​​​Annals of Pediatric Cardiology (APC) a peer-reviewed international journal is being published under the auspices of the Pediatric Cardiac Society of India (PCSI). The journal's full text is online at www.annalspc.com. With the aim of faster and better dissemination of knowledge, we will be publishing articles 'Ahead of Print' immediately on acceptance. In addition, the journal would allow free access (Open Access) to its contents.

Manuscripts must be prepared in accordance with "Uniform requirements for Manuscripts submitted to Biomedical Journals" developed by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. The uniform requirements and specific requirement of APC are summarized below. Before sending a manuscript, contributors are requested to check for the latest instructions available. Instructions are also available from the website of the journal (http://www.annalspc.com) and from the manuscript submission site (https://review.jow.medknow.com/apc).

Scope of the journal

The journal will cover clinical and technical studies related to congenital cardiac problems in newborns, infants, children, adolescents, and adults. It will also address issues related to some of the acquired heart diseases in children and adolescents such as rheumatic heart disease, pericarditis, aorto-arteritis, cardiac tumors, pulmonary hypertension etc. It will publish material related to fetal cardiac malformations including fetal interventions. Articles dealing with physiology, pharmacology, pathology, cardiology, imaging, cardiac surgery, cardiac anesthesia, critical care, nursing, and other basic specialties such as genetics and molecular biology will be published. The Journal would publish peer-reviewed original research papers, brief communications, case reports, images, reviews, state-of-the-art articles, point-counterpoint, fellows' corner, and various interventional and surgical techniques (How I do it).

The Editorial process

The manuscripts will be reviewed for possible publication with the understanding that they are being submitted to one journal at a time and have not been published, simultaneously submitted, or already accepted for publication elsewhere.

All manuscripts received will be duly acknowledged. The Editors will review all submitted manuscripts initially. Manuscripts with insufficient originality, serious scientific and technical flaws, or lack of a significant message will be rejected. Manuscripts will be sent to two or more expert reviewers without revealing the identity of the contributors to the reviewers. Each manuscript will also be assigned to a member of the editorial team, who based on the comments from the reviewers will take a final decision on the manuscript. The contributors will be informed about the reviewers' comments and acceptance/rejection of manuscript.

Articles accepted would be copy edited for grammar, punctuation, print style, and format. Page proofs will be sent to the corresponding author.

Clinical trial registry

All clinical trials from India must be registered with “clinical trials registry – India." The trials conducted outside India may be registered with any other clinical trial registry. The Indian Council of Medical Research has recommended making it mandatory to have registration number for all clinical trials submitted for publication from January 2009.

Authorship criteria

Authorship credit should be based only on substantial contributions. Journal abides by ICMJE criteria for authorship.

1. Conception and design or acquisition of data or analysis and interpretation of data.
2. Drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content.
3. Final approval of the version to be published.

Conditions 1, 2, and 3 must be met. Participation solely in the acquisition of funding or the collection of data does not justify authorship. General supervision of the research group is not sufficient for authorship. Each contributor should have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for appropriate portions of the content. The order of naming the contributors should be based on the relative contribution of the contributor towards the study and writing the manuscript. Once submitted the order cannot be changed without written consent of all the contributors.

For images, and letter to editor, maximum numbers of authors allowed are up to 6. For brief communications, and case reports, preferably up to 6 authors are allowed. If more than six authors are provided, justification of the contribution of each author to be provided in the cover letter. For original articles, and review articles, there is no limit to the number of authors.

Conflicts of Interest

All authors of submitting articles to the journal must disclose any conflict of interest they may have with an institution or product that is mentioned in the manuscript and/or is important to the outcome of the study presented. Authors should also disclose conflict of interest with products that compete with those mentioned in their manuscript. The Editor will discuss with the authors on an individual basis the method by which any conflicts of interest will be communicated to the readers.

Copies of any permission(s)

To reproduce published material, and to use illustrations or report information about identifiable people a copy of the permission obtained must accompany the manuscript. Copies of any and all published articles or other manuscripts in preparation or submitted elsewhere that are related to the manuscript must also accompany the manuscript.

Any correspondence related to the manuscript should be sent to  

Annals of Pediatric Cardiology,

Dr. Sivasubramanian Ramakrishnan
Professor of Cardiology,
Cardio Thoracic Sciences Center, All India Institute of Medical Sciences,
Ansari Nagar, New Delhi 110029 Email: [email protected]
Tel: 91-11-26594861
Mob: 91-9818186179
Fax: +91-11-26588641

Types of Manuscripts and limits

Original articles: Randomized controlled trials, interventional studies, studies of screening and diagnostic test, outcome studies, cost effectiveness analyses, case-control series, and surveys with high response rate. Up to 3000 words excluding about 30 references and a structured abstract.

Review articles (including for Ethics forum, Education forum, E-Medicine, etc.): Systematic critical assessments of literature and data sources. Up to 4000 words excluding about 90 references and abstract. For review articles, include the method (literature search) in abstract as well as in the introduction section.

Brief communications: small surveys addressing limited issues, modification of techniques, newer modalities of interventions, newer pharmacological considerations of practical significance. Up to 1200 words excluding about 12 references

Case reports: The case should present (i) a diagnostic dilemma (ii) postoperative or postinterventional complication (iii) technical challenge in the catheterization laboratory or operating room (iv) unusual cases with a clear message of clinical significance can be reported. However, mere reporting of a rare case may not be considered. Up to 1000 words excluding abstract and up to 10 references.

How I do it: Surgical or interventional technique which is different from those routinely practiced and has definite advantages. Should not be more than 2000 words excluding up to 15 references.

Images: a short clinical summary, photograph, differential diagnosis, and brief discussion of classic and/or rare case. Should not be more than 800 words excluding up to six references. 

Letter to the Editor: Should be short, decisive observation. They should not be preliminary observations that need a later paper for validation. Up to 500 words and 5 references.

Fellow's Corner: A Fellow in training can write a short, succinct, and educational review article on a topic of their choice along with a mentor. Up to 1200 words and 20 references.

Announcements of conferences, meetings, courses, and other items likely to be of interest to the readers should be submitted with the name and address of the person from whom additional information can be obtained.

Editorial, Guest Editorial, Commentary, Expert's Comments and Symposia articles are solicited by the editorial board. 

Online submission of the Manuscript

All manuscripts must be submitted on-line through the website https://review.jow.medknow.com/apc. First time users will have to register at this site. Registered authors can keep track of their articles after logging into the site using their username and password. Authors do not have to pay for submission, processing, or publication of articles. If you experience any problems, please contact our editorial office by e-mail at [email protected].

The contributor may provide names of two or three qualified reviewers who have had experience in the subject of the submitted manuscript, but who are not affiliated with the same institutes as the contributor/s. However, the selection of these reviewers is at the sole discretion of the editor.

When you submit an article, the following items must be included. Manuscripts that do not adhere to the following instructions will be returned to the corresponding author for technical revision before undergoing peer review.

1.         Unblinded title page/first page file/covering letter: All information which can reveal your identity should be here. Use text/rtf/doc files. Do not zip the files. Provide the highest degree of each author. The covering letter must include

• ​​ A full statement to the editor about all submissions and previous reports that might be regarded as redundant publication of the same or remarkably similar work. Any such work should be referred to specifically and referenced in the new paper. Copies of such material should be included with the submitted paper, to help the editor decide how to handle the matter.
• A statement of financial or other relationships that might lead to a conflict of interest, if that information is not included in the manuscript itself or in an authors' form
•  A statement that the manuscript has been read and approved by all the authors, that the requirements for authorship as stated earlier in this document have been met, and that each author believes that the manuscript represents honest work, if that information is not provided in another form (see below); and
• The name, address, and telephone number of the corresponding author, who is responsible for communicating with the other authors about revisions and final approval of the proofs, if that information is not included on the manuscript itself.
  

2.         Blinded Article file: Annals of Pediatric Cardiology has a policy of blinded peer review. The manuscript must not contain any mention of the authors' names or initials or the institution at which the study was done or acknowledgements. Page headers can include the title/running title but not the authors' names. Manuscripts not in compliance with The Journal's blinding policy will be returned to the corresponding author. The main text of the article, beginning from Abstract till References (including tables) should be in this file. Use rtf/doc files. Do not zip the files. Limit the file size to 1024 kb. Do not incorporate images in the file.

3.         Images: Submit superior quality color images. Each image should be less than 10 MB in size. Size of the image can be reduced by decreasing the actual height and width of the images (keep up to 1800 x 1200 pixels or 5-6 inches). Image format jpeg/tiff is acceptable. Do not zip the files.

4.         Legends: Legends for the figures/ images should be included at the end of the article file.

The contributors' form and copyright transfer form (template provided below) must be submitted online. Hence, make sure the ​emails of all the authors are correct.

Preparation of Manuscript

The text of original articles should be divided into sections with the headings: Abstract, Keywords, Introduction, Material and Methods, Results, Discussion, References, Tables and Figure legends, Legends of supplementary tables and figures and videos.

For a Case Report include Abstract, Keywords, Introduction, Clinical Summary, Discussion, References, Tables and Legends in that order.

For Images, include Clinical summary, Discussion, References and Legends. Do not use subheadings in these sections. (No abstract is needed)

Use double spacing throughout. Number pages consecutively, beginning with the title page. The language should be US English.

Title Page

The title page should carry

1.        Type of manuscript (e.g., original article, Case Report).

2.        The title of the article should be concise and informative.

3.        Running title or short title not more than 50 characters.

4.        The name by which each contributor is known (Last name, First name and initials of middle name), with his or her highest academic degree(s) and institutional affiliation.

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

6.        The name, address, phone numbers, facsimile numbers, and e-mail address of the contributor responsible for correspondence about the manuscript.

7.        The total number of pages, total number of photographs and word counts separately for abstract and for the text (excluding the references and abstract).

8.        Source(s) of support in the form of grants, equipment, drugs, or all of these.

9.        Acknowledgement, if any; one or more statements should specify
1. Contributions that need acknowledging but do not justify authorship, such as general support by a departmental chair;
2. Acknowledgments of technical help; and
3. Acknowledgments of financial and material support, which should specify the nature of the support.

10.     If the manuscript was presented as part at a meeting, the organization, place, and exact date on which it was read.

11.     Registration number of clinical trials.

Abstract Page

The second page should carry the full title of the manuscript and an abstract (of no more than 300 words for original articles and review article and 150 words for brief communications and case reports). The abstract should be structured for original articles. Abstract should be redivided into three sections: (i)State the context (background) and aims (ii) methods and results (iii) conclusions. After the abstract provide 3 to 8 keywords. The abstract should not be structured for a brief report, review article, symposia, and research methodology. Do not include references in abstract.

Introduction

State the purpose and summarize the rationale for the study or observation.

Methods

The Methods section should only include information that was available at the time the study was planned or protocol written, all information obtained during the conduct of the study belongs to the results section.

Selection and Description of Participants: Describe your selection of the observational or experimental participants (patients or laboratory animals, including controls) clearly, including eligibility and exclusion criteria and a description of the source population. Because the relevance of such variables as age and sex to the object of research is not always clear, authors should explain their use when they are included in a study report; for example, authors should explain why only subjects of certain ages were included or why girls were excluded. The guiding principle should be clarity about how and why a study was done in a particular way. When authors use variables such as race or ethnicity, they should define how they measured the variables and justify their relevance.

Technical information: Identify the methods, apparatus (give the manufacturer's name and address in parentheses), and procedures in sufficient detail to allow other workers to reproduce the results. Give references to established methods, including statistical methods (see below); provide references and brief descriptions for methods that have been published but are not well known; describe new or modified methods, give reasons for using them, and evaluate their limitations. Precisely identify all drugs and chemicals used, including generic name(s), dose(s), and route(s) of administration.

Reports of randomized clinical trials should present information on all major study elements, including the protocol, assignment of interventions (methods of randomization, concealment of allocation to treatment groups), and the method of masking (blinding), based on the CONSORT Statement (http://www.consort-statement.org).

Note: Authors submitting review article should include a section describing the methods used for locating, selecting, extracting, and synthesizing data. These methods should also be summarized in the abstract

Ethics

When reporting studies on human, indicate whether the procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional or regional) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2013 (available at http://www.wma.net/e/policy/17-c_e.html). Do not use patients' names, initials, or hospital numbers, especially in illustrative material. When reporting experiments on animals, indicate whether the institution's or a national research council's guide for, or any national law on the care and use of laboratory animals was followed.

Evidence for approval by a local Ethics Committee (for both human as well as animal studies) must be supplied by the authors on demand. Animal experimental procedures should be as humane as possible, and the details of anesthetics and analgesics used should be clearly stated. The ethical standards of experiments must be in accordance with the guidelines provided by the CPCSEA (animal) and ICMR (human). The journal will not consider any paper which is ethically unacceptable. A statement on ethics committee permission and ethical practices must be included in all research articles under the 'Materials and Methods' section.

Statistics

Whenever possible quantify findings and present them with appropriate indicators of measurement error or uncertainty (such as confidence intervals). Report losses to observation (such as dropouts from a clinical trial). When data are summarized in the Results section, specify the statistical methods used to analyze them. Avoid non-technical uses of technical terms in statistics, such as 'random' (which implies a randomizing device), 'normal', 'significant', 'correlations', and 'sample'. Define statistical terms, abbreviations, and most symbols. Specify the computer software used. For all P values include the exact value and not less than 0.05 or 0.001. Use italics to denote P value (P 0.048).

Results

Present your results in a logical sequence in the text, tables, and illustrations, giving the main or most important findings first. Do not repeat in the text all the data in the tables or illustrations; emphasize or summarize only important observations. Extra or supplementary materials and technical detail can be placed in an appendix where it will be accessible but will not interrupt the flow of the text; alternatively, it can be published only in the electronic version of the journal.
When data are summarized in the Results section, give numeric results not only as derivatives (for example, percentages) but also as the absolute numbers from which the derivatives were calculated, and specify the statistical methods used to analyze them. Restrict tables and figures to those needed to explain the argument of the paper and to assess its support. Use graphs as an alternative to tables with many entries; do not duplicate data in graphs and tables. Where scientifically appropriate, analyses of the data by variables such as age and sex should be included.

Discussion

Include summary of key findings (primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, results as they relate to a prior hypothesis); strengths and limitations of the study (study question, study design, data collection, analysis and interpretation); interpretation and implications in the context of the totality of evidence (is there a systematic review to refer to, if not, could one be reasonably done, what this study adds to the available evidence, effects on patient care and health policy, possible mechanisms); controversies raised by this study; and Future research directions (for this particular research collaboration, underlying mechanisms, clinical research).

Do not repeat in detail data or other material given in the Introduction or the Results section. Contributors should avoid making statements on economic benefits and costs unless their manuscript includes economic data and analyses. Avoid claiming priority and alluding to work that has not been completed. State new hypotheses when warranted, but clearly label them as such.

References

References should be numbered consecutively in the order in which they are first mentioned in the text (not in alphabetic order). Identify references in text, tables, and legends by Arabic numerals in superscript with square bracket after the punctuation marks. References cited only in tables or figure legends should be numbered in accordance with the sequence established by the first identification in the text of the particular table or figure. Use the style of the examples below, which are based on the formats used by the NLM in Index Medicus. The titles of journals should be abbreviated according to the style used in Index Medicus. Use complete name of the journal for non-indexed journals. Avoid using abstracts as references. Information from manuscripts submitted but not accepted should be cited in the text as "unpublished observations" with written permission from the source. Avoid citing a "personal communication" unless it provides essential information not available from a public source, in which case the name of the person and date of communication should be cited in parentheses in the text.

The commonly cited types of references are shown here, for other types of references such as electronic media; newspaper items, etc. please refer to ICMJE Guidelines (http://www.icmje.org or http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/uniform_requirements.html).

Download a Power Point presentation on common reference styles and using the reference checking facility on the manuscript submission site.

Articles in Journals

1. Gupta SK, Aggarwal A, Gulati GS, Ramakrishnan S, Kothari SS, Saxena A, et al. Systolic excursion of the leaflets of the truncal valve: An unusual mechanism for pulmonary stenosis in common arterial trunk. Ann Pediatr Card 2020;13:194-98. List the first six contributors followed by et al.
2. Volume with supplement: Shen HM, Zhang QF. Risk assessment of nickel carcinogenicity and occupational lung cancer. Environ Health Perspect 1994;102 Suppl 1:275-82.
3. Issue with supplement: Payne DK, Sullivan MD, Massie MJ. Women's psychological reactions to breast cancer. Semin Oncol 1996;23(1, Suppl 2):89-97.
   

Books and Other Monographs

1. Personal author(s): Ringsven MK, Bond D. Gerontology and leadership skills for nurses. 2nd ed. Albany (NY): Delmar Publishers; 1996.
2.  Editor(s), compiler(s) as author: Norman IJ, Redfern SJ, editors. Mental healthcare for elderly people. New York: ChurchillLivingstone;1996.
3. Chapter in a book: Phillips SJ, Whisnant JP. Hypertension and stroke. In: Laragh JH, Brenner BM, editors. Hypertension: pathophysiology, diagnosis, and management. 2nd ed. New York: Raven Press; 1995. pp. 465-78.
   

Tables

• Tables should be self-explanatory and should not duplicate textual material.
•  Tables with more than 10 columns and 25 rows may not be acceptable for inclusion in the main manuscript and will be published as supplementary material.
•  Number tables, in Arabic numerals, consecutively in the order of their first citation in the text and supply a brief title for each.
• Place explanatory matter in footnotes, not in the heading.
• Explain in footnotes all non-standard abbreviations that are used in each table.
• Obtain permission for all fully borrowed, adapted, and modified tables and provide a credit line in the footnote.
• For footnotes use following symbols, in the sequence: *, †, ‡, §, ||, ¶, **, ††, ‡‡
• Tables with their legends should be provided at the end of the text after the references. The tables along with their number should be cited at the relevant place in the text.

Illustrations (Figures)

• Upload the images in JPEG/TIFF format. The file size should be less than 10 MB in size while uploading. Resolution should be 1800x1200 pixels.
• Figures should be numbered consecutively according to the order in which they have been first cited in the text.
• Labels, numbers, and symbols should be clear and of uniform size. The lettering for figures should be large enough to be legible after reduction to fit the width of a printed column.
• Symbols, arrows, or letters used in photomicrographs should contrast with the background and should be marked neatly.
• Titles and detailed explanations belong in the legends for illustrations not on the illustrations themselves.
• When graphs, scattergrams or histograms are submitted, the numerical data on which they are based should also be supplied.
• The photographs and figures should be trimmed to remove all the unwanted areas.
•  If photographs of people are used, either the subjects must not be identifiable, or their pictures must be accompanied by written permission to use the photograph.

• When images contain x ray picture or echocardiogram, the name of the patient and the institute should be deleted.
• If a figure has been published elsewhere, acknowledge the original source, and submit written permission from the copyright holder to reproduce the material. A credit line should appear in the legend for such figures.
• Legends for illustrations: Type legends (maximum 40 words, excluding the credit line) for illustrations using double spacing, with Arabic numerals
• corresponding to the illustrations. When symbols, arrows, numbers, or letters are used to identify parts of the illustrations, identify, and explain each one in the legend.
• Explain the internal scale (magnification) and identify the method of staining in photomicrographs.
• Final figures for print production: If uploaded images are not of printable quality, publisher office may request for higher resolution images which can be sent at the time of acceptance of manuscript.
• The Journal reserves the right to crop, rotate, reduce, or enlarge the photographs to an acceptable size.

Protection of Patients' Rights to Privacy

Identifying information should not be published in written descriptions, photographs, echocardiograms, CT scans, etc., and pedigrees unless the information is essential for scientific purposes and the patient (or parent or guardian) gives written informed consent for publication. Authors should mask patients' eyes and remove patients' names from figures unless they obtain written consent from the patients and submit written consent with the manuscript. When informed consent has been obtained, it should be indicated in the article and copy of the consent should be attached with the covering letter.

Sending a revised manuscript

While submitting a revised manuscript, contributors are requested to include, the 'referees' remarks along with point-to-point clarification at the beginning in the revised file itself. In addition, mark the changes as underlined or colored text in the article. Also provide a file with tracked changes. A photocopy of the first page of all the cited references (articles and books) can be asked by the journal to verify the references.

Reprints

Journal provides no free printed reprints. Authors can purchase reprints, payment for which should be done at the time of submitting the proofs.

Manuscript submission, processing, and publication charges

Journal does not charge the authors or authors' institutions for the submission, processing and/or publication of papers.

Informed consent

Authors should obtain informed consent from the patients or the parents/ legal guardians in case of minors. Statement about consent should be included in the title page. The journal abides by ICMJE guidelines:

1. Authors, not the journals nor the publisher, need to obtain the patient consent form before the publication and have the form properly archived. The consent forms are not to be uploaded with the cover letter or sent through email to editorial or publisher offices.
2. If the manuscript contains patient images that preclude anonymity, or a description that has obvious indication to the identity of the patient, a statement about obtaining informed patient consent about revealing the identity of patient should be indicated in the manuscript.

Copyrights

The entire contents of the Annals of Pediatric Cardiology are protected under Indian and international copyrights. The Journal, however, grants to all users a free, irrevocable, worldwide, perpetual right of access to, and a license to copy, use, distribute, perform, and display the work publicly and to make and distribute derivative works in any digital medium for any reasonable non-commercial purpose, subject to proper attribution of authorship and ownership of the rights. The journal also grants the right to make small numbers of printed copies for their personal non-commercial use under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 Unported License.

Checklist

• Covering letter
• Previous publication/ presentations mentioned
• Source of funding mentioned
• Conflicts of interest disclosed

Authors

• Middle name initials provided
• ​Author for correspondence, with e-mail address provided
• Number of contributors restricted as per the instructions
• Identity not revealed in paper except title page (e.g., name of the institute in Methods, citing previous study as 'our study', names on figure labels, name of institute in photographs, etc.,)

Presentation and format

• Double spacing
•  Margins 2.5 cm from all four sides
•  Title page contains all the desired information
•  Running title provided (not more than 50 characters)
•  Abstract page contains the full title of the manuscript
•  Abstract provided (about 150 words for case reports and 300 words for original articles)
  
• Structured abstract provided for an original article
•  Keywords provided (three or more)
•  Introduction of 75-100 words
•  Headings in title case (not ALL CAPITALS)
• The references cited in the text should be after punctuation marks, in superscript with square bracket.
• References according to the journal's instructions, punctuation marks checked
• Send the final article file without 'Track Changes'

Language and grammar

•  Uniformly American English
•  Write the full term for each abbreviation at its first use in the title, abstract, keywords and text separately unless it is a standard unit of measure.
•  Numerals at the beginning of the sentence spelt out.
• Check the manuscript for spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors.
•  If a brand name is cited, supply the manufacturer's name and address (city and state/country).
• Species name should be in italics

Tables and figures

• No repetition of data in tables and graphs and in text
• Actual numbers from which graphs drawn, provided
• Figures necessary and of superior quality (color)
• Table and figure numbers in Arabic letters (not Roman)
• Figure legends provided (not more than 40 words)
• Patients' privacy maintained (if not, then proper consent taken)
• Credit notes for borrowed figures/ tables provided
• Write the full term for each abbreviation used in the table as a footnote

 Contributors' form

Click here to download instructions

​These ready to use templates are made to help the contributors write as per the requirements of the Journal.

Save the templates on your computer and use them with a word processor program. 
Click open the file and save as the manuscript file.

In the program keep 'Document Map' and 'Comments' on from 'View' menu to navigate through the file. 

Download Template for Original Articles/ABSTRACT Reports. (.DOT file)

Download Template for Case Reports.  (.DOT file)

Download Template for Review Articles.  (.DOT file)

Download Template for Letter to the Editor.  (.DOT file)