peer review, conflicts of interest, appeals and complaints are regulated in greater detail in the Editorial Statute of the DRC, and the respective provisions are fully applicable.
8. PREPARATION AND SCIENTIFIC ORGANIZATION OF MANUSCRIPTS
Manuscripts submitted to the Journal must be prepared in strict accordance with these Instructions to Authors, using the Official Article Template, available on the Journal's electronic submission platform.
Authors must ensure that the manuscript fully complies with the requirements of structure, scientific organization, formatting, presentation, referencing, research ethics and other editorial policies adopted by the RDC, as well as the international standards applicable to scientific publication.
The DRC adopts the Vancouver Standards, in accordance with the recommendations of the ICMJE, for the preparation of citations and references, and all manuscripts must fully comply with the respective guidelines.
Manuscripts should also be prepared in accordance with the international guidelines for scientific reporting appropriate to the respective methodological design, and the use of the EQUATOR Network guidelines is recommended.
Manuscripts written in Portuguese must comply with the Rules of the Orthographic Agreement of the Portuguese Language in force, using a clear, objective, precise, inclusive scientific language appropriate to the technical-scientific terminology of the health area.
In order to ensure the editorial standardization, scientific quality and graphic consistency of the Journal, the Editorial Team reserves the right to make linguistic, spelling, terminological, bibliographic and editorial adjustments that do not alter the scientific content of the submitted papers.
The preparation of the manuscript must also observe, whenever applicable, the guidelines contained in the following documents that are part of the Documentary System of the Critical Patient Journal:
● Instructions to Authors;
● Other policies, regulations, forms and editorial documents made available by the Journal.
Failure to comply with these Instructions to Authors, editorial policies or other documents that are part of the DRC Document System may determine the return of the manuscript to the authors for regularization before the start of the editorial evaluation process or, when applicable, its outright rejection.
The DRC is committed to promoting the best international practices in scientific publishing, encouraging authors to adopt the principles of transparency, scientific integrity, reproducibility of research, Open Science, responsible publication and continuous improvement of research quality, in accordance with the recommendations of ICMJE, COPE, EQUATOR Network and other leading international scientific organizations.
Authors are responsible for consulting the most recent version of these Instructions to Authors, the Editorial Statute and other policies, regulations and editorial documents of the DRC before submitting the manuscript, ensuring full compliance with the respective requirements. The submission of a manuscript presupposes knowledge, acceptance and compliance with all current editorial policies of the Journal.
8.1. HIERARCHY OF THE DOCUMENT SYSTEM
The editorial documents of the Critical Patient Journal constitute an integrated, complementary and dynamic Document System, aimed at ensuring scientific quality, research integrity, editorial transparency and the harmonization of the procedures for submission, evaluation, publication and preservation of scientific articles.
In case of divergence, omission or doubt of interpretation between the different editorial documents of the Journal, the following shall prevail, in this order:
1. Editorial Statute of the Critical Patient Journal;
2. Instructions to Authors;
3. Specific editorial policies of the Journal;
4. Templates, forms, declarations and other submission documents made available by the Journal.
Without prejudice to the previously defined documentary hierarchy, the Editorial Team may interpret and apply these standards in accordance with the international recommendations adopted by the Journal, namely those issued by the ICMJE, COPE, the EQUATOR Network, the Council of Science Editors (CSE) and by other scientific organisations of recognised international competence, where necessary to ensure scientific quality, research integrity, publication ethics and good editorial practice.
8.2. LANGUAGES
Manuscripts in the following languages are accepted:
● Portuguese;
● English;
● Spanish.
Regardless of the primary language of the manuscript, all articles must include:
● Title;
● Summary;
● Keywords;
● Body of the text;
● References.
The title, abstract and keywords should be presented in the languages defined by the journal, according to the specific guidelines contained in the following sections.
A "Acknowledgments" section may also be included, intended for the recognition of contributions that do not meet the criteria for authorship, as well as the recognition of institutional, technical or financial support relevant to the development of the work.
8.3. FORMATTING AND STRUCTURE
Authors must fully respect the structure, formatting, and configuration defined in the official RDC Template , and changes that compromise the graphic and editorial uniformity of the journal are not allowed.
In the preparation of the manuscript:
● Paragraphs should not be tabulated;
● Footnotes should not be used, except in duly justified exceptional situations;
● The text must be clearly organized, coherent and scientifically rigorous;
● The manuscript must be presented in a single column.
8.4. LENGTH OF MANUSCRIPTS
Articles should not exceed 15 pages, including all the constituent elements of the manuscript.
The Editorial Team may exceptionally authorize manuscripts of greater length when justified by the nature of the study, its scientific relevance or methodological requirements.
8.5. ORGANIZATION OF CONTENT
The structure of the manuscripts should be appropriate to the typology of the article submitted, respecting the specific guidelines presented in the following sections regarding:
● Title;
● Summary;
● Keywords;
● Body of the text;
● References;
● Tables and figures;
● Citations;
● References.
Authors should also ensure the use of scientific reporting guidelines appropriate to the methodological design of the study, in accordance with the recommendations of the EQUATOR Network initiative.
The following sections present the specific requirements for the preparation and organization of manuscripts.
8.5.1. Title
The title must be presented in Portuguese, English and Spanish, and must be clear, objective, informative and adequately reflect the content of the manuscript.
It should not contain abbreviations, acronyms, acronyms, unnecessary symbols or references to the geographical location of the study, except when such information is indispensable for the understanding of the work.
It must be formatted in Calibri, size 14 points, bold, with spacing of 1.5 lines and left alignment, according to the official Template of the RDC.
8.5.2. Summary
The abstract must be presented in Portuguese (Abstract), English (Abstract) and Spanish (Abstract).
Each version of the abstract should not exceed 250 words or 1500 characters, including spaces.
Regardless of the type of article, the abstract should be structured according to the following elements:
● Introduction;
● Objectives;
● Methods;
● Results;
● Conclusions.
The content of each section should be adapted to the nature and design of the study.
The abstract must not contain bibliographic citations, tables, figures, footnotes or abbreviations not previously identified in the text.
The designation "ABSTRACT", "ABSTRACT" and "RESUMEN" must be formatted in Calibri, size 12 points, bold and capitalized, and the respective text must begin in the following paragraph.
The abstract text must be formatted in Calibri, size 11 points, with 1.5 line spacing and left alignment.
The section titles (Introduction, Objectives, Methods, Results and Conclusions) should be presented in bold, followed by a colon (:), according to the official Template of the DRC.
8.5.3. Keywords
Keywords should be presented in Portuguese (Keywords), English (Keywords) and Spanish (Palabras clave).
Each manuscript must include a maximum of six keywords, selected in order to adequately represent the content of the article and facilitate its indexing and retrieval in bibliographic databases.
Keywords should use standardised descriptors, preferably taken from the following controlled vocabularies:
● DeCS – Descriptors in Health Sciences;
● MeSH – Medical Subject Headings.
The designation "Keywords", "Keywords" and "Palabras clave" should be formatted in Calibri, size 12 points, bold, followed by a colon (:) and left alignment.
The keywords must be presented immediately after each abstract, separated by semicolons (;), according to the official Template of the RDC.
8.5.4. Body Text
The body of the text must be prepared using the official Template of the DRC and present a clear, objective, coherent and scientifically rigorous wording.
The manuscript should not exceed 40,000 characters, excluding references, tables, charts, graphs, figures, and appendices, when applicable.
The text should:
● Respect the Rules of the Orthographic Agreement of the Portuguese Language, when written in Portuguese;
● Present a logical organization appropriate to the typology of the article;
● Do not contain semantic, syntactic and morphological errors;
● Do not use footnotes, except in exceptional situations that are duly justified;
● Fully respect the structure and formatting defined in the Journal's official Template.
Bold in the body of the text (except in titles and subtitles), underlining, colored backgrounds or other formatting elements that compromise editorial uniformity should not be used.
8.5.5. Structure and Formatting
Section titles should be formatted in Calibri, size 12 points, bold and capitalized, and the respective text should begin in the following paragraph.
The subtitles of the subsections must be formatted in Calibri, size 12 points, bold, with a capital letter, and the respective text must begin in the following paragraph.
The body of the text must be formatted in Calibri, size 11 points, with spacing of 1.5 lines and justified alignment.
Where enumerations or lists are used, a uniform and consistent format should be adopted throughout the manuscript.
8.5.6. Statistical Data
In the presentation of statistical data, the separation of decimal places must respect the language of the manuscript:
● Comma (,) in manuscripts written in Portuguese;
● Point (.) In manuscripts written in English.
The specific structure of the body of the text must be adapted to the typology of the submitted manuscript and the applicable methodological guidelines.
8.5.7. Tables, Charts, Graphs, Figures, Images and Diagrams
The maximum number of graphic objects (tables, tables, figures, graphs, images or diagrams) is five per manuscript, and only the elements strictly necessary for the understanding of the results and scientific content of the work should be included.
All graphic objects should:
● Be numbered consecutively in Arabic numerals;
● Be referenced in the text;
● Be presented as close as possible to your first citation;
● Have a title and indication of the respective source;
● Present adequate graphic quality for publication.
Whenever relevant, the data presented in tables or figures should be analyzed and interpreted in the body of the text, and should not constitute a mere repetition of the information already described.
They must present the respective title at the top, centered and formatted in Calibri, size 8 points, with a spacing of 1.5 lines.
The titles must be preceded by the designation "Table" or "Table" or "Figure", followed by the respective number.
The figures must be legible, present adequate quality for reproduction and be submitted preferably in JPG, TIFF or PNG formats, with a resolution equal to or greater than 600 dpi (dpi).
8.5.8. Sources and Copyright
All graphic objects (tables, charts, figures, graphs, images, photographs, diagrams and illustrations) must indicate their source, clearly and in accordance with the Vancouver Standards.
In the case of original material prepared by the authors, the expression "Source: Own elaboration" should be used.
When graphic elements are reproduced, adapted or modified from previously published works, the respective source must be identified in accordance with the Vancouver Standards, using, where applicable, one of the following expressions: "Source: Adapted from [reference]" or "Source: Reproduced from [reference], with permission".
Whenever the materials used are protected by copyright and the applicable legislation or the license of use so requires, the authors must obtain prior written authorization from the respective holder of the rights, assuming full responsibility for their use and sending this authorization to the Journal whenever requested.
When the materials used are licensed under a Creative Commons license or other license that allows their reuse, the authors must fully respect the respective conditions of use, attribution and licensing.
The authors are fully responsible for the originality, legality and legitimacy of the use of all graphic materials included in the manuscript, ensuring that their reproduction, adaptation or reuse does not violate copyright, intellectual property rights, image rights or any other applicable legal provisions.
Whenever photographs, images or other elements that allow individuals to be identified are used, the authors must ensure that all necessary authorizations and consents have been obtained, in accordance with the applicable legislation, the ethical principles of research and the protection of personal data.
The Editorial Team may request, at any stage of the editorial process, documentary proof of the authorizations for the use of materials protected by copyright or image.
8.5.9. Quotes
The Critically Ill Journal adopts the Vancouver Standards, in accordance with the recommendations of the ICMJE.
Citations must be presented using sequential numbering, assigned in order of the first occurrence in the text. Each reference will be given a unique number, which must be reused whenever the same source is cited again throughout the manuscript.
The citation numbers must correspond strictly to the numbering of the final list of bibliographic references.
Citations may take the form of:
● Indirect quotations (paraphrases);
● Short direct quotes;
● Long direct quotes.
Indirect quotations (paraphrases) consist of the presentation, in the author's own words, of the ideas, concepts, results or conclusions of another author, without literal reproduction of the original text. Although there is no textual transcription, the source of the information must be identified through the respective citation.
Indirect Quote Model (paraphrase): "Effective communication between professionals is associated with improved patient safety." (1)
Short direct quotations consist of the literal reproduction of an excerpt from the original text of another author, and should be used only when the original formulation is particularly relevant to the understanding of the theme and its full reproduction is justified. Short direct quotations should be inserted in the body of the text, in quotation marks, and accompanied by the respective citation, including, whenever possible, the indication of the page or other equivalent location of the source consulted
Short Direct Quote Template: "Communication is an essential element for patient safety." (1, p.45)
Long direct quotations should be used only when indispensable for understanding the manuscript. In these cases, they must be presented in a highlighted block, also indicating the page or equivalent location of the original source.
Short Direct Quote Model: Effective communication between healthcare professionals is one of the main determinants of patient safety. The use of structured communication strategies favors the rigorous transmission of clinical information, reduces the risk of errors and contributes to the continuity and quality of the care provided. The implementation of standardized communication processes should be considered a priority by health organizations, promoting a culture of safety and continuous improvement of the quality of care. (1, p. 112)
Whenever texts, tables, figures, images, photographs or other copyrighted materials are reproduced, authors must comply with the applicable legislation and obtain, where necessary, authorizations for the reproduction or adaptation of such content.
The Critical Patient Journal recommends that direct quotations be used only when strictly necessary. Whenever possible, authors should favor indirect citations (paraphrases), demonstrating the ability to critically analyze, synthesize and interpret scientific evidence, without prejudice to the correct attribution of authorship of original ideas.
Authors should favor the use of primary, current and scientifically relevant sources, preferably published in scientific journals subject to peer review and indexed in recognized databases.
The use of secondary quotations should be limited to situations where the original source is inaccessible or cannot be consulted, and this option should be duly justified.
Whenever appropriate, it is recommended to cite the most recent version of the recommendations, standards, consensuses, clinical guidelines and technical documents relevant to the topic under study.
Authors should avoid excessive use of grey literature, non-peer-reviewed documents, websites without scientific validation, outdated references, or sources whose credibility cannot be adequately demonstrated, except when the nature of the study justifies its use.
Self-citation should be limited to situations where it is scientifically relevant and duly justified, and should not be used to artificially augment authors' bibliometric indicators.
The citation of articles published in the Critical Patient Journal should result exclusively from their scientific relevance to the manuscript, and no form of editorial self-citation or coercive citation will be promoted.
Authors should ensure that all cited references have been effectively consulted and correspond faithfully to the original sources used in the preparation of the manuscript.
The use of Artificial Intelligence tools to generate references or citations does not dispense with the full verification of their accuracy by the authors, who remain responsible for the authenticity, completeness and accuracy of all references presented.
8.5.10. References
The Critical Patient Journal adopts the Vancouver Standards, in accordance with the recommendations of the ICMJE and the National Library of Medicine (NLM), for the preparation of references.
References should be numbered consecutively in the order of their first citation in the text, strictly corresponding to the numbering used throughout the manuscript.
All references cited in the text must be included in the final list of references and all references included in the final list must have been effectively cited in the manuscript.
References must be rigorous, complete and prepared in accordance with the Vancouver style, respecting, whenever applicable, the official abbreviations of the titles of journals indexed in the National Library of Medicine (NLM Catalog).
The selected references must be scientifically relevant, current and relevant to the theme under study, privileging, whenever possible:
● Primary sources;
● Articles published in scientific journals subject to peer review;
● Publications indexed in recognized scientific databases;
● Systematic reviews, meta-analyses, guidelines, consensus documents and recommendations for good practices.
Authors should ensure that the bibliography used adequately reflects the current state of scientific knowledge.
Where available, the respective Digital Object Identifier (DOI) should be included.
In the absence of a DOI, it is recommended to include another persistent identifier or the document's official URL, where applicable.
The references must correspond to the original versions of the documents consulted.
The use of grey literature, personal communications, unpublished documents, conference abstracts or preprints should be restricted to situations where their use is scientifically justified.
References generated or complemented using Artificial Intelligence tools must be fully verified by the authors before submitting the manuscript.
The Critical Patient Journal recommends that:
● Whenever possible, at least 75% of the references correspond to publications from the last ten years, without prejudice to the use of classic works, standards, consensuses or scientifically relevant historical documents;
● Priority should be given to publications of high methodological quality;
● Redundant, outdated or indirectly relevant references to the manuscript are avoided;
The authors are fully responsible for:
● For the accuracy and completeness of the references;
● By the correspondence between the citations in the text and the final list of references;
● For the correct identification of bibliographic elements;
● By using the original sources whenever possible;
● For compliance with the rules of scientific ethics, intellectual property and copyright.
The Editorial Team may request the correction, updating, standardization or replacement of bibliographic references whenever it deems necessary to ensure scientific quality and compliance with these Instructions to Authors.
9. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS
These Instructions to Authors complement the Editorial Statute of the RDC, and both documents must be observed by the authors during the preparation and submission of manuscripts.
In all matters not expressly provided for in these Instructions, the provisions contained in the Editorial Statute in force, as well as the international guidelines adopted by the Journal in matters of ethics, scientific integrity and academic publishing, shall apply.
This document may be reviewed and updated whenever necessary, namely to keep up with the evolution of international good practices in scientific publishing, indexing requirements and editorial guidelines adopted by the RDC.
Omissions and exceptional situations will be assessed and decided by the Editor-in-Chief, and the Editorial Team or the Editorial Board of the Journal may be requested from the Editorial Team or the Editorial Board whenever deemed necessary.
Updated on July 10, 2026
