Article Types & Templates
Choose the article type that best fits your manuscript. Read the Author Guidelines before preparing a submission. Download the English title page and manuscript separately for the relevant article type.
Randomized Controlled Trials
Original research reporting results from randomized controlled clinical trials, conducted in accordance with established methodological and ethical standards.
Title page (Word) · Manuscript (Word)
Systematic Reviews
Articles that systematically identify, appraise and synthesize the available scientific literature.
Title page (Word) · Manuscript (Word)
Scoping and Narrative Reviews
Articles that map existing evidence, identify key concepts and gaps, and examine the current state of knowledge on a topic.
Title page (Word) · Manuscript (Word)
Clinical Case Reports and Case Series
Reports of individual clinical cases or series of cases with relevant clinical, methodological or educational insights. Studies in which participants are prospectively assigned to an intervention by a research protocol to evaluate health outcomes should use the RCT or non-RCT template, as appropriate. A small sample or absence of a control group does not by itself make an interventional study a descriptive case series.
Title page (Word) · Manuscript (Word)
Observational Studies
Descriptive or analytical observational research conducted in clinical or experimental settings.
Title page (Word) · Manuscript (Word)
Study Protocols
Manuscripts describing the methodological design of planned or ongoing studies, including objectives, design, outcomes and analysis plans.
Title page (Word) · Manuscript (Word)
Technical and Methodological Articles
Articles describing, developing or standardising new or modified procedures and approaches, such as ultrasound-guided techniques, and assessment or intervention methods, including cadaveric and anatomical studies supporting invasive procedures; structured documentary technical comparisons of devices; and studies of reliability, measurement validity or diagnostic accuracy.
Title page (Word) · Manuscript (Word)
Non-randomized Interventional and Quasi-experimental Studies
Intervention studies without random allocation, including quasi-experimental designs; the design and allocation process should be described clearly.
Title page (Word) · Manuscript (Word)
Preclinical and Experimental Laboratory Studies
Experimental studies whose main aim is to evaluate biological or physical responses in live animals, ex vivo or in vitro models, cadaveric experiments or bench models. A cadaveric or bench setting alone does not determine the article type; for example, method development or validation uses the Technical and Methodological template.
Title page (Word) · Manuscript (Word)
Consensus Studies
Studies that use a structured method to reach agreement among experts or stakeholders, such as Delphi, nominal group technique or similar consensus methods. Surveys, qualitative studies, reviews and clinical practice guidelines use other templates.
Title page (Word) · Manuscript (Word)
Qualitative Studies
Primary qualitative research using interviews, focus groups, open-ended data, document analysis or other qualitative designs. Surveys with closed questions only and evidence syntheses use other templates.