SMJ IN TH E EY ES OFM ED I CAL EX PERT S
SMJ IN THE EYES OF MEDICAL EXPERTS The feeling I have towards SMJ is a mixture of admiration and respect. I observed the growth and progress of the journal over the years. Besides its formal content, several of my communications with the editorial board included comments on the general performance of SMJ and the impact of the recent reforms implemented in the technical appearance and the content of the articles of the journal. This is a simple indication for the feeling of belonging I feel towards SMJ and a way to support and thank the people behind it. Ghazi Omar Tadmouri Turkey I express my thanks to Saudi Medical Journal as it provides us in the Kingdom with a window to reach the scientific world outside. In fact, I have received inquiries and paper requests from various parts of the world ranging from Japan to Argentina after my abstracts were seen on Medline. Keep up the good work. Suhad M. Bahijri Jeddah, KSA I had a chance to see the most recent issue of Saudi Medical Journal and I think it is, as seen over the years, at par with any international journal. Ausaf Ahsan India It gives me great pleasure and honor to continue my support to Saudi Medical Journal and to see it as one of the best medical journals in the world. Ahmed Ghanem Najran, KSA I congratulate the editorial team of Saudi Medical Journal for the new shape that SMJ is taking, which I believe is a successful start for the new millennium. Mohamed A. Daw Libya Saudi Medical Journal: A 5-Year Overview Saudi Medical Journal Contents Processing 5 Editing 15 Marketing 25 English 26 Arabic 28 Editors’ Conclusive Report 31 English 32 Arabic 35 Quality Control Report 39 Previous Staff 45 Staff 2003 48 Saudi Medical Journal: A 5-Year Overview 1 SAUDI MEDICAL JOURNAL www.smj.org.sa Patron: HRH Prince Sultan bin Abdul-Aziz Editorial Director: Ketab E. Al-Otaibi Editors Editorial Office Saleh M. Al-Deeb Basim A. Yaqub Saudi Medical Journal Armed Forces Hospital PO Box 7897 Riyadh 11159 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia www.smj.org.sa Arabic Editor Ghada Al Ahmed Tel. (00 966 1) 477 7714 Ext. 6570 Fax. (00 966 1) 476 1810 or 477 7194 Email: info@smj.org.sa Editorial Office Susan E. Douglas, Assistant Editor Joyce E. Elicerio, Editorial Manager Jeannette P. Von Possel, Editorial Assistant Claire L. Rivers, Desktop Publisher Ligaya M. Legaspi, Desktop Publisher Leila T. Medrano, Graphic Designer Ismail M. Al-Smadi, Statistician Marketing & Advertising Mrs. Ghada Al-Ahmed Saudi Medical Journal Armed Forces Hospital PO Box 7897 Riyadh 11159 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia www.smj.org.sa Tel. (00 966 1) 477 7714 Ext. 6577 Fax. (00 966 1) 476 1810 or 477 7194 Email: gahmed@smj.org.sa Saudi Medical Journal is copyright under the Berne Convention and the International Copyright Convention. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior permission of the Editor. Statements expressed in the Saudi Medical Journal reflect the views and opinions of the authors and not the policies of the journal. The Saudi Medical Journal does not accept responsibility for statements made by contributors or advertisers. Advertisements, which are published in the Journal, are not endorsed by Saudi Medical Journal 2 Saudi Medical Journal: A 5-Year Overview Uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical Journals and Saudi Medical Journal Instruction to Authors can be downloaded in PDF format free of charge from the Saudi Medical Journal web site www.smj.org.sa. If you would like to receive these documents by e-mail, please send your request to info@smj.org.sa CITED IN INDEX MEDICUS, MEDLINE AND PUBMED (Saudi Med J), EXCERPTA MEDICA AND CURRENT CONTENTS ASTM CODE N: SAMJDI 19 (1) 684-823 ISSN 0379-5284 Ad v i s o r y a nd E d i t o r i a l B o a r d Advisory Board Mohammed Abomelha Armed Forces Hospital Yagob Al-Mazrou Ministry of Health Ahmed Kurdi Armed Forces Hospital Hussein Al-Freihi Saudi Council for Health Specialities Khalaf Al-Moutaery Armed Forces Hospital Nayef Al-Rodhan King Faisal Specialist Hospital & RC Editorial Board Abdullah Abanmi Armed Forces Hospital Riyadh, KSA Assia Al-Rawaf Armed Forces Hospital Riyadh, KSA Muhammad Majeed-Saidan Armed Forces Hospital Riyadh, KSA Hisham Akbar King Abdul-Aziz University Hospital Jeddah, KSA Ammar C. Al-Rikabi Hamad Medical Corporation Qatar Ratib Mesleh Armed Forces Hospital Riyadh, KSA Rabie Abdel-Halim (History of Medicine) King Saud University Riyadh, KSA Ali Al-Shehri King Fahad National Guard Hospital Riyadh, KSA Adnan Mofti Security Forces Hospital Riyadh, KSA Saeed Al-Ghamdi King Khalid University Abha, KSA Shouki Bazarbashi King Faisal Specialist Hospital & RC Riyadh, KSA Ashry Gad Mohammed (Statistician) King Saud University Riyadh, KSA Maher Al-Hadidi University of Jordan Jordan Youssef Comair American University Beirut Lebanon P.M.C. Nair Sultan Qaboos University Hospital Muscat, Oman Hindi Al-Hindi Armed Forces Hospital Riyadh, KSA Ahmed Elzubier King Fahad University Al-Khobar, KSA Sadek R. Pharaon Zahrawi Hospital Syria Abdullah Al-Mobeireek King Khalid University Hospital Riyadh, KSA Mohammed Fouda King Khalid University Hospital Riyadh, KSA Khalid Qattan King Khalid University Hospital Riyadh, KSA Abdullah Al-Rabeeah King Fahad National Guard Hospital Riyadh, KSA Issam Hamadah King Faisal Specialist Hospital & RC Riyadh, KSA Assem Rostom The Royal Marsden United Kingdom Abdulrahman Al-Rajhi King Faisal Specialist Hospital & RC Riyadh, KSA Ali Hajeer King Fahad National Guard Hospital Riyadh, KSA Mona Shahed Armed Forces Hospital Riyadh, KSA Khalid Kalantan King Khalid University Hospital Riyadh, KSA Ghazi Omar Tadmouri Faith University Turkey Saudi Medical Journal: A 5-Year Overview 3 Prepared by: JOYCE ELICERIO – Editorial Manager JEANNETE VON POSSEL – Editorial Assistant Saudi Medical Journal: A 5-Year Overview 5 PROCESSING The Year 2002 was another significant year for Saudi Medical Journal. It was another year of success and milestone developments for the pioneer medical journal of the Middle East. In the Manuscript Processing Department, it was again a year of attaining goals, maintaining quality & professional processing of manuscripts and development of state-of-the-art manuscript tracking system to meet the demands of the continuous growing number of manuscripts submitted to Saudi Medical Journal. A 5-YEAR OVERVIEW JOURNAL GROWTH. Since Saudi Medical Journal published its first issue in 1979, it has been published bimonthly until in the Year 1999 that the Journal with its increasing number of manuscripts decided to publish monthly. It was a worthwhile decision and proved to be the only way to meet the growing number of authors who wish to publish in Saudi Medical Journal. From the Year 1998 to 1999, there was a 2% increased in the number of manuscripts received while a 45% increased was noted in 2000. A 5% and 3% increased has also been recorded in 2001 and 2002 respectively. The Indexing of the Journal in the year 2000 has also contributed to the increasing number of manuscripts submitted to Saudi Medical Journal and because of this, there was a radical 50% increased of manuscripts received in 2002 as compared to the year 1999 where the Journal first published monthly. This year we have received a total of 478 manuscripts of which, 249 has been accepted. In the last five years, we have doubled the number of received and accepted papers from 1998 to 2000 by more than 100% as shown in Table 1 & Figure 1. 6 Saudi Medical Journal: A 5-Year Overview Table 1: Manuscript Status (1998 - 2002) Status 1998 1999 2000 (%) 2001 (%) 2002 (%) Received 205 209 (2%) 378 (45%) 398 (5%) 478 (20%) Accepted 148 150 (1.3%) 215 (30%) 236 (9%) 249 (5%) Note: Figures exclude Brief Communications, Correspondence & Clinical Notes Received Accepted Figure 1: Manuscript Status (1998 to 2002) Saudi Medical Journal: A 5-Year Overview 7 REVIEWERS. As we strive to maintain an outstanding number of excellent reviewers, we usually evaluate them from time to time. As a result of this extensive evaluation, we are proud to say that we are able to maintain a group of topnotch reviewers who are well-respected experts in their respective fields. We acknowledge the excellent reviewers who participated in reviewing manuscripts for Saudi Medical Journal for the Year 2002 which consist of 70-75% of our reviewers. We also commend the 32 outstanding reviewers who reviewed 3 or more articles in 2002. MANUSCRIPT TURNOVER TIME OF SUBMISSION, ACCEPTANCE & PUBLICATION. There was a 55% difference for the total turnover time for a manuscript from the submission date to acceptance date in the years 1999 and 2000. And in 2001 and 2002, the turnover time remained at 3.3. While we recorded a difference of 42% for the turnover time from acceptance date to publication date in 1999 and 2000, an increased of 36% from 2001 to 2002 has been noted (Table 2 & Figure 2). One major factor for this is the increasing number of high impact factor articles submitted for publication to Saudi Medical Journal. As we have indicated in our 2001 annual report, the Journal is considering a twice a month publication to accommodate the growing number of accepted manuscripts and lessen the turnover time of publication for accepted papers to our aim of 6 months (Table 3 & Figure 3). However, this decision is still under consideration. Table 2: Turnover Time of Submission to Acceptance (1998 - 2002) Status 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Received to Acceptance 5.1 4.5 2.9 3.3 3.3 Difference 55% 0% Table 3: Turnover Time of Acceptance to Publication (1998 - 2002) Status 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Acceptance to Publication 10.1 9.1 6.4 4.7 7.4 Difference 8 Saudi Medical Journal: A 5-Year Overview 42% 36% 6 5 Mean 4 3 2 1 0 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Aim Year Figure 2: Received – Acceptance: A 5-Year Overview 11 10 9 8 Mean 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 1998 1999 2000 Year 2001 2002 Aim Figure 3: Acceptance- Publication: A 5-Year Overview Saudi Medical Journal: A 5-Year Overview 9 OBJECTIVES FOR 2003 LESSEN PROCESSING TIME FRAME. We aim to lessen the processing time frame from Received to Publication date to a maximum of 6 months. We believe that one of the many qualities of a reputable journal is the ability to adhere to timeliness & punctuality. Despite of the increasing number of high impact factor articles submitted to Saudi Medical Journal, we shall strive to lessen the processing time frame to a maximum of 6 months to ensure timely publication of significant topics. INCREASE REJECTION RATES. We also aim to increase the rejection rates of manuscripts for publication in order to publish more “high impact” articles for Saudi Medical Journal. As we always consider the interests of our readers, we feel we should maintain the high standard feature of the Journal, which is publishing outstanding articles. EDUCATE. As the Journal continues to receive more and more articles for publication, we notice that there is a need to educate our future authors who wish to submit their articles for possible publication to Saudi Medical Journal. With this, it is our aim to inform future authors of the guidelines on how to write an article. We always stress the need for compliance with the Uniform Requirements for Biomedical Journals which we already made available through our website, www.smj.org.sa. Authors can download or print the Uniform Requirements via our website not to mention the availability of our Instructions to Authors & Suggestions to Authors Online. DEFINE REQUIREMENTS. All manuscripts submitted for possible publication is not immediately processed unless it complies with all the necessary requirements. We now require a completed Author’s Declaration Form indicating the originality of the manuscript submitted so as to avoid duplication of articles and conflicts of interest that may arise. Unless an author provides a valid contact number: fax, telephone & email to speed up the communication process, a manuscript shall not be processed. With the availability of Saudi Medical Journal Online, authors can download blank Copyright Forms, Checklists and other vital information for manuscript submission through our website. 10 Saudi Medical Journal: A 5-Year Overview VALUABLE INVESTMENTS Saudi Medical Journal has been striving to stand on its own feet in as far as finances is concerned. This is made possible with the help of its growing number of advertisers over the years. We started building good business relationships with a few advertisers and much to our surprise; we have maintained quite a number of valued regular advertisers, which stayed with the journal until the present time. Because of this, Saudi Medical Journal has invested to worthwhile undertakings that may contribute to the journal’s prestige. Among these undertakings are Indexing with NLM, Saudi Medical Journal Website, Saudi Medbase 1st & 2nd Edition & a state-of-the-art Database Tracking System. NLM, PUBMED, INDEX MEDICUS One of the many valuable investments that the Journal has taken was the Indexing of the Journal with NLM, Pubmed & Index Medicus in January 2000. It has been a worthwhile undertaking as we see our journal added to the internationally acclaimed group of medical journals. It has been a challenging task for every member of the Editorial Office but more so very rewarding. Saudi Medical Journal: A 5-Year Overview 11 SAUDI MED J ONLINE During this age of Information Technology, Saudi Medical Journal continues to conform to the present trend. Since the development of our website www.smj.org.sa, more and more authors, reviewers, subscribers prefer communicating electronically. FEATURES. Saudi Medical Journal Online features access to Current Issue, Instructions to Authors, Information & Online Advertising. Online Subscription Management, which includes, Renewal, Change of Address & Request of previous copy is also available. All subscribers have access to full text articles in HTML and PDF format. Abstracts and Editorials are available to all online guests, FREE OF CHARGE. Aside from these features, online visitors may view the history of Saudi Medical Journal, which is available in English and Arabic. It also gives information on the Journal’s Editorial Board Members & Editorial Staff for easy contact in case of any inquiries. DOWNLOADS. Authors can download Checklists for Manuscript Submission & Assignment of Copyright Form. Acrobat Reader is also downloadable from our very own site, FREE OF CHARGE. ONLINE ORDERS. Aside from Online ordering of previous copies of the Journal, Saudi Medbase CD Rom can also be ordered via our website. LINKS. Links to PUBMED and Neurosciences Journal Website is also an added feature of the website. 12 Saudi Medical Journal: A 5-Year Overview NEW FEATURES. We recently added access to Saudi Medical Journal’s Future Contents & Future Highlights, which are definitely subject to changes without prior notice to the concerned author(s). The Uniform Requirements for Biomedical Journals have also been added for information. STATISTICS. Ever since the development of Saudi Med J website in the year 2000, we continue to think ways on how we can maximize the use of the website and reach more authors, reviewers and subscribers by just a click of the mouse! Our statistics showed that between June and December 2002, the average number of hits per day is roughly 10,000 hits. Not to mention the successful hits for the entire site, which is averaging to almost 260,000 a month. The highest hits were from Saudi Arabia, followed by North America (Figure 4). No. of Hits Per Day Most Active Countries Visiting SMJ Website (July-September 2002) 1000 900 800 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 Saudi Arabia North America Europe Jordan Other Arab Countries Japan & Asia Figure 4: Active Countries visiting SMJ website We have also been receiving inquiries and suggestions of electronic submission of articles and electronic review process. We are in the process of considering these suggestions and we are looking forward to executing these plans in the future in order to gratify our valued readers. Saudi Medical Journal: A 5-Year Overview 13 SAUDI MEDBASE 1st & 2nd EDITION We are pleased to launch the Saudi MedBase 2nd Edition, a compilation of all literatures published in other highly acclaimed medical journals in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from the period 1979 to 1999. We earlier released the first edition of Saudi Medbase in early 2000, which initially contained literatures published for the period of 1979 to 1995. Since the successful launching of its first edition, we thought of developing a more advanced edition with a wider scope of literatures. The Saudi Medbase 2nd Edition is now available at a reasonable price of SR100 however; it comes free-of-charge for every 2-year subscription of Saudi Medical Journal. DATABASE TRACKING SYSTEM A state-of-the-art manuscript tracking system for Saudi Medical Journal has just been developed. In order to meet the demands of the increasing number of manuscripts, reviewers and subscribers, Saudi Medical Journal has invested on a database tracking system that would ease review process, speed tracking system, and define reviewers and perfect subscribers’ list. 14 Saudi Medical Journal: A 5-Year Overview Prepared by: SUSAN DOUGLAS – Assistant Editor CLAIRE RIVERS – Desktop Publisher LIGAYA LEGASPI– Desktop Publisher Saudi Medical Journal: A 5-Year Overview 15 EDITING: A 5- YEAR OVERVIEW There can be no doubt that Saudi Medical Journal is a success story with an increasing number of submissions (+124% from 1998), increasing number of pages (+91% from 1998), an increasing impact factor and the launch of the web page and electronic version of the journal. We have to recognize the outstanding work of the submitting authors, the staff at the editorial office, and the readers, who have all, contributed to this Journal. OUTCOME FOR YEAR 2002 This year we received 587 manuscripts with an increase of 42% from last year and an overall increase of 124% in the last 5 years from 1998. The rejection rate for this year was 56% compared to 38% last year and 30% in 1998. We published 1572 pages with a 36% increase from last year and a 91% increase from 1998 (Table 1 & Figure 1). The turnover time from submission to acceptance for this year was 3.3 months, the same as last year, but lower by 35% than it was in 1998 at 5.1 months. The original articles still constitute the main subject of each issue (Table 2 & Figure 2). Our articles are still mainly from the Kingdom, but we are receiving more articles from the Arab world and other regional countries, such as, Turkey, Iran, India and Pakistan (Table 3 & Figure 3). Despite the increase in the number of publications, we will still run monthly this year, in the future we may increase publication to twice monthly. We also started to include related abstracts for some articles from the Saudi Med base this will continue over the coming years. The year 2002 also marked the introduction of the new Highlights section. This appears at the beginning of each issue, and readers can quickly scan through a summary of some of the more interesting articles in that issue. QUALITY CONTROL SECTION. In the year 2002 Susan Douglas was appointed as Quality Control Officer to ensure the excellence of the journal and to handle all the complaints arising between the journal, the authors, the reviewers and the publisher. This was very productive and in the coming years this will not be confined to the Quality Control Officer, but we will appoint an Ombudsman. 16 Saudi Medical Journal: A 5-Year Overview Table 1: No. of Pages Printed for Saudi Medical Journal 1998 to 2002 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 No. of Pages 822 998 1215 1158 1572 Percentage 91% 21% 21% -4% 36 % (36%) (21%) (-4%) [91%] (21%) (%) Yearly Growth Rate [%] Growth Rate over 5 years Figure 1: Number of Pages Printed for SMJ (1998 to 2002) Saudi Medical Journal: A 5-Year Overview 17 Table 2: Country of Origin of Articles Published in SMJ (1998 – 2002) Origin No. of Articles Published in 1998 (%) No. of Articles Published in 1999 (%) No. of Articles Published in 2000 (%) No. of Articles Published in 2001 (%) No. of Articles Published in 2002 (%) KSA 122 (67) 146 (65) 168 (66) 153 (62) 168 (66) Gulf Countries 17 (9) 23 (10) 24 (9) 50 (20) 24 (9) Arab Countries 32 (17) 36 (16) 54 (21) 28 (8) 54 (21) Others 13 (7) 20 (9) 10 (4) 25 (10) 10 (4) Total 184 (100) 225 (100) 256 (100) 248 (100) 256 (100) (%) Mean for years 1998-2002 Figure 2: Country of Origin of Articles Published in SMJ (1998 – 2002) 18 Saudi Medical Journal: A 5-Year Overview Table 3: Type of Manuscripts published in SMJ (1998 - 2002) Review Articles* No. of Articles Published in 1998 (%) 20 (10.9) No. of Articles Published in 1999 (%) 23 (8.1) No. of Articles Published in 2000 (%) 29 (8.7) No. of Articles Published in 2001 (%) 26 (9.1) No. of Articles Published in 2002 (%) 21 (5.7) Original Articles* 115 (62.5) 123 (43.3) 130 (38.9) 145 (50.9) 202 (54.6) Case Reports* 30 (16.3) 42 (14.8) 54 (16.1) 29 (10.2) 59 (15.9) Communications* 19 (10.3) 37 (13) 43 (12.9) 27 (9.5) 41 (11.1) Correspondence** 16 (8.7) 17 (6) 24 (7.2) 13 (4.6) 16 (4.3) Book Reviews** 35 (19) 38 (13.4) 47 (14.1) 40 (14) 15 (4.1) Errata** 4 (2.2) 4 (1.4) 7 (2.1) 5 (1.7) 16 (4.3) 184 284 334 285 370 Type of Manuscript Brief Total ** Not included in the total number of statistics 55% (50%) 16% (14%) 11% (11%) 6% (8%) 4% (6%) 4% (2%) (%) Mean for years 1998-2002 Figure 3: Type of Manuscripts published in SMJ (1998 - 2002) Saudi Medical Journal: A 5-Year Overview 19 The first detailed Quality Control report is included in the Annual Report and was sent to members of the Editorial and Advisory Board, and we have received very positive feedback: "I commend Saudi Medical Journal for taking such an important step in establishing a Quality Control Section. The positive effect on the quality of the journal is already seen in your management." "This is great! It shows our strength and weaknesses, and provides a way to improve SMJ and fine tune the instructions to authors. I think all issues addressed have been dealt with in a reasonable and acceptable manner." OBJECTIVES AND GOALS FOR 2003 Although the journal is now competitive indexed journal, we are still committed to our ambitious plan for this year and the any years to follow. Our plans for the coming year are outlined. CONTENT. This year we will concentrate on the quality in addition to the look and the size of the Journal. Due to a steady increase in the number of publications, we suspect that the rejection rate will be increased. Although this is sometimes painful, we believe it is necessary. The reader will notice some changes in the layout of the Journal, and the Highlights section is now an established part of each issue. There will be changes in the tables and figures, for the better. Errata notices will appear in the website and be sent to the National Library of Medicine to be linked to all the manuscripts on Pubmed. We have omitted Letters to the Editor and replaced them by Brief Communications. The size of the Journal will be enlarged in width but not in length. Lastly, Instructions to the Authors will now be available in our website and not published in each issue, but will appear once at the end of each subvolume. 20 Saudi Medical Journal: A 5-Year Overview CHANGES TO BE IMPLEMENTED FROM JANUARY 2003 ♦ Each year the journal will now comprise 2 volumes - Jan - June will be the 1st volume, July - December the 2nd volume. Full indexes will be included in both the June and December issues. ♦ Addition of the website address and the Founded date to the front cover and page numbers to spine. Possible addition of SMJ slogan - to be decided. ♦ The width of the Journal will now change from 20 cm to 21 cm, the inside margins will change from 1.3 cm to 1.5 cm. ♦ The layout of the editorial board will be updated. ♦ Section Headings to change to Helvetica Black font, colored green and blocked to the left for odd numbered pages and block to the right for even numbered pages. ♦ The title of articles will now be Charcoal bold, size 24. ♦ For the section on original articles - section will be changed to "articles". ♦ Tables will no longer have vertical lines, but transverse lines and borders will remain in place. N will be used for the total number; and n will be used for the subset total. Tables may be centered across 2 columns, and the titles for tables - if long enough - may appear at the side of the table, to avoid having to stretch the table across the columns. If a table comprises only 2 columns, and the 2nd is text, you may include one vertical line. ♦ The text of tables and figure legends will now appear in Helvetica black. ♦ Abbreviations will be used throughout the abstracts and main text in the expanded form with the exception of those listed in the AMA Manual of Style. No abbreviations will be used in the titles. ♦ In the references section the names of the Journals will now appear in bold. ♦ If references are to appear in tables and they have not previously been cited in the text of the article, the reference number will run on consecutively from the last reference number cited in the text of the article i.e. Last reference in the text 29 - first reference in the table 30 - regardless of where the tables appear in the article. ♦ In the brief communication section - items will now be run-on separated by a dotted line. Correspondence will now start with "To the Editor:" in bold and italics. Same for "Reply from the Authors:" Saudi Medical Journal: A 5-Year Overview 21 ♦ Spelling checking will now be carried out on articles in word and ready set go with the use of Merriam Webster, while typesetting the article, and also again when page numbering the folder. ♦ AMENDMENTS TO INSTRUCTIONS TO AUTHORS: 1. Instructions to Authors will now appear at the front of the issue between the contents page and the highlights in the January and July issues only. Instructions to Authors and Uniform Requirements will be made available on the web page. A sentence to this effect will be added to the introductory pages of the journal. 2. References throughout the text in submitted manuscripts must be in bold. 3. Addition of a sentence indicating that the place and time period of each study should be stated in the methods section of the abstract and the main methods section of each paper. This will now be a prerequisite for processing of any papers. 4. Addition of sentence indicating: Upon acceptance of a paper all authors must be able to provide the full paper for each reference cited upon request at any time up to publication. Failure to do so may result in the paper being withdrawn from the journal. 5. Addition of list of accepted unexpanded abbreviations from the AMA Manual of Style. ♦ The end of volume indexes should now include a section on Errata notices published throughout the year. We should also indicate in the contents index if an errata notice was published for any article. SUPPLEMENTS. The journal has published a number of special issues in the past in the Arabic language. This year we are planning to issue 2 special supplements, one on Pediatric Surgery with Assia Al-Rawaf as the Guest Editor and the second on Cancer in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with Shouki Bazarbashi as the Guest Editor. Additional supplements on important courses, workshops and symposia are also planned for the coming years. BINDER. Each yearly volume will be split into 2 sub-volumes with 2 binders for each annual volume. With each bound issue, we will also include a CD containing all literature published for that period. 22 Saudi Medical Journal: A 5-Year Overview EQUIPMENT. In 2001, we invested in new equipment for the Editing Department. This year we plan to upgrade the remaining older equipment, as we have been experience some time consuming conflicts with formatting, software and graphics programs. STAFFING LEVELS. Although the output of the Journal has increased significantly in the last number of years, and the introduction of the electronic version of the Journal, the number of staff within the Editing Department has remained constant. This has resulted in a maximum workload for each member of staff and has caused delays in publication times during holiday periods. To overcome this problem, we are planning to introduce a new member of staff to the Editing Department, increasing the Editing team to 4 members. PROBLEMS. Incomplete reference information is the number one area in which there is lacking information, or misinformation in an article. When the author is asked to provide the original paper, he is often unable to do so. This may be due to a number of reasons, the not least of which is the use of secondary references by authors. It is clearly stated in the Uniform Requirements that all references must be verified by the author(s) against the original document. To try to overcome the use of secondary referencing, we shall include in the instructions to authors a sentence to indicate that upon acceptance of a paper all authors should be able to provide the full article for each reference upon request. Saudi Medical Journal: A 5-Year Overview 23 Prepared by: GHADA AL AHMED – Marketing Manager LEILA MEDRANO – Graphic Designer Saudi Medical Journal: A 5-Year Overview 25 MA R K E T I N G KSA 3289 (50%) ARAB COUNTRIES 1355 (21%) SUBSCRIBERS Saudi Medical Journal has maintained a NORTH AMERICA 871 (13% considerable number of subscribers until the GULF 399 (6%) end of year 2002. Fifty percent of our subscribers are from the Kingdom of Saudi EUROPE 350 (5%) ASIA 291 (4%) AFRICA 26 (.3%) AUSTRALIA 15 (.2%) TOTAL Arabia & the other 50% are dividing among the other Arab countries which consist of 21%, 13% North America, 6% Gulf, 5% Europe, 4% Asia, .3% Africa & .2% for Australia. 6596 (100%) SUBSCRIBERS’ TRACKING SYSTEM The growing number of subscribers has been our driving force to develop a state-of-the-art Subscriber Tracking System for Saudi Medical Journal. The system is a far more advanced version of the old system that we had in the past years. It has the capacity to store huge files without affecting its performance. It provides a faster, more efficient and more detailed subscriber management. 26 Saudi Medical Journal: A 5-Year Overview SAUDI MED J HISTORY IN ARABIC Saudi Medical Journal Online offers easy access to a number of important features of the Journal. One of these many features is the access to the Journal’s history in Arabic. By just a click on the mouse, online visitors may access information on how and when the journal started and key personalities behind the emergence of Saudi Medical Journal. ARABIC SPECIAL ISSUE Saudi Medical Journal is publishing a Special Arabic Issue entitled Health & Life. The purpose of this special publication is to reach out to the local readers in the Kingdom through the articles written by topnotch medical experts tackling on important health issues. Saudi Medical Journal: A 5-Year Overview 27 اﻟﻤﺠﻠﺔ اﻟﻄﺒﻴﺔ اﻟﺴﻌﻮدﻳﺔ ﺗﻘﺮﻳﺮ داﺋﺮة اﻟﺘﺴﻮﻳﻖ ﻟﻠﻌﺎم 2002 ﺣﻘﻘﺖ داﺋﺮة اﻟﺘﺴﻮﻳﻖ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻤﺠﻠﺔ اﻟﻄﺒﻴﺔ اﻟﺴﻌﻮدﻳﺔ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻌﺎم 2002م ،ﻧﺠﺎح وارﺗﻘﺎء ﻡﻠﺤﻮظ آﺎن ﻟﻪ اﻷﺛﺮ ﻓﻲ اﺣﺘﻼﻟﻬﺎ ﻡﻮﻗﻌﺎ ﻡﻤﺘﺎزا ﻡﻦ ﻧﺎﺣﻴﺔ درﺝﺔ اﻻﻧﺘﺸﺎر ودرﺝﺔ اﻟﻘﺮاﺋﻴﺔ وأﻳﻀﺎ اﺱﺘﺨﺪاﻡﻬﺎ آﻤﺮﺝﻊ ﺏﻮاﺱﻄﺔ اﻟﻤﻬﻦ اﻟﻄﺒﻴﺔ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻤﻤﻠﻜﺔ اﻟﻌﺮﺏﻴﺔ اﻟﺴﻌﻮدﻳﺔ وﻡﻨﻄﻘﺔ اﻟﺨﻠﻴﺞ واﻟﺸﺮق اﻷوﺱﻂ ودول اﻟﻌﺎﻟﻢ ﺏﺎﻟﻤﻘﺎرﻧﺔ ﻡﻊ اﻟﻤﺠﻼت اﻟﻄﺒﻴﺔ اﻟﻌﺎﻟﻤﻴﺔ. وﻓﻴﻤﺎ ﻳﻠﻲ ﻋﺮﺽﺎ ﻷهﻢ اﻟﺘﻄﻮرات اﻟﺘﻲ ﺣﻘﻘﺖ ﻓﻲ هﺬا اﻟﻌﺎم،واﻟﺘﻲ أﻋﻄﺖ ﺛﻤﺎرا ﻃﻴﺒﺔ وذﻟﻚ ﺏﺠﻬﻮد اﻟﻌﺎﻡﻠﻴﻦ واﻟﺘﻌﺎون اﻟﻤﺴﺘﻤﺮ واﻟﻘﺎﺋﻢ ﺏﻴﻦ ﻡﻜﺘﺐ اﻟﺘﺤﺮﻳﺮ وداﺋﺮة اﻟﺘﺴﻮﻳﻖ: ﺗﻮزﻳﻊ اﻟﻤﺠﻠﺔ: ﺣﻘﻘﺖ اﻟﻤﺠﻠﺔ اﻟﻄﺒﻴﺔ اﻟﺴﻌﻮدﻳﺔ وﻡﻦ ﺥﻼل اﻟﺨﻄﻂ اﻟﺠﺪﻳﺪة اﻟﺨﺎﺻﺔ ﺏﺎﻟﺘﻮزﻳﻊ واﻻﻧﺘﺸﺎر ﺣﻴﺚ أﺻﺒﺢ ﻟﻠﻤﺠﻠﺔ ﻗﺎﺋﻤﺘﻬﺎ اﻟﺒﺮﻳﺪﻳﺔ واﻟﺘﻲ ﺗﺤﺘﻮي ﻋﻠﻰ ﻋﺪد ﻡﻀﺎﻋﻒ ﻡﻦ اﻟﻤﺸﺘﺮآﻴﻦ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻤﻤﻠﻜﺔ اﻟﻌﺮﺏﻴﺔ اﻟﺴﻌﻮدﻳﺔ وﻡﻨﻄﻘﺔ اﻟﺨﻠﻴﺞ واﻟﺪول اﻟﻌﺮﺏﻴﺔ وآﺜﻴﺮ ﻡﻦ دول اﻟﻌﺎﻟﻢ ﺣﻴﺚ ﻗﺎﺋﻤﺔ ﺏﺮﻳﺪ ﺵﺎﻡﻠﺔ ﻳﺰﻳﺪ ﻋﺪدهﺎ ﺏﺎﺱﺘﻤﺮار ﻡﻦ ﺥﻼل ﻃﻠﺒﺎت اﻻﺵﺘﺮاك اﻟﺘﻲ ﺗﺼﻞ إﻟﻰ اﻟﻤﺠﻠﺔ ﻳﻮﻡﻴﺎ ﻡﻦ ﻡﺨﺘﻠﻒ ﻡﻨﺎﻃﻖ اﻟﻤﻤﻠﻜﺔ ودول اﻟﺨﻠﻴﺞ واﻟﺪول اﻟﻌﺮﺏﻴﺔ وآﺜﻴﺮ ﻡﻦ دول اﻟﻌﺎﻟﻢ .ﻡﻊ ﺗﻄﻮر ﻋﺎﻟﻢ اﻻﺗﺼﺎﻻت أﺱﺴﺖ اﻟﻤﺠﻠﺔ اﻟﻄﺒﻴﺔ اﻟﺴﻌﻮدﻳﺔ ﻡﻮﻗﻌﺎ ﻟﻠﻤﺠﻠﺔ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺵﺒﻜﺔ اﻻﻧﺘﺮﻧﺖ www.smj.org.sa وهﺬا اﻟﻤﻮﻗﻊ ﻡﺘﻮﻓﺮا ﻟﻤﺸﺘﺮآﻲ اﻟﻤﺠﻠﺔ ﺣﻴﺚ ﻳﺤﺘﻮي ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﻤﻘﺎﻻت اﻟﺘﻲ ﻧﺸﺮت ﺏﺎﻟﻤﺠﻠﺔ ﻡﻦ ﻋﺪد ﻳﻨﺎﻳﺮ 2000 وﻡﺎ ﻳﻠﻴﻪ ﻡﻦ أﻋﺪاد ﻻﺣﻘﺔ إﻳﻤﺎﻧﺎ ﻡﻨﺎ ﻟﻤﺴﺎﻳﺮة اﻟﺘﻄﻮر اﻟﻌﻠﻤﻲ اﻟﻤﺘﺴﺎرع ﺏﺎﺥﺘﻼف أﻧﻮاﻋﻪ ﻟﻤﺎ ﻓﻴﻪ ﺥﻴﺮ اﻟﻤﺠﻠﺔ وأﻳﻀﺎ ﺗﺤﻘﻴﻖ اﻟﻔﺎﺋﺪة اﻟﻤﺮﺝﻮة ﻟﻘﺮاﺋﻬﺎ. اﻹﺻﺪار اﻟﺸﻬﺮي: ﻡﻮاﻇﺒﺔ اﻟﻤﺠﻠﺔ ﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﻨﻬﺞ ﻓﻲ اﻟﺤﺮص ﺏﺎﻻﻧﺘﻘﺎء اﻟﺠﻴﺪ ﻟﻠﻤﻘﺎﻻت ﻡﻦ ﻗﺒﻞ اﻟﻤﺤﺮرﻳﻦ وﻡﺮاﺝﻌﺘﻬﺎ ﻡﻦ ﻗﺒﻞ أﻓﻀﻞ اﻟﻤﺮاﺝﻌﻴﻦ ﻡﺤﻠﻴﺎ وﻋﺎﻟﻤﻴﺎ وﺥﻀﻊ ﻧﺸﺮ اﻟﻤﻘﺎﻻت واﻷﺏﺤﺎث ﻟﻤﻮاﺻﻔﺎت ﻡﺤﺪدة وﺻﺎرﻡﺔ ﺗﻀﻊ اﻋﺘﺒﺎرا ﻟﻠﻘﻴﻤﺔ اﻟﻌﻠﻤﻴﺔ ﻟﻠﺒﺤﺚ وﻇﻞ اﻟﻘﺮار اﻟﺨﺎص ﺏﺎﻟﻨﺸﺮ ﻳﺘﺨﺬ ﺏﻌﺪ ﻧﻘﺎش ﻡﺸﺘﺮك ﺏﻴﻦ ﻡﺠﻤﻮع ﻡﻦ اﻟﻤﺤﻜﻤﻴﻦ اﻟﻤﺨﺘﺼﻴﻦ واﻟﻤﺤﺎﻓﻈﺔ ﻋﻠﻰ إﺻﺪار آﻞ ﻋﺪد ﺝﺪﻳﺪ ﺏﻮﻗﺘﻪ اﻟﻤﺤﺪد وﺏﺪون أي ﺗﺄﺥﻴﺮ ﺝﻌﻞ اﻟﻤﺠﻠﺔ ﺗﺤﺎﻓﻆ وﺗﺴﺘﻤﺮ ﻓﻲ ﺗﺤﺴﻦ اﻟﻤﺴﺘﻮى اﻟﻌﻠﻤﻲ وزﻳﺎدة ﻡﺴﺘﻤﺮة ﻟﻠﻤﺸﺎرآﺎت اﻟﻤﺨﺘﻠﻔﺔ ﻡﻦ ﻡﺨﺘﻠﻒ ﻡﻨﺎﻃﻖ اﻟﻤﻤﻠﻜﺔ ودول اﻟﺠﻮار ودول اﻟﻌﺎﻟﻢ وأﻳﻀﺎ زﻳﺎدة ﻡﺴﺘﻤﺮة ﻟﻠﻤﻘﺎﻻت اﻷﺻﻠﻴﺔ ﻡﻤﺎ ﻳﻌﻜﺲ رﻏﺒﺔ اﻟﺒﺎﺣﺜﻴﻦ واﻷﻃﺒﺎء ﻓﻲ ﻧﺸﺮ أﻋﻤﺎﻟﻬﻢ اﻷﺏﺘﻜﺎرﻳﺔ ﻓﻲ ﻡﺠﻠﺔ ذات ﻧﻮﻋﻴﺔ واﻡﺘﻴﺎز. 28 Saudi Medical Journal: A 5-Year Overview ﻡﺠﻠﺔ ﻡﺴﺠﻠﺔ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻤﻜﺘﺒﺔ اﻟﻄﺒﻴﺔ اﻟﻌﺎﻟﻤﻴﺔ ﻓﻲ واﺵﻨﻄﻦ ﺗﺸﻬﺪ اﻟﻤﻤﻠﻜﺔ ﺗﻄﻮرات آﻤﻴﺔ وﻧﻮﻋﻴﺔ ﻓﻲ ﺝﻤﻴﻊ اﻟﻤﺠﺎﻻت وﺥﺎﺻﺔ ﻓﻲ ﻡﺠﺎل ﺗﻘﺪﻳﻢ اﻟﺨﺪﻡﺎت اﻟﺼﺤﻴﺔ ﻳﻌﻜﺲ اهﺘﻤﺎم اﻟﺪوﻟﺔ وﺣﻜﻮﻡﺔ ﺥﺎدم اﻟﺤﺮﻡﻴﻦ اﻟﺸﺮﻳﻔﻴﻦ اﻟﻤﺘﻮاﺻﻞ ﻟﻠﻨﻬﻮض واﻻرﺗﻘﺎء ﺏﺎﻟﺨﺪﻡﺎت اﻟﺼﺤﻴﺔ آﻐﻴﺮهﺎ ﻡﻦ ﻗﻄﺎﻋﺎت اﻟﺘﻨﻤﻴﺔ وﺏﻤﺎ أن اﻟﺘﻌﻠﻴﻢ واﻹﻋﻼم اﻟﻄﺒﻲ أﺣﺪ رواﻓﺪ اﻟﻨﻬﻀﺔ اﻟﺼﺤﻴﺔ وأن اﻟﻤﺠﻠﺔ اﻟﻄﺒﻴﺔ اﻟﺴﻌﻮدﻳﺔ وﺱﻴﻠﺔ ﻡﻬﻤﺔ ﻟﻨﺸﺮ اﻷﺏﺤﺎث اﻟﻄﺒﻴﺔ وذات ﻡﺴﺘﻮى ﻡﺘﻤﻴﺰ ﺗﻢ اﺥﺘﻴﺎر اﻟﻤﺠﻠﺔ اﻟﻄﺒﻴﺔ اﻟﺴﻌﻮدﻳﺔ ﻟﺘﻜﻮن ﻡﺠﻠﺔ ﻡﺴﺠﻠﺔ آﻤﺮﺝﻊ ﻃﺒﻲ ﻋﺎﻟﻤﻲ اﻟﺬي ﻳﺼﺪر ﻋﻦ اﻟﻤﻜﺘﺒﺔ اﻟﻄﺒﻴﺔ اﻟﻌﺎﻟﻤﻴﺔ ﻓﻲ واﺵﻨﻄﻦ ﺏﺎﻟﻮﻻﻳﺎت اﻟﻤﺘﺤﺪة اﻷﻡﺮﻳﻜﻴﺔ واﻟﺘﻲ ﺗﻌﺘﺒﺮ أهﻢ ﻡﺮﺝﻊ ﻃﺒﻲ ﻋﺎﻟﻤﻲ ﻡﻌﺘﺮف ﺏﻪ ﻡﻦ ﻗﺒﻞ ﺝﻤﻴﻊ اﻟﺠﺎﻡﻌﺎت واﻟﻤﻌﺎهﺪ واﻟﻤﺆﺱﺴﺎت اﻟﺘﻌﻠﻴﻤﻴﺔ اﻟﻄﺒﻴﺔ ﻓﻲ ﺝﻤﻴﻊ دول اﻟﻌﺎﻟﻢ. اﻟﺴﺒﻖ اﻟﺼﺤﻔﻲ: اﻻﺱﺘﻤﺮار ﻓﻲ اﻻﺗﺼﺎل ﺏﺎﻟﺼﺤﻒ اﻟﺼﺎدرة ﻡﺤﻠﻴﺎ وذﻟﻚ ﻟﻨﺸﺮ ﻡﻠﺨﺼﺎت اﻟﻤﻘﺎﻻت اﻟﺘﻲ ﺗﻬﻢ اﻟﺠﻤﻬﻮر ﺏﺸﻜﻞ ﻋﺎم وﺏﺎﻟﻔﻌﻞ ﺗﻢ ﻧﺸﺮ ﻋﺪد آﺒﻴﺮ ﻡﻦ ﻡﻠﺨﺼﺎت اﻟﻤﻘﺎﻻت ﻓﻲ ﺻﺤﻒ ﻳﻮﻡﻴﺔ )آﺼﺤﻴﻔﺔ اﻟﺸﺮق اﻷوﺱﻂ،اﻟﺠﺰﻳﺮة،اﻟﺒﻼد،اﻟﺮﻳﺎض،اﻟﻴﻮم،اﻟﺒﻼد(ﻡﻤﺎ أدى إﻟﻰ ﺗﻮﺛﻴﻖ اﻟﻌﻼﻗﺔ ﺏﻴﻦ اﻟﻤﺠﻠﺔ واﻟﻮﺱﺎﺋﻞ اﻹﻋﻼﻡﻴﺔ وأﻳﻀﺎ آﺎﻧﺖ وﺱﻴﻠﺔ ﻟﻼﻧﺘﺸﺎر اﻷوﺱﻊ ﺥﺎﺻﺔ أﻧﻪ ﺗﻢ اﻟﺘﻨﻮﻳﻪ إﻟﻰ ﻡﺼﺪر ﻧﺸﺮ هﺬﻩ اﻷﺏﺤﺎث. اﻹﻋﻼﻥﺎت: ﺗﻤﺜﻞ اﻟﻤﺠﻠﺔ اﻟﻄﺒﻴﺔ اﻟﺴﻌﻮدﻳﺔ أﻗﻮى وﺱﻴﻠﺔ ﻟﻺﻋﻼن واﻻﻧﺘﺸﺎر ﻓﻲ اﻟﺴﻮق اﻟﺴﻌﻮدﻳﺔ وأﺱﻮاق دول اﻟﺨﻠﻴﺞ واﻟﻮﻃﻦ اﻟﻌﺮﺏﻲ ﻟﺬا اﺱﺘﻤﺮت ﺵﺮآﺎت اﻷدوﻳﺔ واﻟﻤﻌﺪات اﻟﻄﺒﻴﺔ اﻟﻤﻌﻠﻨﺔ ﺱﺎﺏﻘﺎ ﺏﺈﻋﻼﻧﺎﺗﻬﺎ ﺏﻞ أﺽﺎﻓﺖ إﻋﻼﻧﺎت ﺝﺪﻳﺪة وأﻳﻀﺎ آﺎن هﻨﺎك إﻋﻼﻧﺎت ﻟﻤﺆﺱﺴﺎت وﺵﺮآﺎت ﺝﺪﻳﺪة واﻟﻤﺠﻠﺔ ﻻ ﺗﻨﻈﺮ إﻟﻰ اﻟﻨﺸﺎط اﻹﻋﻼﻧﻲ ﻡﻦ اﻟﻤﻨﻈﻮر اﻟﺘﺠﺎري ﻓﻘﻂ وﻟﻜﻦ ﺏﺎﻋﺘﺒﺎرﻩ واﺣﺪا ﻡﻦ وﺱﺎﺋﻞ ﻧﺸﺮ اﻟﻤﻌﺮﻓﺔ اﻟﺼﺤﻴﺔ ﻟﻜﻞ اﻟﻤﻤﺎرﺱﻴﻦ ﻓﻲ اﻟﺤﻘﻞ اﻟﻄﺒﻲ ﻡﻦ إدارﻳﻴﻦ وﻓﻨﻴﻴﻦ. Saudi Medical Journal: A 5-Year Overview 29 اﻟﻤﺆﺗﻤﺮات اﻟﻄﺒﻴﺔ: ﺗﻠﻘﺖ اﻟﻤﺠﻠﺔ اﻟﻄﺒﻴﺔ اﻟﺴﻌﻮدﻳﺔ وﺏﻜﻤﻴﺎت آﺒﻴﺮة إﻋﻼﻧﺎت ﻋﻦ اﻟﻤﺆﺗﻤﺮات واﻟﻠﻘﺎءات واﻟﻨﺪوات اﻟﻄﺒﻴﺔ واﻟﻨﺸﺎﻃﺎت اﻷآﺎدﻳﻤﻴﺔ ﻡﻦ اﻟﻤﺴﺘﺸﻔﻴﺎت وآﻠﻴﺎت اﻟﻄﺐ واﻟﻤﻌﺎهﺪ اﻟﺼﺤﻴﺔ ﻡﻦ اﻟﻤﻤﻠﻜﺔ وﺥﺎرﺝﻬﺎ ﺣﻴﺚ آﺎﻧﺖ أﺝﻨﺪﻩ اﻟﻨﺸﺎﻃﺎت اﻷآﺎدﻳﻤﻴﺔ اﻟﻄﺒﻴﺔ زاﺥﺮة ﺏﻬﺬﻩ اﻹﻋﻼﻧﺎت ﻋﻠﻰ ﻡﺪار إﺻﺪارات هﺬا اﻟﻌﺎم.آﻤﺎ ﺵﺎرآﺖ اﻟﻤﺠﻠﺔ ﺏﺤﻀﻮر ﻡﻜﺜﻒ ﻟﺒﻌﺾ اﻟﻤﺆﺗﻤﺮات اﻟﻌﺎﻟﻤﻴﺔ اﻟﺘﻲ ﻋﻘﺪت ﻓﻲ ﻡﺪﻳﻨﺔ اﻟﺮﻳﺎض ووزع آﺜﻴﺮ ﻡﻦ أﻋﺪاد اﻟﻤﺠﻠﺔ ﻟﻠﺤﺎﺽﺮﻳﻦ ﻟﻬﺬﻩ اﻟﻨﺪوات آﻢ ﺗﻢ اﻟﺘﻌﺮﻳﻒ ﻋﻦ اﻟﻤﺠﻠﺔ ﻟﻠﺒﺎﺣﺜﻴﻦ اﻟﻌﺎﻟﻤﻴﻴﻦ اﻟﻘﺎدﻡﻴﻦ ﻡﻦ دول ﻋﺮﺏﻴﺔ وﻋﺎﻟﻤﻴﺔ ﻡﺨﺘﻠﻔﺔ وﺗﻢ ﻧﺸﺮ آﺜﻴﺮ ﻡﻦ اﻷﺏﺤﺎث اﻟﺘﻲ ﻃﺮﺣﺖ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻤﺆﺗﻤﺮات ﺏﺄﻋﺪاد ﻡﺨﺘﻠﻔﺔ ﻡﻦ اﻟﻤﺠﻠﺔ. اﻟﺼﺤﺔ واﻟﺤﻴﺎة)ﻋﺪد ﺧﺎص ﺏﺎﻟﻠﻐﺔ اﻟﻌﺮﺏﻴﺔ ﻳﺼﺪر ﻋﻦ اﻟﻤﺠﻠﺔ اﻟﻄﺒﻴﺔ اﻟﺴﻌﻮدﻳﺔ( اﻟﻤﺠﻠﺔ اﻟﻄﺒﻴﺔ اﻟﺴﻌﻮدﻳﺔ وﺱﻴﻠﺔ ﻡﻬﻤﺔ ﻟﻨﺸﺮ اﻷﺏﺤﺎث اﻟﻄﺒﻴﺔ وﺏﻤﺎ أن ﺏﻌﺾ أﻋﺪاد اﻟﻤﺠﻠﺔ ﺗﺤﺘﻮي ﻋﻠﻰ ﻡﻘﺎﻻت ﺗﻬﻢ اﻟﺠﻤﻬﻮر ﺏﺸﻜﻞ ﻋﺎم ﻟﺬا رأﻳﻨﺎ ﻡﻦ واﺝﺒﻨﺎ وواﺝﺐ اﻷﻃﺒﺎء واﻟﻌﻠﻤﺎء ﻧﺤﻮ اﻟﻤﺠﺘﻤﻊ ﺗﻮﻋﻴﺔ اﻟﺠﻤﻬﻮر ﺏﺎﻟﻤﺠﺎل اﻟﺼﺤﻲ واﻟﻄﺒﻲ وﻧﺸﺮ اﻟﻤﻌﻠﻮﻡﺎت اﻟﻄﺒﻴﺔ ﻡﻦ ﻡﺼﺪر ﻳﺘﻮﺥﻰ دﻗﺔ اﻟﻤﻌﻠﻮﻡﻴﺔ وﺻﺤﺘﻬﺎ ﻟﺬا ﻃﻠﺐ ﻡﻦ ﻡﺆﻟﻔﻴﻦ هﺬﻩ اﻟﻤﻘﺎﻻت إﻋﺎدة آﺘﺎﺏﺘﻬﺎ وﺗﺒﺴﻴﻂ اﻟﻤﻌﻠﻮﻡﺎت اﻟﻄﺒﻴﺔ وأﻳﻀﺎ ﺗﻢ دﻋﻮة ﻋﺪد ﻡﻦ اﻷﻃﺒﺎء اﻟﻤﻤﻴﺰﻳﻴﻦ ﻓﻲ ﻡﺨﺘﻠﻒ اﻟﺘﺨﺼﺼﺎت اﻟﻄﺒﻴﺔ ﻟﻨﺸﺮ ﻡﻘﺎﻻت ﻓﻲ هﺬا اﻟﻌﺪد اﻟﺨﺎص )اﻟﺼﺤﺔ واﻟﺤﻴﺎة( اﻟﺬي ﺻﺪرﻓﻲ ﻓﺒﺮاﻳﺮ. اﻟﻤﺠﻠﺔ ﺗﺤﺮص ﻋﻠﻰ ﻡﻜﺎﻧﺘﻬﺎ اﻟﻘﻴﺎدﻳﺔ واﻡﺘﻴﺎزهﺎ ،ﻃﻤﻮﺣﺎﺗﻨﺎ وﻗﺪراﺗﻨﺎ آﺒﻴﺮة ﻟﺬا ﻧﺄﻡﻞ ﻡﻦ اﻟﻌﻠﻲ اﻟﻘﺪﻳﺮ اﻟﺘﻮﻓﻴﻖ واﻟﻨﺠﺎح ﻟﺘﺤﻘﻴﻖ ﻡﺰﻳﺪا ﻡﻦ اﻟﺘﻘﺪم واﻟﻨﺠﺎح ﻟﺘﺒﻘﻰ اﻟﻤﺠﻠﺔ ﻡﻔﺨﺮة وﻃﻨﻴﺔ ووﺱﻴﻠﺔ ﻓﻲ ﻏﺎﻳﺔ اﻷهﻤﻴﺔ ﻟﻨﺸﺮ اﻟﻤﻌﺮﻓﺔ اﻟﻄﺒﻴﺔ. ﻏﺎدة اﻷﺣﻤﺪ اﻟﻤﺤﺮرة اﻟﻌﺮﺏﻴﺔ وﻡﺪﻳﺮة اﻟﺘﺴﻮﻳﻖ 30 Saudi Medical Journal: A 5-Year Overview Saud i Med ic al Jo urnal A c ollege by itself! Basim A. Yaqub, MD, FRCP, Saleh M. Al-Deeb, MD, FRCP Saudi Medical Journal was founded in 1979. In 1999 it became monthly with a steady growth in manuscripts submitted and number of pages published. In the last 5 years, we have doubled in number of articles and pages published. In addition we achieved growth not only in quantity but also in quality. We have published many supplements and special issues in Arabic and English. In the year 2000, the journal was indexed by the National Library of Medicine in Medline and Pubmed. We also have established a website (www.smj.org.sa) with an average of 1000 hits daily. We recollected all the published data from all journals published in Saudi Arabia from 1979 until the end of 1999, in a special CD, MedBase. Annual Report. This year we received 587 manuscripts with an increase of 42% from last year and overall increase of 124% in the last 5 years from 1998. The rejection rate for this year was 56% compared to 38% last year, and 30% in 1998 (Figure 1). We published 1572 pages with a 36% increase from last year and a 91% increase from 1998 (Figure 2). The turnover time from submission to acceptance for this year was 3.3 months, the same as last year, but lower by 35% than it was in 1998 at 5.1 months. Each yearly volume will be split into 2 sub-volumes with 2 binders for each annual volume. With each bound issue we will also include a CD containing all literature published for that period. The original articles still constitute the main subject of each issue (Figure 3). Our articles are still mainly from the Kingdom, but we are receiving more articles from the Arab world and other regional countries, such as, Turkey, Iran, India and Pakistan (Figure 4). Despite the increase in the number of publications we will still run monthly this year, however, in the future we may increase publication to twice monthly. We also started to include related abstracts for some articles, from the Saudi MedBase (Figure 5), this will continue over the coming years. This year the reader will notice a major change in the Editorial Board, and we would like to thank the members of the Editorial Board who have retired at the end of 2002: Abdul-Aziz Al-Meshari, Fahad Al32 Saudi Medical Journal: A 5-Year Overview Manuscript Status for the Period 1998-2002 (%) Indicates the Rejection Rate (%) Yearly Growth Rate [%] Growth Rate of Submitted paper over 5 years Figure 1 Number of Pages Printed 1998-2002 (%) Yearly Growth Rate) [%] Growth Rate Over 5 Years Figure 2 Type of Manuscripts Published in Saudi Medical Journal in 2002 (%) Mean for years 1998-2002 Figure 3 Country of Origin of Articles Published in Saudi Medical Journal in 2002 (%) Mean for years 1998-2002 Figure 4 Figure 5 Most Active Countries Visiting SMJ Website (July-December 2002) Figure 6 Figure 7 Muhanna, Fahad Al-Rabiah, Zain Al-Shareef, Bahaa AbaAlkhail, Menwar Anazi, George Araj (Lebanon), Talal Bakhsh, Hassan Bassiouny (Egypt), Abdulbari Bener (UAE), Joseph Dagher (USA), Dirk Deleu (Oman), Mohsen ElHazmi, Hatem El-Shanti (Jordan), Syed Haider (India), Khalid Haque (UK), Ali Ibrahim (Syria), and Tariq Noman (Yemen). Hussein Al-Freihi, Yagob Al-Mazrou, Nayef AlRodhan, Mohammed Abomelha, and Ahmed Kurdi retired from the Editorial Board and joined the Advisory Board. We would also like to thank Muhammad Al-Mufti, Mansour AlNozha and Khalid Tabbara who retired from the Advisory Board. We were deeply shocked and saddened by the departure of one of our eminent Advisory Board members, Professor George W. Bruyn, one of the founding pillars of the journal. We have invited an excellent faculty to join us in the Editorial Board in addition to those who remain and we hope that this new blood will maintain the progress of the journal. We would especially like to welcome and thank them for accepting our invitation to join our Editorial Board. The new faculty are: Hisham Akbar, Saeed Al-Ghamdi, Maher AlHadidi (Jordan), Hindi Al-Hindi, Abulrahman Al-Rajhi, Assia Al-Rawaf, Ammar Al-Rikabi (Qatar), Ali Al-Shehri, Shouki Bazarbashi, Ahmed Elzubier, Mohammed Fouda, Issam Hamadah, Ali Hajeer, Khalid Kalantan, Muhamad MajeedSaidan, Ratib Mesleh, Adnan Mofti, Sadek Pharaon (Syria), Khalid Qattan, Assem Rostom (UK), Mona Shahed and Ghazi Tadmouri (Turkey). Also, Ashry Gad Mohammed (supervising statistics), and Rabie Abdel-Halim (editing History of Medicine) will be added to our Editorial Board. There will be some changes in the Editorial Office where Susan Douglas, in addition to her post as the Copy Editor will be Assistant Editor of the journal and Joyce Figuerres, in addition to her post as Editorial Manager, will supervise the Journal website. In the year 2002 we appointed Susan Douglas as Quality Control Officer to ensure the excellence of the journal and to handle all the complaints arising between the journal, the authors, the reviewers and the publisher. This was very productive and in the coming years this will not be confined to the Quality Control Officer, but we will appoint an Ombudsmen. The first detailed Quality Control report is published in this issue and will be sent to members of the Editorial and Advisory Board for their comments. The Future. Although the journal is now a competitive indexed journal, we are still committed to Saudi Medical Journal: A 5-Year Overview 33 our ambitious plan for this year and the many years to follow. Our plans for the coming year are outlined. Content. This year we will concentrate on the quality in addition to the look and the size of the journal. Due to a steady increase in number of publications, we suspect that the rejection rate will be increased. Although this is sometimes painful, we believe it is necessary. The reader will notice some changes in the layout of the journal, and the highlights section is now an established part of each issue. There will be changes in the tables and figures, for the better. Errata notices will appear in the website and be sent to the National Library of Medicine to be linked to all the manuscripts on Pubmed. We have omitted Letters to the Editor and replaced them by Brief Communications. The size of the Journal will be enlarged in width but not in length. Lastly, Instructions to the Authors will now be available in our web site and not published in each issue, but will appear once at the end of each sub-volume. Website. Our website has been modified to accommodate an extensive search facility. We plan to expand on electronic communication through our website, and we may consider sending articles for review electronically through the website, once we ensure confidentially with a protected password for each manuscript. Our website is still in the developing stages, but still attracts 30,000 hits per month. The highest hits were from Saudi Arabia & North America followed by Europe, Arab countries and Japan (Figure 6). We hope to make many more improvements for the benefit of the readers and reviewers. Any suggestions or comments regarding our web page should be sent directly to Joyce Figuerres, through email via the web page. Supplements. The journal has published a number of special issues in the past in the Arabic language. This year we will have a new endeavor in which we will publish a well designed issue in Arabic called “Health and Life” which is addressed not only to physicians but also to the public. It will be edited by our Arabic Editor, Ghada Al-Ahmed. It will deal with many topics important to the society addressed by prominent clinicians and scientists giving real facts on topics to educate the public by evidence based rather than tabloid medicine. This endeavor was well supported by His Royal Highness Prince Sultan bin Abdul-Aziz, our Patron, and Ketab Al- Otaibi, our 34 Saudi Medical Journal: A 5-Year Overview Editorial Director. In addition to this we are planning to have 2 supplements, one on Pediatric Surgery with Assia Al-Rawaf as the Guest Editor and the second on Cancer in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with Shouki Bazarbashi as the Guest Editor, both have joined our Editorial Board. Additional supplements on important courses, workshops and symposia are also planned for the coming years. We are willing to publish more supplements on important academic activities in the Kingdom or outside. We have appointed Susan Douglas, to be Assistant to the Guest Editors for any future supplements. Courses, workshops and symposia. At the beginning of this year, SMJ entered into an exciting venture: The Second Intensive Course on (1) Planning and Performing a Research Study and (2) Writing and Presenting a Scientific Paper in conjunction with the Research Committee of the Department of Surgery at King Saud University. A report on this symposium will be published in one of the coming issues. We have approached the East Mediterranean Medical Journal and the Bahrain Medical Bulletin with a view to holding a combined meeting on Medical Journalism, which has resulted in a Regional Conference to be held in Cairo 24-27 November this year. The objectives of this conference will be to review the current status of medical journals published in the Region. This will include assessing the problems, developing guidelines and establishing a code of ethics. A one day training workshop for editors will be conducted. As a result of the meeting we hope to establish combined Council of Editors of medical journals in the Region. Editors, interested health educators, biomedical researchers, authors, publishers, scientists and academicians are asked to participate. The journal has gone so far, not only as a basin for publication of manuscripts on medical research, but also in society education by publishing Arabic issues. Our future vision is to be part of training and education, and set a foundation for a college in medical journalism not only in the Kingdom but also in our area. Our future plans are very ambitious but we cannot do it alone without the help of the Colleges, Universities, researchers and subscribers. At a time where “civilized” countries are busy with war and terrorism in our area, Saudi Medical Journal shines monthly as a civilized face coming from Arabia. اﻟﻤﺠﻠﺔ اﻟﻄﺒﻴﺔ اﻟﺴﻌﻮدﻳﺔ ُآ ِﻠ ﱠﻴ ٌﺔ ﻓﻲ ﺣﺪ ذاﺗﻬﺎ ﺻﺎﻟﺢ اﻟﺬﻳﻴﺐ ،ﺏﺴﻴﻢ ﻳﻌﻘﻮب ﺗﺄﺳﺴﺖ اﻟﻤﺠﻠﺔ اﻟﻄﺒﻴﺔ اﻟﺴﻌﻮدﻳﺔ ﻋﺎم ،1979وﻓﻲ ﻋﺎم 1999أﺻﺒﺤﺖ ﻡﺠﻠﺔ ﺷﻬﺮﻳﺔ وﺷﻬﺪت ﻧﻤﻮا ﻡﻄﺮدا ﻓﻲ ﻋﺪد اﻟﻤﻘﺎﻻت اﻟﻌﻠﻤﻴﺔ اﻟﻤﻘﺪﻡﺔ وﻋﺪد اﻟﺼﻔﺤﺎت اﻟﻤﻨﺸﻮرة .وﻓﻲ Manuscript Status for the Period 1998-2002 اﻟﺴﻨﻮات اﻟﺨﻤﺲ اﻷﺧﻴﺮة ﺿﺎﻋﻔﻨﺎ ﻋﺪد اﻟﻤﻘﺎﻻت وﻋﺪد اﻟﺼﻔﺤﺎت اﻟﻤﻨﺸﻮرة وﺡﻘﻘﻨﺎ ﻓﻮق ذﻟﻚ ﻧﻤﻮا ﻟﻴﺲ ﻡﻦ ﺡﻴﺚ اﻟﻜﻢ ﻓﺤﺴﺐ ﺏﻞ وﻡﻦ ﺡﻴﺚ اﻟﻨﻮع أﻳﻀﺎ .وﻟﻘﺪ ﻧﺸﺮﻧﺎ اﻟﻌﺪﻳﺪ ﻡﻦ اﻟﻤﻼﺡﻖ واﻷﻋﺪاد اﻟﺨﺎﺻﺔ ﺏﺎﻟﻠﻐﺘﻴﻦ اﻟﻌﺮﺏﻴﺔ واﻹﻧﺠﻠﻴﺰﻳﺔ .وﻓﻲ ﻋﺎم ،2000ﺕﻤﺖ ﻓﻬﺮﺱﺔ وﺷﺒﻜﺔ ﺏﺎﺏﻤﻴﺪ Medlineاﻟﻤﺠﻠﺔ ﻟﺪى اﻟﻤﻜﺘﺒﺔ اﻟﻮﻃﻨﻴﺔ ﻟﻠﻄﺐ ﻓﻲ ﺷﺒﻜﺔ ﻡﻴﺪﻻﻳﻦ .www.smj.org.saآﻤﺎ ﻗﻤﻨﺎ ﺏﺘﺄﺱﻴﺲ ﻡﻮﻗﻊ ﻋﻠﻰ اﻹﻧﺘﺮﻧﺖ وهﻮ Pubmed (%) Indicates the Rejection Rate (%) Yearly Growth Rate [%] Growth Rate of Submitted paper over 5 years Figure 1 ﻳﺒﻠﻎ ﻡﺘﻮﺱﻂ ﻋﻤﻠﻴﺎت اﻟﺒﺤﺚ اﻟﻴﻮﻡﻴﺔ ﻓﻴﻪ 1.000ﻋﻤﻠﻴﺔ .وﻗﺪ ﻗﻤﻨﺎ ﺏﺈﻋﺎدة ﺝﻤﻊ آﺎﻓﺔ اﻟﻤﻘﺎﻻت اﻟﻤﻨﺸﻮرة ﻡﻦ ﺝﻤﻴﻊ اﻟﻤﺠﻼت اﻟﺘﻲ ﺻﺪرت ﻓﻲ اﻟﻤﻤﻠﻜﺔ اﻟﻌﺮﺏﻴﺔ اﻟﺴﻌﻮدﻳﺔ اﺏﺘﺪاء ﻡﻦ ﻋﺎم 1979وﺡﺘﻰ ﻧﻬﺎﻳﺔ ﻋﺎم 1999ﻓﻲ ﻗﺮص ﻡﺪﻡﺞ ﺧﺎص ﺏﺎﺱﻢ اﻟﻘﺎﻋﺪة اﻟﻄﺒﻴﺔ Medbase .اﻟﺴﻌﻮدﻳﺔ Number of Pages Printed 1998-2002 اﻝﺘﻘﺮﻱﺮ اﻝﺴﻨﻮي-ﺕﻠﻘﻴﻨﺎ ﻓﻲ هﺬا اﻟﻌﺎم 587ﻡﻘﺎﻟﺔ ﺏﺰﻳﺎدة ﻗﺪرهﺎ %42ﻋﻦ اﻟﺴﻨﺔ اﻟﻤﺎﺿﻴﺔ وﺏﺰﻳﺎدة آﻠﻴﺔ ﻗﺪرهﺎ %124ﺧﻼل اﻟﺴﻨﻮات اﻟﺨﻤﺲ اﻟﻤﺎﺿﻴﺔ اﺏﺘﺪاء ﻡﻦ ﻋﺎم .1998وﻗﺪ وﺻﻞ ﻡﻌﺪل رﻓﺾ اﻟﻤﻘﺎﻻت ﻟﻬﺬا اﻟﻌﺎم %56ﻡﻘﺎرﻧﺔ ﺏﻤﻌﺪل %38اﻟﺴﻨﺔ اﻟﻤﺎﺿﻴﺔ و30 ( .آﻤﺎ ﻗﻤﻨﺎ ﺏﻨﺸﺮ 1572ﺻﻔﺤﺔ ﺏﺰﻳﺎدة ﻗﺪرهﺎ %36ﻋﻦ %Fig. 1ﻓﻲ ﻋﺎم ) 1998 )(%) Yearly Growth Rate [%] Growth Rate Over 5 Years Figure 2 ( .وﻗﺪ ﺏﻠﻐﺖ اﻟﻔﺘﺮة Fig. 2اﻟﺴﻨﺔ اﻟﻤﺎﺿﻴﺔ وﺏﺰﻳﺎدة ﻗﺪرهﺎ %91ﻋﻦ ﻋﺎم ) 1998 اﻟﺰﻡﻨﻴﺔ اﻟﻔﺎﺻﻠﺔ ﺏﻴﻦ اﻟﺘﻘﺪﻳﻢ واﻟﻘﺒﻮل ﻟﻬﺬا اﻟﻌﺎم 3.3أﺷﻬﺮ وهﻲ ﻧﻔﺲ اﻟﻔﺘﺮة ﻟﻠﻌﺎم اﻟﻤﺎﺿﻲ وﻟﻜﻨﻬﺎ أﻗﺼﺮ ﺏﻨﺴﺒﺔ %35ﻋﻨﻬﺎ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻌﺎم 1998ﺡﻴﺚ آﺎﻧﺖ ﺕﻤﺘﺪ إﻟﻰ 5.1 أﺷﻬﺮ .وﺱﻮف ﻳﺘﻢ ﺕﻘﺴﻴﻢ آﻞ ﻡﺠﻠﺪ ﺱﻨﻮي اﻟﻰ ﻡﺠﻠﺪﻳﻦ ﻓﺮﻋﻴﻴﻦ ﻟﻜﻞ ﺱﻨﺔ .آﻤﺎ ﺱﻨﺮﻓﻖ ﻡﻊ Type of Manuscripts Published in SMJ in 2002 آﻞ ﻋﺪد ﻡﺠﻠﺪ ﻗﺮﺻﺎ ﻡﺪﻡﺠﺎ ﻳﺤﺘﻮي ﻋﻠﻰ ﺝﻤﻴﻊ اﻟﻤﻮاد اﻟﻤﻨﺸﻮرة ﻟﺘﻠﻚ اﻟﻔﺘﺮة .وﻡﺎﺕﺰال ( .آﻤﺎ ﻻﻳﺰال ﻡﺼﺪر Fig. 3اﻟﻤﻘﺎﻻت اﻷﺻﻠﻴﺔ ﺕﺸﻜﻞ اﻟﻤﻮﺿﻮع اﻟﺮﺋﻴﺴﻲ ﻟﻜﻞ ﻋﺪد ) اﻟﻤﻘﺎﻻت اﻟﺘﻲ ﻧﻨﺸﺮهﺎ اﻟﻤﻤﻠﻜﺔ اﻟﻌﺮﺏﻴﺔ اﻟﺴﻌﻮدﻳﺔ ﺏﺼﻮرة رﺋﻴﺴﻴﺔ وﻟﻜﻨﻨﺎ ﻧﺘﻠﻘﻰ اﻟﻤﺰﻳﺪ ﻡﻦ اﻟﻤﻘﺎﻻت ﻡﻦ اﻟﻌﺎﻟﻢ اﻟﻌﺮﺏﻲ واﻟﺒﻠﺪان اﻟﻤﺠﺎورة ﻡﺜﻞ ﺕﺮآﻴﺎ وإﻳﺮان واﻟﻬﻨﺪ وﺏﺎآﺴﺘﺎن ) ( .وﻋﻠﻰ اﻟﺮﻏﻢ ﻡﻦ زﻳﺎدة ﻋﺪد اﻟﻄﺒﻌﺎت ﻓﺴﻮف ﻧﻈﻞ ﻧﺼﺪر اﻟﻤﺠﻠﺔ ﺷﻬﺮﻳﺎ هﺬا Fig. 4 اﻟﻌﺎم وﻟﻜﻨﻨﺎ ﻗﺪ ﻧﺰﻳﺪ ﻋﺪد اﻟﻄﺒﻌﺎت إﻟﻰ ﻋﺪدﻳﻦ آﻞ ﺷﻬﺮ ﻓﻲ اﻟﺴﻨﻮات اﻟﻘﺎدﻡﺔ .آﻤﺎ ﺏﺪأﻧﺎ (%) Mean for years 1998-2002 Figure 3 ﻧﺪﺧﻞ اﻟﻤﻠﺨﺼﺎت ذات اﻟﺼﻠﺔ ﻟﺒﻌﺾ اﻟﻤﻘﺎﻻت ﻡﻦ اﻟﻘﺎﻋﺪة اﻟﻄﺒﻴﺔ اﻟﺴﻌﻮدﻳﺔ ( .وﺱﻮف ﻳﺴﺘﻤﺮ ذﻟﻚ ﻋﻠﻰ ﻡﺪى اﻟﺴﻨﻮات اﻟﻘﺎدﻡﺔMedbase) Fig. 5. 36 Saudi Medical Journal: A 5-Year Overview ﻓﻲ هﺬا اﻟﻌﺎم ﺳﻴﻼﺣﻆ اﻟﻘﺎرئ ﺗﻐﻴﻴﺮا رﺋﻴﺴﻴﺎ ﻓﻲ هﻴﺌﺔ اﻟﺘﺤﺮﻳﺮ وﻧﻮد أن Country of Origin of Articles Published in Saudi Medical Journal in 2002 ﻧﺸﻜﺮ أﻋﻀﺎء هﻴﺌﺔ اﻟﺘﺤﺮﻳﺮ اﻟﺬﻳﻦ أﻧﻬﻮا ﻓﺘﺮة ﻋﻤﻠﻬﻢ ﻓﻲ ﻧﻬﺎﻳﺔ ﻋﺎم ٢٠٠٢وهﻢ :ﻋﺒﺪاﻟﻌﺰﻳﺰ اﻟﻤﺸﺎري ،ﻓﻬﺪ اﻟﻤﻬﻨﺎ ،ﻓﻬﺪ اﻟﺮﺑﻴﻌﺔ ،زﻳﻦ اﻟﺸﺮﻳﻒ ،ﺑﻬﺎء أﺑﺎ اﻟﺨﻴﻞ ،ﻡﻨﻮر اﻟﻌﻨﺰي ،ﺟﻮرج ﻋﺮاج )ﻟﺒﻨﺎن( ،ﻃﻼل ﺑﺨﺶ ،ﺣﺴﻦ ﺑﺴﻴﻮﻧﻲ )ﻡﺼﺮ( ،ﻋﺒﺪاﻟﺒﺎري ﺑﻨﻴﺮ )اﻹﻡﺎرات اﻟﻌﺮﺑﻴﺔ اﻟﻤﺘﺤﺪة( ،ﺟﻮزﻳﻒ داﻏﺮ )اﻟﻮﻻﻳﺎت اﻟﻤﺘﺤﺪة اﻷﻡﺮﻳﻜﻴﺔ( ،دﻳﺮك دﻳﻠﻮ )ﻋُﻤﺎن( ،ﻡﺤﺴﻦ اﻟﺤﺎزﻡﻲ ،ﺣﺎﺗﻢ اﻟﺸﻨﻄﻲ )اﻷردن( ،ﺳﻴﺪ ﺣﻴﺪر )اﻟﻬﻨﺪ(، ﺥﺎﻟﺪ ﺣﻖ )اﻟﻤﻤﻠﻜﺔ اﻟﻤﺘﺤﺪة( ،ﻋﻠﻲ إﺑﺮاهﻴﻢ )ﺳﻮرﻳﺎ( وﻃﺎرق ﻧﻌﻤﺎن (%) Mean for years 1998-2002 Figure 4 )اﻟﻴﻤﻦ( .أﻡﺎ ﺣﺴﻴﻦ اﻟﻔﺮﻳﺤﻲ ،ﻳﻌﻘﻮب اﻟﻤﺰروع ،ﻧﺎﻳﻒ اﻟﺮوﺽﺎن ،ﻡﺤﻤﺪ أﺑﻮ ﻡﻠﺤﺔ وأﺣﻤﺪ آﺮدي ﻓﻘﺪ اﻧﺘﻘﻠﻮا ﻡﻦ هﻴﺌﺔ اﻟﺘﺤﺮﻳﺮ واﻧﻀﻤﻮا إﻟﻰ اﻟﻬﻴﺌﺔ اﻻﺳﺘﺸﺎرﻳﺔ .آﻤﺎ ﻧﻮد أن ﻧﺸﻜﺮ ﻡﺤﻤﺪ اﻟﻤﻔﺘﻲ ،ﻡﻨﺼﻮر اﻟﻨﺰهﺔ وﺥﺎﻟﺪ ﻃﺒﺎرة اﻟﺬﻳﻦ أﻧﻬﻮا ﻓﺘﺮة ﻋﻤﻠﻬﻢ ﻓﻲ اﻟﻬﻴﺌﺔ اﻻﺳﺘﺸﺎرﻳﺔ .وﻗﺪ ﺹﺪﻡﻨﺎ ﺑﺸﻜﻞ ﻋﻤﻴﻖ وأﺣﺰﻧﻨﺎ رﺣﻴﻞ أﺣﺪ أﻋﻀﺎء اﻟﻬﻴﺌﺔ اﻻﺳﺘﺸﺎرﻳﺔ اﻟﺒﺎرزﻳﻦ Figure 5 وهﻮ اﻟﺒﺮوﻓﺴﻮر ﺟﻮرج دﺑﻠﻴﻮ .ﺑﺮوﻳﻦ وهﻮ أﺣﺪ اﻷﻋﻤﺪة اﻟﻤﺆﺳﺴﻴﻦ ﻟﻠﻤﺠﻠﺔ .وﻗﺪ دﻋﻮﻧﺎ ﺑﻌﺾ اﻷﻃﺒﺎء اﻟﻤﻤﺘﺎزﻳﻦ ﻟﻼﻧﻀﻤﺎم إﻟﻴﻨﺎ ﻓﻲ هﻴﺌﺔ Most Active Countries Visiting )SMJ Website (July-December 2002 اﻟﺘﺤﺮﻳﺮ إﺽﺎﻓﺔ إﻟﻰ اﻷﻋﻀﺎء اﻟﻤﺘﺒﻘﻴﻦ وﻧﺄﻡﻞ ﺑﺄن ﺗﺤﺎﻓﻆ هﺬﻩ اﻟﺪﻡﺎء اﻟﺠﺪﻳﺪة ﻋﻠﻰ ﺗﻘﺪم اﻟﻤﺠﻠﺔ .آﻤﺎ ﻧﻮد ﺑﺸﻜﻞ ﺥﺎص أن ﻧﺮﺣﺐ ﺑﻬﻢ وﻧﺸﻜﺮهﻢ ﻋﻠﻰ ﻗﺒﻮل دﻋﻮﺗﻨﺎ ﻟﻼﻧﻀﻤﺎم إﻟﻰ هﻴﺌﺔ اﻟﺘﺤﺮﻳﺮ .واﻷﻋﻀﺎء اﻟﺠﺪد هﻢ هﺸﺎم أآﺒﺮ ،ﺳﻌﻴﺪ اﻟﻐﺎﻡﺪي ،ﻡﺎهﺮ اﻟﺤﺪﻳﺪي )اﻷردن( ،هﻨﺪي اﻟﻬﻨﺪي ،ﻋﺒﺪاﻟﺮﺣﻤﻦ اﻟﺮاﺟﺤﻲ ،ﺁﺳﻴﺔ اﻟﺮواف ،ﻋﻤﺎر اﻟﺮآﺎﺑﻲ )ﻗﻄﺮ(، ﻋﻠﻲ اﻟﺸﻬﺮي ،ﺵﻮﻗﻲ ﺑﺎزرﺑﺎﺵﻲ ،أﺣﻤﺪ اﻟﺰﺑﻴﺮ ،ﻡﺤﻤﺪ ﻓﻮدة ،ﻋﺼﺎم Figure 6 ﺣﻤﺎدة ،ﻋﻠﻲ هﺠﻴﺮ ،ﺥﺎﻟﺪ ﻗﻼﻧﺘﺎن ،ﻡﺤﻤﺪ ﻡﺠﻴﺪ ﺳﻴﻌﺪان ،راﺗﺐ ﻡﺼﻠﺢ، ﻋﺪﻧﺎن ﻡﻔﺘﻲ ،ﺹﺎدق ﻓﺮﻋﻮن)ﺳﻮرﻳﺎ( ،ﺥﺎﻟﺪ ﻗﻄﺎن ،ﻋﺎﺹﻢ رﺳﺘﻢ )اﻟﻤﻤﻠﻜﺔ اﻟﻤﺘﺤﺪة( ،ﻡﻨﻰ ﺵﺎهﺪ وﻏﺎزي ﺗﺪﻡﻮري )ﺗﺮآﻴﺎ( .آﻤﺎ ﺳﻴﻀﺎف اﻟﻰ هﻴﺌﺔ اﻟﺘﺤﺮﻳﺮ آﻞ ﻡﻦ ﻋﺸﺮي ﺟﺎد ﻡﺤﻤﺪ )ﻟﻼﺵﺮاف ﻋﻠﻰ اﻻﺣﺼﺎءات( ورﺑﻴﻊ ﻋﺒﺪاﻟﺤﻠﻴﻢ )ﻟﺘﺤﺮﻳﺮ ﺗﺎرﻳﺦ اﻟﻄﺐ ﻟﺪى اﻟﻌﺮب واﻟﻤﺴﻠﻤﻴﻦ(. 37 Saudi Medical Journal: A 5-Year Overview Figure 7 Prepared by: SUSAN DOUGLAS – Assistant Editor Saudi Medical Journal: A 5-Year Overview 39 QUALITY CONTROL REPORT 2002 The objective of Saudi Medical Journal is to publish high quality manuscripts. In the year 2002 we established a Quality Control Section and a member of staff was appointed to be the Quality Control Officer (QCO) and act as an Ombudsman for the Journal. The QCO will act as a spokesperson for authors and liaise with authors and editors. The QCO will deal with grievances referred from authors, readers, editors and any members of the editorial staff. The QCO’s duties will be to supervise the speed and proficiency of manuscript (ms) processing, to ensure the quality of published ms and to investigate any errors of publications and to deal with complaints on irregularities concerning published ms. The QCO monitored all complaints received from 5 key areas: 1. Editing; 2. Processing; 3. Post journal publication; 4. Readers and, 5. Marketing. The QCO also looked carefully at how the editor or the editorial office dealt with, and responded to all the complaints. In addition, the QCO was involved in policy changes resulting from the complaints. EDITING. Authors. The complaints from authors regarding editing are summarized. 1. A letter was received from an author complaining about a change of title of the ms after having been proofread. The title of the ms had been edited and changed prior to publication, and the author felt that this changed the meaning of the ms. Action: (i) Although the Journal did not entirely agree with the author in this case, an erratum notice was subsequently published regarding this matter. (ii) It was decided that no change of title should occur at any of stage of editing except by approval of the author, if disagreement continues the Editor makes the final decision, however the right of the author is protected by withdrawing the ms. 2. A letter was received from an author referring to an article before publication, it was regarding references made to the Holy Quran. A misunderstanding arose between the author and the desktop publisher over some translation from the Holy Quran to English. 40 Saudi Medical Journal: A 5-Year Overview Action: This matter was satisfactorily resolved through continuous communications with the author by the editor. 3. A ms was accepted with 2 authors. On publication of the ms, the corresponding author (the 2nd author) was listed as the first author. The original first author submitted a complaint. Action: (i) The editor contacted the author by telephone and sent a strong apology letter to the first author, and an erratum was published. (ii) The editing checklist was updated to state that the corresponding author is not always the first author. 4. A letter was received from the authors requesting withdrawal of his ms after it had been accepted and the Assignment of Copyright had been signed. Action: This request was discussed and deliberated at length by the editorial office and the decision was to grant withdrawal although the policy of the Journal is that upon acceptance of an article and submission of the completed Assignment of Copyright, the ms becomes the property of the Journal. The authors were informed that this may affect future publications, especially if all, or part of the article subsequently appeared in another journal. 5. A letter was received from authors of an accepted ms requesting alteration of the order of author's names and omission of one author. Action: (i) Initially, a letter was sent from the Editorial Office denying this request as it is the Journal policy that once a ms is accepted no addition, omission or changing of the order of authors is permitted. (ii) The editorial office requested a letter from the omitted author stating that he approved the change, there are no ongoing conflicts between himself and the other authors, and a clear explanation of why he wishes to be omitted. A new Assignment of Copyright with all authors' signature was requested. Final action: All the authors complied with the demands of the journal, and it was accepted, after making clear to the omitted author that none of this ms should be published without the written permission of Saudi Medical Journal. 6. A letter was received from an author complaining of the changes made to the figures and layout of his article which, resulted in a difference in the sequence of references, the same figure being published twice within the article, one figure being omitted, and another figure being only partially published. The author asked for republication of his ms. Action: An evidence-based letter was sent to the author indicating that (i) there is no need to republish the article as any ms is subject to editorial changes up to the time of publication; (ii) there is no need for an erratum notice regarding the references, because they correspond Saudi Medical Journal: A 5-Year Overview 41 to the appropriate text although they are different in sequence; (iii) an erratum notice will be issued regarding the correction of the figures. (iv) The policy regarding sequencing of references was amended to indicate that when references are mentioned only in tables but not in the text, the first reference number used in the table should follow on numerically from the last reference number in the main text of the article. 7. The Editor referred one published article to the QCO because he noticed an additional name on publication. Action: (i) A full investigation was undertaken and it was found that this was added after proofreading and was entirely an editorial mistake by the Copy Editor and was overlooked at blueprint. The Editor immediately wrote to the first author of the ms, and simultaneously to the additional author. Due to the seriousness of this error, 3 consecutive errata notices will be published. (ii) This was corrected abruptly in the website and the electronic publication in Pubmed. 8. A complaint letter was received from an author stating that his name was omitted in the Arabic abstract, although it was included in the article published in English. Action: This happened during Arabic editing and was overlooked by the Arabic Editor. A letter of apology was promptly sent to the author indicating that an erratum notice will be published in Arabic in an upcoming issue. Editing Staff. 1. The copy editor noted that an author made major changes to the text of the ms at the proofreading stage. Action: As the policy of the journal is that once a ms has reached the proofreading stage, the author may only make minor corrections to his ms in the context of spelling, and to answer any specific queries or correct any editing errors, the ms was returned to the Processing Department and the author was asked to resubmit the revised ms for reconsideration and review. The ms was eventually accepted after correction, but this resulted in a 4-month delay in publication of the ms. 2. The copy editing section noted a few ms were submitted without mentioning where the study was carried out. These were returned to the author for clarification and in one instance, the author asked to withdraw the ms. Action: The Institute and Department of where the study was carried out have been added to the processing and editing checklist and the Instructions to Authors. 3. Proofing. There is considerable delay in receiving the proofed ms resulting in delay of publication. This is not always due to authors delinquency but also due to wrong address, telephone number or e-mail, especially from countries with poor communication systems. 42 Saudi Medical Journal: A 5-Year Overview Action: It was decided that in these countries the author should respond to the acknowledgment letter confirming that the communication method (i.e. fax or e-mail) is correct and working before processing a ms. PROCESSING. 1. Plagiarism. The Editorial Assistant noted during ms processing, a single author submitted a ms that was very similar in content to a previously accepted multi authored ms from the same institute. Action: The ms has been returned to the author indicating the possibility of plagiarism in this case and stating that the journal has the right to take further action in the future. 2. Rejected manuscripts. An author requested reconsideration of his rejected ms. Action: The editor's reply was that once the ms is rejected we do not renegotiate, not because they do not merit publication, but because there are many journals to which a ms may be submitted. The author accepted the editor's comments, and the ms was not published. 3. Secondary publication. On 3 occasions the reviewer, or the editor discovered ms submitted where the text was fully or partly published in other journals, without referring to the published material in the reference section. Action: A letter from the Editor was sent asking the author for an explanation, also indicating that this is a non acceptable practice which may lead to further action, not only by the journal, but also by the journals in which the ms was initially published. 4. Noncommunication. We received 2 letters complaining about noncommunication, where the wrong letter or e-mail went to the wrong recipient. Action: Expedited apology and correction was carried out by the Editorial Manager. All parties were satisfied. POST PUBLICATION ERRORS. The editorial staff conducted a regular monthly meeting to review the published journal which, resulted in 21 errata. Most of these were due to•mistakes in tables and figures or missing data. A few errors were also noted in the Arabic abstracts, which did not merit an erratum, except once in which the author’s name was mistakenly omitted. Saudi Medical Journal: A 5-Year Overview 43 READERS COMPLAINTS. We received a letter of complaint from the Head of a Department regarding a previous junior member of his staff publishing Brief Communication or Correspondence stating that he is still a member of that department. Action: It was decided for that any future publication where the author(s) are all junior staff members, a senior staff member should be acknowledged or head of department who should submit a written endorsement of the ms. MARKETING. 1. Off prints. There was one letter received from an author complaining that he did not receive any offprint. Action: After referral to the Marketing Department, it was found that the author did order offprints, but he did not submit any payment by mail or credit card, so his order was not processed. The author then requested to send payment and receive offprints of his article. We indicated that after the journal is published it would be very difficult to order backdated offprints, so unfortunately, his request could not be fulfilled. 2. Subscription. Complaints from different subscribers who have been receiving more than one copy of the journal. Action: This happened because the spellings of names, especially Arabic names, have more than one version, or because some of the subscribers had left their post without informing the journal. This lead to an of update the subscribers' database, resulting in a 10-15% cut in the total number of subscribers. In addition to the complaints and the queries, the QCO received many letters of commendation and praise for the journal. We would like to present one comment from Dr. Suhad M. Bahiri, Associate Prof. Of Clinical Biochemistry, King Abdul-Aziz University Hospital, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia "the journal provides us in the Kingdom with a window to reach the scientific world outside. In fact, I have received inquiries and paper requests from various parts of the world ranging from Japan to Argentina after my abstracts were seen on Medline. Keep up the good work" We conclude that the Quality Control Section in its first year prompted the implementation of several new policy changes, which will continue to improve the excellence of the Saudi Medical Journal. 44 Saudi Medical Journal: A 5-Year Overview Saudi Medical Journal: A 5-Year Overview 45 SAUDI MEDICAL JOURNAL List of Previous Staff (1998 – 2002) Editors Abd El-Hameed El-Faraidi (1979-1999) Editorial Board Basil Al Shaikh (1994-1998) Mohammed Abomelha (1999-2002) Muhammad A M Ajabnoor (1995-1998) Menwar Al Anazi (2000-2002) Sameer O. Huraib (1995-1998) George Araj (2000-2002) Abdul-Latif Al Faraidy (1994-1998) Talal M. Bakhsh (1999-2002) Abdul-Rahman S. Al Frayh (1995-1998) Hassan Bassiouny (2000-2002) Abdulaziz N. Al Nasser (1995-1998) Abdulbari Bener (1999-2002) Nashat A. Ismaeel (1995-1998) Joseph Dagher (1999-2002) Hussein Al-Freihi (1999-2002) Dirk Deleu (2000-2002) Yagob Al-Mazrou (1999-2002) Mohsen El-Hazmi (1999-2002) Abdulaziz Al-Meshari (1999-2002) Hatem El-Shanti (2000-2002) Fahd Al-Muhanna (1999-2002) Syed Haider (2000-2002) Fahad Al-Rabiah (1999-2002) Khalid N. Haque (1999-2002) Nayef Al-Rodhan (1999-2002) Ali Ibrahim (2000-2002) Zain H. Al-Shareef (1999-2002) Ahmed Kurdi (2000-2002) Bahaa Abalkhail (2000-2002) Tariq Noman (2000-2002) 46 Saudi Medical Journal: A 5-Year Overview SAUDI MEDICAL JOURNAL List of Previous Staff (Cont.) Advisory Board D. Stolke (1993-1998) Donald Young (1993-1998) Paul Sweny (1993-1998) Muhammad Al-Mufti (2000-2002) David Weatherall (1993-1998) Mansour Al-Nozha (2000-2002) Michael R. Wills (1994-1998) George W. Bruyn (2000-2002) Alastair A. Spence (1993-1998) Khalid Tabbara (2000-2002) Editorial Office Katherina Dela Rosa - Editorial Assistant (1997-1998) Corazon Sayson – Desktop Publisher (1997-2000) Gail Straub - Copy Editor (1997-2001) Lesley Jordan - Editorial Manager (1997-2001) Saudi Medical Journal: A 5-Year Overview 47 S AUD I MED I CAL J OUR NAL STAFF 2003 Patron: HRH Prince Sultan bin Abdul-Aziz Editorial Director: Ketab E. Al-Otaibi Editors Editorial Board Saleh M. Al-Deeb Basim A. Yaqub Abdullah Abanmi Hisham Akbar Rabie Abdel-Halim Saeed Al-Ghamdi Maher Al-Hadidi, Jordan Hindi Al-Hindi Abdullah Al-Mobeireek Abdullah Al-Rabeeah Abdulrahman Al-Rajhi Assia Al-Rawaf Ammar C. Al-Rikabi, Qatar Ali Al-Shehri Shouki Bazarbashi Youssef Comair, Lebanon Ahmed Elzubier Mohammed Fouda Issam Hamadah Ali Hajeer Khalid Kalantan Muhammad Majeed-Saidan Ratib Mesleh Adnan Mofti Ashry Gad Mohammed P.M.C. Nair, Oman Sadek R. Pharaon, Syria Khalid Qattan Assem Rostom, UK Mona Shahed Ghazi Omar Tadmouri, Turkey Advisory Board Mohammed Abomelha Hussein Al-Freihi Yagob Al-Mazrou Khalaf Al-Moutaery Ahmed Kurdi Nayef Al-Rodhan Arabic Editor Ghada Al Ahmed Editorial Office Susan E. Douglas, Assistant Editor Joyce E. Elicerio, Editorial Manager Jeannette P. Von Possel, Editorial Assistant Claire L. Rivers, Desktop Publisher Ligaya M. Legaspi, Desktop Publisher Leila T. Medrano, Graphic Designer Ismail M. Al-Smadi, Statistician 48 Saudi Medical Journal: A 5-Year Overview SAUDI MEDICAL JOURNAL SUBSCRIBERS KSA 3289 (50%) Arab Countries 1355 (21%) North America 871 (13%) Gulf 399 (6%) Europe 350 (5%) Asia 291 (4%) Africa 26 (.3%) Australia 15 (.2%) TOTAL 6596 (100) KSA 3289 Arab Countries 1297 North America 871 Gulf 399 350 Europe 291 Asia Africa 26 Australia 15 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500
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