About the Journal
Editorial Policies
The Argentine Journal of Intensive Care (Revista Argentina de Terapia Intensiva – RATI) is the official scientific journal of the Argentine Society of Intensive Care (Sociedad Argentina de Terapia Intensiva – SATI). Its mission is to promote the dissemination of scientific knowledge in critical care medicine and intensive care by encouraging clinical, experimental, epidemiological, educational, and translational research.
The Journal adheres to the international principles of editorial quality, transparency, and research integrity established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), the Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT), the recommendations of the EQUATOR Network, and the Open Science policies promoted by SciELO.
1. Aim and Scope
The Argentine Journal of Intensive Care publishes original scientific manuscripts covering all aspects of critical care medicine, intensive care, and related specialties.
Its objective is to disseminate methodologically sound research that contributes to scientific advancement and improves the care of critically ill adult and pediatric patients.
The Journal welcomes submissions from Argentina and abroad, promoting international scientific collaboration and the exchange of knowledge among researchers, healthcare professionals, and academic institutions.
Manuscripts are accepted in both Spanish and English.
The Journal's areas of interest include, but are not limited to:
- Adult Intensive Care.
- Pediatric Intensive Care.
- Neonatology.
- Emergency Medicine and Trauma.
- Sepsis.
- Shock.
- Mechanical Ventilation.
- Respiratory Failure.
- Hemodynamic Monitoring.
- Critical Care Monitoring.
- Neurocritical Care.
- Critical Care Nephrology.
- Critical Care Cardiology.
- Infectious Diseases.
- Clinical Pharmacology.
- Clinical Nutrition.
- Critical Care Physical Therapy.
- Critical Care Nursing.
- Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality.
- Healthcare Management.
- Bioethics.
- Epidemiology.
- Clinical Research.
- Medical Education.
- Technological Innovation in Critical Care.
2. Types of Manuscripts
The Journal considers the following categories of manuscripts for publication:
- Original Articles.
- Systematic Reviews.
- Meta-analyses.
- Clinical Practice Guidelines.
- Consensus Statements.
- Brief Communications.
- Letters to the Editor.
- Editorials.
- Special Articles.
- Research Protocols.
- Case Reports.
- Thematic Supplements approved by the Editorial Board.
All submissions must be original, unpublished, and must not be under consideration by another scientific journal at the time of submission.
3. Language of Publication
The Journal publishes manuscripts in both Spanish and English.
All submissions must meet appropriate standards of scientific writing and linguistic quality. The Editorial Board may request language editing before the manuscript enters the peer-review process.
4. Editorial Process
The editorial process consists of the following stages:
| Stage | Description |
|---|---|
| Submission | Receipt of the manuscript through the Open Journal Systems (OJS) platform. |
| Editorial Screening | Verification of compliance with the Journal's editorial requirements, mandatory documentation, ethical standards, and similarity screening. |
| Editorial Assessment | The Editor evaluates the scientific relevance and suitability of the manuscript before deciding whether to send it for peer review. |
| Peer Review | Scientific evaluation under a double-blind peer-review process. |
| Editorial Decision | Acceptance, acceptance after revision, or rejection. |
| Production | Copyediting, layout editing, DOI assignment, XML-JATS production, and publication. |
5. Peer Review Process
All manuscripts undergo a double-blind peer-review process conducted by independent external reviewers, ensuring the anonymity of both authors and reviewers.
The review process assesses:
- Originality.
- Scientific relevance.
- Methodological rigor.
- Statistical quality.
- Compliance with ethical standards.
- Clarity of presentation.
- Clinical relevance.
Each manuscript is evaluated by at least two independent reviewers with expertise in the relevant subject area.
If substantial disagreement exists between reviewers, the Editor may seek the opinion of a third reviewer.
Reviewers must disclose any potential conflicts of interest that could affect the objectivity of their assessment.
The final editorial decision rests with the Editor-in-Chief, who may consider the recommendations of reviewers and the Editorial Board.
6. Publication Frequency
Since 2021, the Argentine Journal of Intensive Care has adopted a continuous publication model.
Accepted articles are published individually as soon as the editorial production process has been completed, without waiting for the completion of a journal issue, thereby facilitating more rapid dissemination of scientific findings.
7. Open Access Policy
| Item | Editorial Policy |
|---|---|
| Access | All published content is freely available immediately upon publication, without embargo or access restrictions. |
| Article Processing Charges (APCs) | The Journal does not charge submission, processing, or publication fees. |
| Editorial Funding | Editorial costs are fully supported by the Argentine Society of Intensive Care (SATI). |
| Commitment | The Journal supports the democratization of scientific knowledge and adheres to the principles of the international Open Access movement. |
8. Copyright and License
Authors retain copyright of their work and grant the Argentine Journal of Intensive Care a non-exclusive license to publish, reproduce, distribute, and disseminate the article in any medium or format.
All articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits copying, redistribution, adaptation, and reuse of the material for any purpose, provided that appropriate credit is given to the original source.
9. Self-Archiving Policy
The Journal permits authors to deposit both preprint and postprint versions of their manuscripts in institutional, disciplinary, and personal repositories, provided that the published version is properly cited.
The Journal's self-archiving policy is registered in SHERPA/RoMEO.
10. Digital Preservation
The Argentine Journal of Intensive Care implements digital preservation mechanisms to ensure the long-term accessibility and permanent availability of its published content.
The Journal participates, or may participate, in recognized digital preservation services such as the PKP Preservation Network (PKP PN), LOCKSS, CLOCKSS, or other preservation systems compatible with the Open Journal Systems (OJS) platform.
Published articles also remain permanently available through the Journal's official website, indexing services, and digital repositories in which they are archived.
11. Persistent Identifiers (DOI and ORCID)
All published articles are assigned a Digital Object Identifier (DOI), ensuring their permanent identification and facilitating citation, retrieval, interoperability, and long-term accessibility.
The Journal strongly encourages all authors to register for an ORCID iD and provide it during manuscript submission whenever available.
The use of ORCID promotes the accurate identification of researchers and facilitates integration with international scholarly communication systems.
12. Authorship Policy
The Argentine Journal of Intensive Care adopts the authorship criteria established by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).
To qualify as an author, an individual must meet all four of the following criteria:
- Make substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data.
- Draft the manuscript or critically revise it for important intellectual content.
- Approve the final version to be published.
- Agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work, ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
Individuals who do not meet all four criteria should be acknowledged in the Acknowledgments section but should not be listed as authors.
Any addition, removal, or rearrangement of authors after manuscript submission requires written agreement from all authors and approval by the Editor.
13. Author Contributions (CRediT)
The Journal adopts the Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT) to provide transparent and standardized reporting of each author's individual contributions.
During submission, the corresponding author must specify the contribution of each author using one or more of the following roles:
| Role | Description |
|---|---|
| Conceptualization | Development of the research idea and study objectives. |
| Methodology | Design of research methods and study procedures. |
| Software | Programming, software development, or computational implementation. |
| Validation | Verification and validation of study findings. |
| Formal Analysis | Statistical, mathematical, or computational data analysis. |
| Investigation | Performance of experiments or data collection. |
| Resources | Provision of study materials, patients, equipment, or other resources. |
| Data Curation | Data management, cleaning, and organization. |
| Writing – Original Draft | Preparation of the initial manuscript draft. |
| Writing – Review & Editing | Critical review, editing, and revision of the manuscript. |
| Visualization | Preparation of figures, tables, and graphical material. |
| Supervision | Scientific leadership and oversight of the project. |
| Project Administration | Coordination and management of the research project. |
| Funding Acquisition | Acquisition of financial support for the study. |
The CRediT statement will be published as part of the final article.
14. Conflicts of Interest
All authors, reviewers, and Editorial Board members must disclose any financial, academic, institutional, or personal relationships that could influence, or reasonably be perceived to influence, the evaluation, interpretation, or publication of a manuscript.
Potential conflicts of interest include, but are not limited to:
- Financial relationships.
- Consulting fees.
- Honoraria.
- Patents.
- Stock ownership.
- Employment relationships.
- Academic competition.
- Personal or institutional interests.
Whenever a potential conflict is identified, the Editor will determine the appropriate measures necessary to preserve the integrity and impartiality of the editorial process.
15. Funding
Authors must disclose all sources of financial support that contributed to the development of the study.
The funding statement should include:
- Name of the funding agency or institution.
- Grant or project number, when applicable.
- The role of the sponsor in the study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, or publication decision.
If no external funding was received, authors should include the following statement:
"The authors declare that this research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors."
16. Research Ethics
Research involving human participants must comply with the ethical principles of the Declaration of Helsinki, the CIOMS International Ethical Guidelines, and all applicable national regulations.
Authors must report:
- Approval by an appropriate Research Ethics Committee or Institutional Review Board.
- The ethics approval number or protocol identifier, when applicable.
- Whether informed consent was obtained from participants or their legal representatives.
- The procedures implemented to protect participants' confidentiality and privacy.
If informed consent was waived by the Ethics Committee, this must be explicitly stated in the manuscript together with the justification.
Research involving animals must comply with internationally accepted standards for animal welfare and all applicable institutional and national regulations.
17. Data Availability
The Journal supports Open Science practices and encourages authors to make the data supporting their findings publicly available whenever ethically and legally feasible.
All manuscripts should include a Data Availability Statement indicating one of the following:
- The data are publicly available in a recognized repository.
- The data are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
- The data cannot be shared due to ethical, legal, or confidentiality restrictions.
Whenever data are deposited in public repositories, authors should provide the corresponding DOI or permanent repository link.
18. Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence
The use of generative artificial intelligence tools during manuscript preparation must be fully disclosed.
Artificial intelligence tools may not be listed as authors and cannot assume responsibility for the content of a manuscript.
Authors remain fully responsible for:
- The accuracy of the scientific content.
- The originality of the manuscript.
- The accuracy of references.
- The absence of plagiarism.
- The critical review of any AI-generated text.
Reviewers must not upload confidential manuscripts to publicly available artificial intelligence platforms if doing so could compromise the confidentiality of the peer-review process.
19. Preprint Policy
The Argentine Journal of Intensive Care accepts manuscripts that have previously been deposited in recognized preprint servers.
During submission, authors should provide:
- The name of the preprint server.
- The DOI or identifier assigned to the preprint.
- The date of preprint publication.
After publication of the final peer-reviewed article, authors should update the preprint record by including the complete citation and DOI of the published version.
20. Research Integrity
The Argentine Journal of Intensive Care is committed to promoting the highest standards of research integrity throughout all stages of the editorial process. Authors, reviewers, and editors are expected to conduct themselves with honesty, transparency, responsibility, and adherence to internationally accepted standards of good scientific practice.
The Journal considers the following practices to constitute scientific misconduct, including but not limited to:
- Data fabrication.
- Data falsification or manipulation.
- Image manipulation.
- Plagiarism.
- Self-plagiarism.
- Duplicate publication.
- Inappropriate fragmentation of research findings ("salami publication").
- Manipulation of the peer-review process.
- Guest, honorary, or ghost authorship.
- Failure to disclose conflicts of interest.
- Citation manipulation intended to artificially increase citations.
When scientific misconduct is suspected, the Editorial Board will follow the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). The Journal may request additional documentation, contact the authors' institutions, suspend the editorial process, or adopt any other measures considered appropriate.
21. Plagiarism Detection Policy
All submitted manuscripts undergo similarity screening using specialized plagiarism detection software before entering the peer-review process.
The screening process evaluates, among other aspects:
- Total or partial plagiarism.
- Self-plagiarism.
- Duplicate publication.
- Duplicate figures or tables.
- Undisclosed reuse of previously published material.
A high similarity score does not necessarily constitute plagiarism. Each case is individually assessed by the Editorial Board, taking into consideration the context, extent, and nature of the identified similarities.
When unethical publication practices are confirmed, the Journal may reject the manuscript, request corrections, publish an erratum, issue an expression of concern, or retract the published article, depending on the severity of the case.
22. Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern
The Journal follows the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) regarding the correction of the scholarly record.
Depending on the nature of the identified problem, the Journal may publish:
- Corrections (Errata): for errors that do not invalidate the scientific findings.
- Retractions: when serious errors or scientific misconduct invalidate the reliability of the published work.
- Expressions of Concern: when an investigation is ongoing and sufficient evidence is not yet available to reach a final editorial decision.
All editorial notices will remain permanently linked to the original article in order to preserve the transparency and integrity of the scientific record.
23. Appeals of Editorial Decisions
Authors may appeal an editorial decision by submitting a written, reasoned request to the Editor-in-Chief.
Appeals must clearly explain the scientific reasons supporting reconsideration of the editorial decision.
Following review of the appeal, the Editor may:
- Uphold the original editorial decision.
- Request an additional independent peer review.
- Refer the appeal to the Editorial Board for final consideration.
The final decision of the Editorial Board shall be considered definitive.
24. Complaints Procedure
The Journal provides a formal procedure for receiving and addressing complaints concerning the editorial process, the conduct of editors, reviewers, or authors, or any alleged breaches of the Journal's editorial policies.
All complaints will be handled confidentially, impartially, and in accordance with the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
25. Reporting Guidelines
The Journal strongly encourages authors to follow the reporting guidelines developed by the EQUATOR Network to improve the quality, transparency, completeness, and reproducibility of health research.
Depending on the study design, authors are encouraged to use, among others:
| Study Design | Recommended Guideline |
|---|---|
| Randomized Clinical Trials | CONSORT |
| Observational Studies | STROBE |
| Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses | PRISMA |
| Study Protocols | SPIRIT |
| Case Reports | CARE |
| Prediction Model Studies | TRIPOD |
| Diagnostic Accuracy Studies | STARD |
| Economic Evaluations | CHEERS |
26. Responsibilities of Authors
- Ensure the originality of the submitted manuscript.
- Retain the original research data and provide them when requested.
- Disclose all conflicts of interest.
- Declare all sources of funding.
- Obtain all required ethical approvals before conducting the study.
- Respond promptly and appropriately to reviewers' and editors' comments.
- Inform the Journal immediately if a significant error is identified after publication.
27. Responsibilities of Reviewers
- Maintain the confidentiality of all submitted manuscripts.
- Provide objective, constructive, and evidence-based reviews.
- Disclose any conflicts of interest.
- Complete reviews within the agreed timeframe.
- Report suspected plagiarism, duplicate publication, or scientific misconduct.
- Refrain from using confidential information obtained during peer review for personal or institutional benefit.
28. Responsibilities of the Editorial Board
- Ensure a transparent, impartial, and confidential editorial process.
- Select qualified reviewers with expertise relevant to each manuscript.
- Address ethical issues in accordance with COPE recommendations.
- Safeguard the Journal's editorial independence.
- Promote the continuous improvement of the Journal's scientific quality.
29. Editorial Independence and Advertising
Editorial decisions are based exclusively on the scientific merit, originality, methodological quality, ethical standards, and clinical relevance of submitted manuscripts.
Sponsors, advertisers, funding agencies, or any external organizations have no influence over editorial decisions or the peer-review process.
30. Editorial Contact
Questions regarding the editorial process, publication policies, research ethics, or any aspect of manuscript submission should be directed to the Editorial Office of the Argentine Journal of Intensive Care through the official contact channels available on the Journal's website.
These Editorial Policies may be revised periodically by the Editorial Board to ensure continued compliance with the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), SciELO, the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), the EQUATOR Network, and other internationally recognized organizations dedicated to promoting quality, transparency, integrity, and best practices in scholarly publishing.