Author Guidelines

Regulation of publications

The Journal of the Colombian Association of Dermatology and Dermatological Surgery is an international, refereed, and electronic scientific journal, in which articles from authors from all over the world are welcome. Its thematic focus is on the area of dermatology, skin care, and related diseases. It is an open access journal that has been published continuously since 1991, with quarterly publications since 2003, and is subject to double-blind peer review by scientific peers selected by the editors. It oversees the dissemination of original and unpublished research articles, review articles, reflection articles, case reports, and other topics of interest to dermatology in the medical community, which may include contributions of a guild or informative contents. Its main purpose is to serve as a platform for the dissemination of scientific knowledge in dermatology that could provide a comprehensive approach to skin diseases.

The abbreviated title of the Journal of the Colombian Association of Dermatology and Dermatological Surgery is rev asoc colomb dermatol cir dermatol., which should be used in footnotes, figure legends, and references.

There is no cost for submitting manuscripts for publication, and the process should be done through the Open Journal System (OJS) platform, available in the journal's website, in order to streamline the process and check the status of submissions. For this purpose, you must sign up and log in.

https://revista.asocolderma.org.co/index.php/asocolderma

Periodicity

Quarterly: January-March, April-June, July-September, and October-December. Occasionally, stand-alone publications (supplements) will be produced in electronic format.

Publication language

The official languages of the Journal are Spanish and English. Title, abstracts and keywords are available in these two languages.

Financing model

This journal is sponsored by the Asociación Colombiana de Dermatología y Cirugía Dermatológica (Colombian Association of Dermatology and Dermatological Surgery). For its operating expenses, the business plan includes the advertising guidelines on the Journal's website, which are managed by the Commercial Department.

The Journal has editorial independence; the editors are autonomous in their academic and scientific decisions.

Information for authors

The Journal observes the standards published by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (www.icmje.org) in its Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals and has incorporated them into the review and publication process.

Type of articles published in the Journal

1. Research article

It must be an original work derived from research that contributes to the construction of scientific knowledge by reporting relevant information on new available data. It should contain the following sections: introduction, materials and methods, results, discussion, conclusions, references, and key points. It should have a structured abstract (introduction, materials and methods, results, and discussion) no longer than 250 words, in both Spanish and English, and three to twelve keywords should be indicated (using some that are not part of the title) in Spanish, which should be included in the Descriptors of Health Sciences (DeCS) (http://decs.bvs.br/E/omepage.htm), and in English, which should appear in the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) list (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/mesh).

The manuscripts submitted should follow the ethical standards established by the ethics committee in charge of supervising the research studies in the institution where the study was conducted, in addition to abiding by the statements of the Declaration of Helsinki of 1975, modified in Seoul, Korea, in 2008 (https://www.wma.net/policies-post/wma-declaration-of-helsinki-ethical-principles-for-medical-research-involving-human-subjects/), as well as those contained in Resolution 8430 of 1993 of the Colombian Ministry of Health and Resolution 2378 of 2008 of the Colombian Ministry of Social Protection. Ethics committee approval must be declared within the manuscript. The Journal's own ethical guidelines are detailed in the attached document (link to ethical guidelines).

2. Review article

A review article is an update paper on a particular field of dermatology. It is characterized by the presentation of a comprehensive bibliographic review (no more than 70 references and should include references from national literature). The abstract must be written in Spanish and English, should be no longer than 250 words, and should be structured (introduction, materials and methods, results, and discussion). Three to twelve keywords should be provided (using some that are not part of the title) in Spanish, which should be included in the Health Sciences Descriptors (DeCS) (http://decs.bvs.br/E/homepagee.htm), and in English, which should appear in the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) list (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/mesh).

The type of review (systematic or narrative), the search strategies, the databases, the keywords, and the periods in which the review was conducted should be indicated. The submission should include three to five key points from the review.

3. Reflection article

This type of article presents research results from an analytical, interpretive, or critical perspective of the author on a specific topic, using original sources. The abstract should be written in Spanish and English and should not be longer than 150 words. Three to twelve keywords should be indicated (using some that are not part of the title) in Spanish, which should be included in the Health Sciences Descriptors (DeCS) (http://decs.bvs.br/E/homepagee.htm), and in English, which should appear in the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) list (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/mesh). The submission should include three to five key points from the review.

4. Case report

This type of paper is dedicated to the communication of clinical-therapeutic or histopathological experiences. Its objective is to contribute to medical knowledge by describing a new or rare disease, a relevant clinical application contributing to the elucidation of the pathogenesis of a disease, an unusual complication, or novel aspects in terms of diagnosis or treatment. The abstract should be written in Spanish and English and should not be longer than 150 words. Three to twelve keywords should be indicated (using some that are not part of the title) in Spanish, which should be included in the Health Sciences Descriptors (DeCS) (http://decs.bvs.br/E/homepagee.htm), and in English, which should appear in the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) list (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/mesh).

It should contain the description of the clinical case, a bibliographic review, and a conclusion.

A maximum of ten references related to the topic and three clinical or histopathology images are suggested. If the authors consider that more images are necessary, they should explain the importance of including such images for a better understanding of the article.

A case report should not have more than four authors (rev asoc colomb dermatol. 2011;19:260-1); if there are more than four, the participation of each one in the preparation of the paper should be clearly supported. Other participants may be included in the acknowledgment section.

The authors must declare that they obtained the informed consent from the patient or their legal guardian, in the case of children or adults with intellectual disabilities, and follow the ethical guidelines (copy link).

5. Make the diagnosis

This modality of continuing education article is intended to stimulate the diagnostic ability of the readers. It consists of two parts: the first presents a case using clinical or histopathology images; the second appears in the final section of the Journal and reveals the diagnosis and may contain histopathology images, as well as a bibliographic review on the corresponding disease, which should follow the guidelines for case reports.

Authors must declare that they obtained the informed consent from the patient or their legal guardian, in the case of children or adults with intellectual disabilities, and follow the ethical guidelines (copy link).

6. Ethics

This type of manuscript is dedicated to theoretical and case reviews, in order to promote reflection on the criteria, standards and values that should govern the medical profession. The abstract should be written in Spanish and English and should not be longer than 250 words. Three to twelve keywords should be indicated (using some that are not part of the title) in Spanish, which should be included in the Health Sciences Descriptors (DeCS) (http://decs.bvs.br/E/homepagee.htm), and in English, which should appear in the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) list (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/mesh).

This kind of article is made up of a first part, where the case is presented, and a second part, where ethical questions are raised, a response is provided, and a bibliographical review is presented, in accordance with the guidelines described for reports of case.

7. News and events

This section is used to publish reports, obituaries, convene Association meetings, or inform about local or international events of importance to dermatologists.

8. Graphic dermatology. Dermatology in images

Graphic dermatology publishes infographics, which combine graphics, texts and images to present an illustrative and easy-to-understand message related to the specialty. Dermatology in images is the section featuring clinical images or diagnostic test results (histopathology, microbiological cultures, radiology, among others). Five bibliographical references should be included to support the information presented.

9. Letters to the editor

These are the comments, opinions, or information related to previous publications of the Journal or scientific or guild topics. Published letters may be edited for reasons of length, grammar accuracy or proofreading, and the author will be informed of such changes prior to publication.

10. Editorial

The editorial presents a detailed analysis of a scientific or guild topic. It is written by the editor-in-chief of the Journal or a guest. It should include up to ten bibliographical references that support the information presented.

Scientific peer review

Each manuscript is presented to the editors, who decide whether it is relevant and appropriate for the Journal. The document that is submitted and has not yet been evaluated by academic peers is called a manuscript. The peer review process is anonymous and double-blind.

Scientific research, reflection or review manuscripts will be evaluated by two external academic peers; these referees are selected by the editors from among the experts in the field of each manuscript.

Case reports may be evaluated by the editors and do not necessarily require external reviewers. The relevance of an external reviewer in each case report is at the editor's discretion.

The peer review process is detailed in the following HTML page of the journal. In turn, AsoColDerma provides a specific course for conducting peer reviews on the platform at the following link. Access should be requested by contacting the editors if required. 

The statistics of our evaluation process for the last two years, from January 2022 to April 2024 are:

Days to first editorial decision: 124 days

Rejection rate: 46%.

Rejection rate before review: 36%.

Rejection rate after review: 10%.

When a manuscript is accepted for publication, the final layout is sent to the author in a .pdf (Portable Document Format) file for review and approval. In the event that any correction is required, the Journal must be informed within three days.

Once the article is published, the PDF file will be available for the author to share on social networks, if he/she deems it so.

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Submission of the manuscript

Manuscripts should be submitted together with a cover letter specifying the title and type of article. The cover letter should include a statement that the manuscript is original and unpublished and should also state that all authors have participated in the preparation, reading, and approval of the content. Authors who participate in the paper and do not meet these requirements may be included in the acknowledgment section. It should also declare that the article was prepared following the aforementioned ethical standards.

At the discretion of the editorial committee, some exceptions may be made to accept material that has been previously published, in which case the permission of the journal that owns the reproduction right must be attached (this includes full articles, tables, or figures). Authors must carry out the necessary procedures to obtain such permissions.

The Journal does not accept the inclusion or withdrawal of authors after having started the editorial process of the manuscripts.

Standardization of author citation

In order to be cited in the different scientific indexes, the Journal recommends the use of a single surname; if the author prefers to use both surnames, they should be separated by a hyphen (for example, Mateo Restrepo Jaramillo is cited as Restrepo-Jaramillo M).

Identification of authors

All authors must have an ORCID identification number (open researcher and contributor ID), which can be obtained at: https://orcid.org/.

Conflicts of interest

All authors must declare if they have any conflict of interest related to the manuscript they are submitting. Conflicts of interest include financial support received to prepare the paper, payments received from a commercial entity, and payments for conducting a research or for being a consultant to a pharmaceutical company involved in the subject of the publication. Failure to declare conflicts of interest may lead to sanctions, such as the rejection of the article. These conflicts should be stated in the cover letter and in the body of the manuscript. If necessary, authors may contact the Journal's ethics advisor by sending an email to revista@asocolderma.com.

Informed consent

All case reports and images included in the different articles must have the patient's informed consent. The custody of the consent is the responsibility of the authors, who in the cover letter of the article should state that they have this document for publication. No information that could be used to identify the patient, such as names, initials or medical history numbers, should be included.

An image in which the patient can recognize him/herself or be recognized by others must not be published without written consent, as it constitutes a violation of the patient's privacy. This includes not only the face, but any part of the body that the patient can identify as their own. When editing the image, data that may allow the identification of the patient should be omitted, but this does not negate the need to obtain informed consent.

Article Submission

To submit your contributions, you must start the process by clicking on the Sign-Up link.

Manuscripts should be written on letter-size sheets, double-spaced, in 12-point Arial font. Tables and figures should not be inserted within the text, but should go at the end of the text, after the references. The official languages of the Journal are Spanish and English.

The first page should include the following:

• Title of the paper in Spanish
• Title of the paper in English
• Subtitle, if applicable
• Full names of the authors, according to the authors' citation standardization
• ORCID number of each author
• Academic affiliation of each author
• Name of the institution where the study was conducted
• Name, address, telephone number and email address of the corresponding author
• Sources of funding
• Text word count, excluding abstract, acknowledgments, figure captions, and references, and abstract word count. The maximum length acceptable for research, review and reflection articles is 3 500 words, excluding abstract, references, tables, and figures, but there may be exceptions approved by the editorial committee
• Number of figures and tables
• Running title for page headers
• 140-character sentence summarizing the article for publication on social networks, at the discretion of the editors.

On the second page, the abstract should appear in Spanish and English and the keywords in both languages, with MeSH and DeCS terms.

Abbreviations that are not universally recognized should be used only if necessary and should be next to the word or phrase they represent in parentheses when they first appear. Generic names of drugs should always be used. If a registered trademark is included, it may only be cited once, in parentheses, after it is mentioned for the first time. All measurements should be expressed using the international system of units. References should be identified in the text with Arabic numerals in parentheses, in order of appearance.

The sequential list of references should also be double-spaced and should appear on a new page at the end of the text. The way of citing the references should be adjusted to the recommendations of the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted for Publication in Biomedical Journals, or Vancouver Standards (https://bit.ly/3YvFfxR). The abbreviation of journal titles should be the same as those appearing in the list of journals indexed in Index Medicus, which can be obtained at https://bit.ly/3jNbN7H.

Personal communications are not a recognized bibliographical reference, nor are conference abstracts; if their inclusion is considered necessary, they should appear in parentheses in the text. Please make sure that all references cited in the text have been listed in the bibliography.

Examples of references

The first six authors followed by et al.

Journal articles

Authors. Article title. International abbreviation of the journal. Year; volume: initial and final page of the article.

Books

Authors. Title of the book. Edition number. Place of publication: publisher; year.

Chapters of books

Authors of the chapter. Chapter title. In: book publishers. Title of the book. Edition number. Place of publication: publisher; year; first and last page of the chapter.

Electronic resource

Authors. Title [website]. Place of publication: publisher; publication date. [cited date of consultation]. Available from: [exact URL].

Figures and tables

Each of the figures and tables should be submitted in an attachment to the main text of the article, should be supplementary and should not repeat what is stated in the article. Each article may have up to six figures and tables; for case reports, the maximum is three. This number may be increased if the didactic characteristics of the article so require, at the editors' discretion.

Images

Images should be sent in a file attached to the article, preferably in .tiff (Tagged Image File Format) or .png (Portable Network Graphics) format; if the photo is in color, it should be sent in high resolution, that is, at least 300 dpi (dots per inch); if it is in black and white, the optimal resolution is 600 dpi.

They should be numbered using Arabic numerals, have a short title and be self-explanatory. Histopathology images should indicate the type of staining and magnifications at which the submitted image was photographed.

If they have been previously published, the complete and exact reference of the site in which they appear should be indicated and the written permission of the journal that owns the reproduction right (copyright) should be attached.

Figures and tables should be submitted in their source files (Excel, PowerPoint) and should not be scanned, since this prevents their correction and proper layout. As with images, they should be numbered, cited in the text and have an illustrative and explanatory caption, and the units used for the different variables listed should be shown.

For further information, please contact us at: revista@asocolderma.com