Submissions

Author Guidelines

AUTHOR GUIDELINES

In force since September 2026

Scope and types of work

ScientiAmericana publishes original, previously unpublished work in the health sciences, in their basic and clinical disciplines, as well as in public health, epidemiology, health sciences education, nursing, dentistry and related fields. Manuscripts are accepted in Spanish, English and Portuguese, from national and international authors.

The journal accepts only four types of work. Review articles, opinion letters, book reviews and conference abstracts are not accepted.

Type of work	Words	References	Tables and figures	Abstract	Review
Editorial	1,200	10	—	None	Editorial Committee
Original article	4,000	40	5	Structured, 250	Double-blind
Case report	2,500	20	4	Unstructured, 200	Double-blind
Letter to the editor	1,000	10	1	None	Editorial Committee

The word count refers to the body of the text and excludes the abstract, references, tables and figures.

How to submit a manuscript

Submissions are made exclusively through the journal’s platform, following registration by the corresponding author. Submissions by e-mail are not accepted.

A submission consists of the following files, uploaded separately:

The manuscript file, in an editable word-processor format, containing no data that would permit identification of the authors.
The title page, as a separate file. It also serves as the cover letter: it contains the authorship details and all the declarations. The journal does not require a separate letter.
Tables, each in a separate file or grouped at the end of the manuscript, never inserted as images.
Figures, each in a separate file, in a high-resolution image format.
Supporting documentation where applicable: ethics committee decision, informed consent for publication, clinical trial registration.

The details of all authors, with full affiliation and ORCID identifier, must also be entered in the submission metadata within the platform. The metadata are the source used by indexes and search engines: an author who does not appear there appears in no database.

Preparing the manuscript

General format

Editable word-processor format, A4 page size, 2.5 cm margins.
12-point type, double spacing, text aligned left and not justified.
Page numbers at the bottom right and continuous line numbering, which assists the reviewers’ work.
No first-line indent. One blank line between paragraphs.

Anonymity of the manuscript file

To preserve double-blind review, the manuscript file must contain no author names, affiliations, acknowledgements, ethics committee decision number or any reference that would permit identification of the authors or their institution. Unavoidable mentions are replaced by the phrase “the authors’ institution”.

Authors must also check that the file does not retain their details in the document properties, which the word processor saves automatically.

Title page (also serving as the cover letter)

The journal does not ask for a separate cover letter: the title page fulfils that function. It is supplied as a separate file and includes the authorship details and the declarations set out below.

Authorship details

The title of the work in Spanish and English, of up to 20 words, without abbreviations or acronyms.
A running title of up to 50 characters.
The given name and surname of each author in the agreed order, with ORCID identifier.
The full institutional affiliation of each author: institution, academic unit or department, city and country.
The name, postal address, telephone number and e-mail address of the corresponding author.
Sources of funding.
Conflict of interest statement.
The contribution of each author, preferably using the CRediT taxonomy.
Acknowledgements, where applicable.
The word count of the body of the text, and the number of tables and figures.

Declarations

These are stated on the title page itself. Where one does not apply to the work, “Not applicable” is written; they may not be omitted or left blank.

Originality: the manuscript is original and previously unpublished, and has not appeared, in whole or in substantial part, in any other printed or electronic medium.
Exclusive submission: the manuscript is not simultaneously under assessment by another journal.
Authorship: all authors meet the four ICMJE criteria, have approved the version submitted and accept responsibility for its content.
Conflicts of interest, or an express record of their absence.
Sources of funding, or a record that the work received none.
Ethical approval, with the name of the committee that approved the study and the decision number.
Informed consent from participants or their legal representatives and, where the work includes images or data permitting identification of an individual, written consent to publication.
Clinical trial registration, where applicable, with the number and the registry in which it was recorded.
Availability of the data underpinning the results, or the reasons why they cannot be shared.
Use of artificial intelligence tools, stating the tool, its version and the purpose, or a record that none were used.
Prior deposit on a preprint server, where applicable, with its identifier.
Acceptance of publication under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence and the grant of the right of first publication, the authors retaining all other rights.
Knowledge and acceptance of the journal’s author guidelines and editorial policies.

Responsibility for the declarations

The corresponding author makes these declarations on behalf of all the authors, who must have approved the version submitted. Submission through the platform records that agreement, so the journal requires neither a handwritten nor an electronic signature. The journal reserves the right to contact any co-author to verify their agreement.

Abstract and keywords

Every original article and case report is published with an abstract and keywords in Spanish and English, regardless of the language of the full text. Where the manuscript is submitted in Portuguese, an abstract in that language must also be included.

The abstract of original articles is structured, of up to 250 words, with the headings Introduction, Objective, Methodology, Results and Conclusion. That of case reports is unstructured and may run to 200 words.

The abstract contains no citations, references, tables, figures or unexplained abbreviations, and must be comprehensible on its own.

Three to five keywords are given, taken from the Health Sciences Descriptors (DeCS) or from Medical Subject Headings (MeSH), separated by semicolons.

Style conventions

Abbreviations are spelled out on first appearance, with the acronym in parentheses, and used consistently thereafter. They are not used in the title.
Drugs are designated by their international non-proprietary name, not by their trade name.
Units of measurement are expressed in the International System.
Decimals are separated by a comma in texts in Spanish and Portuguese, and by a point in texts in English.
P values are reported to three decimal places; below 0.001, “p < 0.001” is given. Tests should be accompanied by the effect measure and its confidence interval.
Scientific names of species are set in italics.

Submission Preparation Checklist

All submissions must meet the following requirements.

The manuscript is original and previously unpublished, and has not been submitted simultaneously to another journal.
The work corresponds to one of the four types accepted by the journal and complies with the maximum length established for that type.
The text complies with the author guidelines as to format, structure and reference style.
The manuscript file contains neither the authors’ names nor their affiliations, nor any other data that would permit their identification, in order to preserve the anonymity of the review.
The details of all authors, with their full affiliation and ORCID identifier, have been entered in the submission metadata.
Sources of funding and conflicts of interest are declared, or their absence is expressly recorded.
The use of artificial intelligence tools is declared, where applicable.
The title page is attached as a separate file, with the authorship details and all the declarations required by the author guidelines.

Editorial

Published at the invitation of the Editorial Committee; unsolicited editorials are not accepted. It addresses a subject of relevance to the health field or to the journal itself, and sets out a reasoned position rather than a review of the subject.

It is written as continuous text, without sections or subheadings. It carries a title of up to 15 words, with no abstract or keywords, and admits one or two authors. Statements requiring support must be backed by references.

It is not sent for external review: the decision rests with the Editor-in-Chief, who may ask the author for revisions.

Original Article

Reports previously unpublished research and follows the IMRaD structure. Each section must contain the following:

Sets out, in three or four paragraphs, the state of the question, the magnitude or relevance of the problem, the gap in knowledge the work addresses and, at the close, the aim of the study stated precisely. Results and conclusions are not anticipated.
Materials and methods. This is the section that decides the fate of the manuscript in review. It must state: the study design; the setting and period; the population and the inclusion and exclusion criteria; the sample size calculation and the sampling procedure, or the justification for working with all available cases; the variables with their operational definition and measurement scale; the instruments used, with the reference for their validation where applicable; the data collection procedure; and the statistical analysis, indicating the tests applied, the significance level adopted and the software used with its version. It closes with the ethical considerations section.
Presents the findings in logical sequence, beginning with the description of the sample and continuing in the order in which the objectives were set out. Findings are not interpreted or compared with the literature, and the text does not repeat what already appears in tables and figures: it highlights what matters and refers to them.
Begins with the principal finding, compares it with previous work and offers a possible explanation for agreements and discrepancies. It then sets out the limitations of the study concretely, avoiding generic formulas, together with its strengths. It closes with a conclusion that answers the stated aim and does not go beyond it.

Where the design requires it, the work must comply with the relevant international reporting guideline and its checklist must be attached:

Study design	Reporting guideline
Observational study (cohort, case-control, cross-sectional)	STROBE
Randomised clinical trial	CONSORT
Diagnostic accuracy study	STARD
Qualitative study	COREQ or SRQR
Case report	CARE

Clinical trials must state the registration number obtained before the first participant was enrolled.

Case Report

Describes one or more cases of interest by reason of their rarity, an atypical presentation, an uncommon complication or the contribution their management represents. Reports whose only merit is the absence of local publications on the subject are not accepted.

Brief, one or two paragraphs: what the condition is, why the case merits publication and what it contributes.
Case presentation. Set out in chronological order: relevant demographic data without identifying details, relevant history, presenting complaint, physical examination findings, results of investigations, diagnosis, treatment given, course and follow-up, with its duration. Dates are given as relative intervals, not as calendar dates.
Compares the case with what is described in the literature, notes how it differs and why, and sets out the limitations of the observation.
States the clinical lesson the case offers, without generalising from a single observation.

It must comply with the CARE guideline and its checklist must be attached. Written informed consent to publication from the patient or their legal representative is required, and the manuscript must expressly record that it was obtained.

Letter to the Editor

Two formats are accepted: a comment on an article published in the journal within the previous twelve months, or a concise communication of a finding, clinical observation or experience that does not warrant a full article.

It is written as continuous text, without sections or abstract, and admits up to three authors. Where it comments on a published article, that article must be cited as the first reference and the comment must address the content of the work, never its authors.

It is assessed by the Editorial Committee. Where it comments on a published article, it is sent to the authors concerned and they are offered a right of reply, which is published alongside the letter.

Copyright Notice

All content in the journal is published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence (CC BY 4.0), which permits copying, distributing and adapting the work, including for commercial purposes, provided that authorship is acknowledged and any changes made are indicated.

Privacy Statement

The names and e-mail addresses entered on this site are used exclusively for the purposes stated by the journal and are not made available to third parties or used for any other purpose.

The data collected are those strictly necessary for managing the editorial process: given name and surname, e-mail address, institutional affiliation, country, ORCID identifier and, where the user chooses to provide them, their areas of academic interest.

The data of users registered as reviewers are used solely to issue invitations to assess manuscripts within their field of competence.

Users may at any time request access to their data, their rectification or the cancellation of their account, by writing to the journal’s institutional e-mail address. Deletion of an account does not affect the metadata of articles already published, which form part of the permanent scientific record.

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