Submissions

Submission Preparation Checklist

All shipments must comply with the following requirements.

This submission meets the requirements described in the Guidelines for Authors.
The manuscript corresponds to one of the three types accepted by the journal.
The full title page is included.
This includes a summary/abstract and keywords.
The structure of the text is adapted to the type of manuscript.
The references are numbered in order of appearance and revised in Vancouver format.
Funding, conflicts of interest, author contributions, and use of AI were declared.
Ethical approval or informed consent was attached, where applicable.
The relevant reporting guide (PRISMA, CARE or other applicable) was attached.

Author Guidelines

1. Introduction

The Loja Medical Journal, a scientific publication of the Loja Medical Association, accepts unpublished manuscripts in the field of health sciences. These guidelines establish the minimum structure, ethical requirements, and submission format for three types of contributions: original articles, reviews, and case reports.

2. General Submission Conditions

The manuscript must be original, not previously published, and not simultaneously submitted to another journal.
All authors must approve the final version and assume public responsibility for the content of the work.
Authorship must be defined according to the ICMJE criteria; Those who do not meet the authorship criteria should be acknowledged.
Authors must declare funding, conflicts of interest, ethical approval or informed consent, and, where applicable, clinical trial registration.
If generative artificial intelligence tools were used, their use must be transparently declared in the manuscript. The AI cannot be listed as an author.
Authors must submit the manuscript along with the Cover letter addressed to the medical journal.

3. Tipos de manuscrito aceptados

Manuscript type	Main text	Summary	References	Suggested guide
Original article	Up to 3500 words	Structured, up to 250 words	Up to 40	EQUATOR as per design (e.g., STROBE/ CONSORT)
Review Article	Up to 4000 words	Structured, up to 300 words	Up to 60	PRISMA 2020
Case report	Up to 2000 words	Unstructured or brief, up to 200 words	Up to 20	CARE

4. General Manuscript Format

Word file (.docx)
A4 paper, approximately 2.5 cm margins, Times New Roman 12-point font, 1.5 or 1.15 line spacing, justified text.
Continuous page numbering.
Use clearly hierarchical titles and subtitles; avoid unnecessary all-caps.
Do not include author names within the body of the manuscript if double-blind peer review will be used; in that case, the identification should appear only on the title page.

5. Title Page

Full title in Spanish and English.
Short title
First and last name of each author, institutional affiliation, and ORCID.
Corresponding author: email address, institutional address, city, and country.
Funding sources and preliminary declaration of conflicts of interest.

6. Abstract and Keywords

All manuscripts must include an abstract and a summary, as well as keywords.
Keywords should preferably be selected from DeCS or MeSH.
In original articles and systematic reviews, the abstract must be structured.
In case reports, the abstract must present the clinical problem, the main intervention, and the central lesson of the case.

7. Structure by Article Type

7.1 Original Article

Introduction.
Methods: design, population, variables, procedures, statistical analysis, and ethical considerations.
Results.
Discussion.
Conclusions.
Acknowledgments, author contributions, funding, conflicts of interest, ethical approval, data availability, use of AI, and references.
Original Article Template

7.2 Review

Introduction with explicit research question.
Methods: protocol and registration, eligibility criteria, information sources, search strategy, study selection, data extraction, risk of bias assessment, and synthesis methods.
Results with flow diagram, study characteristics, and synthesis of Results.
Discussion and conclusions.
Attach PRISMA 2020 checklist and corresponding flowchart.
Systematic Review Template

7.3 Case report

Introduction
Relevant medical history.
Clinical findings.
Timeline.
Diagnostic evaluation.
Therapeutic intervention.
Follow-up and results.
Discussion and conclusions.
It is recommended to include the patient's perspective when relevant and authorized.
Case Report Template

8. Ethical Considerations

Studies involving human subjects must declare compliance with the Declaration of Helsinki and approval by an ethics committee where applicable.
Clinical trials must report prospective registration in a recognized public registry.
In case reports, authors must confirm informed consent for publication and safeguard patient anonymity.
All clinical images must be properly anonymized before submission.

9. Authorship, Contributions, and Conflicts of Interest

The journal adopts the ICMJE authorship criteria.
Author contributions should be declared using the CRediT taxonomy.
Each author must declare financial and non-financial relationships relevant to the content of the manuscript.
The journal may request the ICMJE Disclosure of Interests form.

10. Use of Artificial Intelligence

The use of generative AI for writing, translation, proofreading, summarization, programming, or the creation of graphic materials must be declared in the manuscript. Only up to 15% AI will be permitted.
Authors retain full responsibility for accuracy, originality, source management, data protection, and the absence of plagiarism.
AI does not meet the criteria for authorship and should not be listed as an author or co-author.

11. Tables, Figures, and Supplementary Material

Tables must be editable, numbered consecutively, and have a brief title.
Figures must be submitted in good resolution and with an explanatory caption.
Do not duplicate information already contained in tables or figures in the text.
Supplementary material must be clearly identified and cited in the body of the manuscript.

12. Bibliographic References: Vancouver Style

The journal will use the Vancouver style, following the recommendations of the ICMJE and the National Library of Medicine's Citing Medicine manual.

References are numbered according to their order of appearance in the text.
Citation numbers should be placed in superscript or parentheses, uniformly throughout the manuscript.
Official abbreviations for biomedical journals according to Index Medicus/NLM Catalog should be used when available.
Avoid citing conference abstracts, personal communications, and predatory journals unless fully justified.
Include the DOI when available.

12.1 Common Examples in Vancouver

Journal Article: Last Name AA, Last Name BB, Last Name CC, et al. Article title. Abrev Rev. 2026;15(2):100-8. doi:10.xxxx/xxxxxx.

Article with more than six authors: Last Name AA, Last Name BB, Last Name CC, Last Name DD, Last Name EE, Last Name FF, et al. Title. Abrev Rev. Year;vol(number):pages.

Book: Last Name AA. Book title. 2nd ed. City: Publisher; 2024.

Book chapter: Last Name AA. Chapter title. In: Last Name BB, editor. Book title. City: Publisher; 2024. p. 20-35.

Website: Institution. Resource title [Internet]. Location: Institution; 2026 [cited 2026 Apr 6]. Available at: URL.

Article ahead of print: Last name AA, Last name BB. Qualification. Abrev Rev. 2026 Mar 1. doi:10.xxxx/xxxxxx. Epub ahead of print.

13. Lista de comprobación previa al envío

Verification	Item
☐	The manuscript corresponds to one of the three types accepted by the journal.
☐	The full title page is included.
☐	This includes a summary/abstract and keywords.
☐	The structure of the text is adapted to the type of manuscript.
☐	The references are numbered in order of appearance and revised in Vancouver format.
☐	Funding, conflicts of interest, author contributions, and use of AI were declared.
☐	Ethical approval or informed consent was attached, where applicable.
☐	The relevant reporting guide (PRISMA, CARE or other applicable) was attached.

Manuscript submissions can be made directly through the OJS system.