Focus and scope:

International Journal of Medical Toxicology and Forensic Medicine (IJMTFM) is aimed to promote scientific communication among medical investigators worldwide. IJMTFM, which benefits from an international editorial board, was published Quarterly from 2011 to 2019 and from 2020 is published continously by Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology in collaboration with Toxicological Research Center (TRC), Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences.

Contents include peer-reviewed research papers covering different aspects of clinical toxicology and forensic medicine. IJMTFM is adhering to ICMJE and COPE recommendations. 

Also it supports the following type of articles:

Original Papers

Review Articles

Systematic Review Articles

Case Reports

Short Communications

Continous Medical Education

Letters to the Editor

Peer-review process:

After an initial screening, all submissions will be refereed by three reviewers during maximum two weeks according to specific research reporting guidelines for different study designs; include CONSORT for randomized trials, STROBE for observational studies, PRISMA for systematic reviews and meta-analyses. All authors should send their revised manuscripts within 2 weeks. Reviewers' and authors' identities are kept confidential. The existence of a submitted manuscript is not revealed to anyone other than the reviewers and editorial staff.

Submission process:

Manuscript submission to the IJMTFM is only possible through the Journal’s Online Paper Submission page.

Manuscript must be accompanied by a covering letter to the Editor-in-Chief, including title and author(s) name and undertaking that it has not been published or submitted elsewhere. In case the manuscript was earlier submitted to some other journals and was rejected, the authors must provide full information for proper analysis. 

Title page and manuscript text files should be separately submitted online via the Online Paper Submission system.

 Manuscript preparation:

1- Summary

Title page, Including title of article, author’s names , affiliations, and detail information of corresponding authors; Phone, Fax number, Email, and Postal Address should be supplied and submitted as a separate file.

Manuscript text file should be prepared according to specific research reporting guidelines (See table). In addition, Appendix section including acknowledgment, funding, and author’s contribution should be addressed at the end of the manuscript text in all types of above mentioned studies. All clinical trials should be registered in a registry of clinical trials proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO) or the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). As an option, the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT) is a registry suggested by WHO.

Standard Reporting Guidelines

2- Details

The journal adheres to the conditions stated by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). The main manuscript should carry the title, abstract, main text, acknowledgment, funding, author’s contribution, references, figures, and tables of the paper. The preferred word processing format for the manuscript file is Microsoft Word version 2003 or newer. Manuscripts should be double-spaced, with 2.5 cm margins on all sides. All abbreviations must be spelled out the first time used, followed by the abbreviated form in parentheses. Units of measurement must be complied with the International System of Units (SI). For indexing, three to five key words should be typed at the end of the abstract for each manuscript. These words should be identical to the medical subject headings (MeSH) that appear in the Index Medicus of the National Library of Medicine.

Observational Studies (Original Articles)

Cohort, case control, and cross-sectional studies should be arranged based on Strengthening the Reporting of Observational studies in Epidemiology (STORBE) statement and checklist as: Abstract, Keywords, Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion, Acknowledgements, References, Tables, and Figures. A structured abstract (with the subheadings title, introduction, methods, results, and conclusion) should appear on the first page of the manuscript and should not exceed 350 words. The main text (excluding the abstract and references) should not exceed 4500 words.

Clinical Trials

Original research papers that report a randomized controlled trial, should comply with the guidelines provided by the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) group. Also, supplying the manuscript with a CONSORT flowchart diagram is highly encouraged. Researchers who would like to publish their clinical trial reports in Emergency are strongly encouraged to register their studies in a registry of clinical trials proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO) or the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). As an option, the Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials (IRCT) is a registry suggested by WHO.

Review Articles and Systematic Review Articles

Should be requested by the editor, but IJMTFM will also accept submitted reviews. The authors of review articles are invited to contact the Editorial Office before preparing a review article. Review articles should be composed of systematic critical assessments of literature and data sources pertaining to clinical topics, emphasizing factors such as cause, diagnosis, prognosis, therapy, or prevention. They should have unstructured abstracts. All articles and data sources should include information about the specific types of study or analysis, population, intervention, exposure, and tests or outcomes. Authors of review articles should be expert and have contributions in the field of the addressed subject. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses on clinical trials and observational studies should be prepared based on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) and Meta-analysis of observational studies in epidemiology (MOOSE), respectively. This type of articles should be limited to 5000 words.

Case Reports

Case reports should be arranged as follows: Abstract (Structured: background, case report, conclusion, not exceeding 200 words), Introduction, Case Report, Discussion, Conclusion, References, and 1 to 4 Figures. Necessary documentations of the case(s) like pathology and laboratory test reports should be included in the submission package. The length should not exceed 2000 words.

Short Communications

Original research papers can also be published in a Short Communications. Submitted papers that are of interest but not acceptable as a full-length original contribution, are offered by the editor to be published in this section. Also, the authors can primarily submit their papers for consideration of publication in this section. An unstructured abstract no longer than 150 words is required for this section. The body of the manuscript should not exceed 1500 words, and no heading or subheading should be used. Tables and/or figures should be limited to 2 ones and references to 15 in maximum.

Letters to the Editor

All correspondence will be considered for publication if it contains constructive criticism on previously published articles in IJMTFM during the previous six months, the authors of which will have the right of reply. Also, reports of limited research or clinical experiences can be submitted in the form of a letter. The length should not exceed 700 words. Letters will undergo peer-review processing and will be edited for clarity.

Appendix:

Conflict of Interest

Authors are expected to disclose any commercial associations or sources of support that might pose a conflict of interest in connection with the submitted article. All funding sources supporting the work must be declared in appendix section at the end of manuscript. Whole affiliations with or financial involvement in any organization on entity with a direct financial interest in the subject matters or materials of the research discussed (examples: employment, consultancies, stock ownership or other equity interest, patent-licensing arrangements) should be cited as conflict of interest at the end of manuscript text file.

Authorship

Based on the ICJME recommendations "all those designated as authors should meet all four criteria for authorship, and all who meet the four criteria should be identified as authors. Those who do not meet all four criteria should be acknowledged".

References:

Our reference style requirements are in accordance with the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals by the Vancouver style. You may find a complete guideline on Vancouver reference style here.

Figures and tables:

Figures and tables should be kept to a minimum necessary and their information should not be duplicated in the text. Tables and figures should be typed on separate sheets of the manuscript file, numbered, and have a title. Include double-spaced legends (maximum length, 60 words) on separate pages.

Tables as well as illustrations should be typed and drawn at the end of the manuscript after the references. Do not submit tables as photographs.

The figures should be sent in a format of JPEG or GIF which will produce high quality images in the online edition of the journal.

Responsibility and ethical requirements:

Author(s) should certify that neither the submitted manuscript nor other one with substantially similar content under their authorship has been published in any language or being considered for publication elsewhere. Author(s) takes responsibility for the integrity of the work as a whole, from inception to published article. In the event that an author is added or removed from the list of authors, written acceptance, signed by author(s), must be submitted to the editorial office. Sources of financial support of the project should be acknowledged. If the study involves human beings, the author(s) must include a statement that the study was approved by the local ethical committee and that written informed consent was obtained from the study participants. For those investigators who do not have formal ethics review committees, the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki should be followed. Also, the maintenance and care of experimental animals complies with National Institutes of Health guidelines for the human use of laboratory animals, should be declared in text. All relevant permissions to cite the unpublished observations of others must be obtained by the manuscript author(s). The names and initials of these persons must be cited in the text, and permission from the original author(s) obtained. Also, permission must be obtained to reproduce or adapt any figures or tables that have been published previously. The Emergency conforms to the international regulations against scientific misconduct including fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, and etc. Any cases of suspected misconduct will be assessed during the peer-review and publication process based on the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Submission Preparation Notes

As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission's compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors that do not adhere to these guidelines.

1. As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission's compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors that do not adhere to these guidelines.
2. The submission has not been previously published in any languages nor submitted to another journal for consideration.
3. The text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined in the Author Guidelines, which is found in about the journal.
4. The authors have no commercial associations or sources of support that might pose a conflict of interest.
5. Authors with a potential conflict of interest have been cited in the appendix section at the end of manuscript text file.
6. Authors’ contribution have been stated in the appendix section to emphasize each author’s responsibility to stand by the integrity of the entire work.
7. All authors declare that all sections of the manuscript were written originally and there is not any data fabrication; data falsification including deceptive manipulation of images and plagiarism.
8. The authors confirm that they have mentioned all organizations funded their research in the appendix section of submitted manuscript, including grant numbers in where appropriate.
9. All authors are accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
10. All those designated as authors should meet all four criteria for authorship, and all who meet the four criteria should be identified as authors. Those who do not meet all four criteria should be acknowledged.

Submission Preparation Checklist

As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission's compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors that do not adhere to these guidelines.

1. I do realize that by checking off the box next to each statement I certify that it is true and I am signing an author agreement.
2. Manuscript text file Title page
3. Title page & Covering letter 
4. Figure and Other
5. The submission has not been previously published in any languages and is not under consideration in another journal.
6. The text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined in the Author Guidelines, which can be found in the "About" section of the journal.
7. The authors either have no commercial associations or sources of support that might pose a conflict of interest, or the conflict of interest is declared in the appendix section at the end of the manuscript text.
8. All those designated as authors meet all four criteria for authorship, and all those who meet the four criteria are identified as authors. Those who do not meet all four criteria are acknowledged.
9. Author contribution has been stated in the appendix section. All authors are accountable for all sections of the manuscript and declare that it is written originally and there is no data fabrication; data falsification including deceptive manipulation of images and plagiarism.
10. The authors confirm that they have mentioned all the organizations that funded their research in the appendix section of the submitted manuscript, including grant numbers where appropriate.
11. Author(s) guarantee that data of the study are available for at least 10 years and will be provided if anyone needs them.
12. As an ethical requirement, author(s) certify that the present research study:
    1. Is in agreement with the regulations of their institution(s) and generally accepted guidelines governing such work3. Is free of any obscene, indecent, libelous, or otherwise unlawful material
13. 2. Contains no violation of any existing copyright or other third party right
14. The authors confirm that they have agreed to pay an Article publishing Charges. As well as, processing of a paper has no charge but the publishing of an article has charge(http://journals.sbmu.ac.ir/ijmtfm/about/editorialPolicies#custom-2).
15. The authors are required to include ORCID ID in the profile of the authors. ORCID IDs can only be assigned by the ORCID Registry. You must conform to their standards for expressing ORCID iDs, and include the full URI (eg. http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1825-0097).
16. The authors are required to include true research ethics code for all of Original Papers and other interventional studies and clinical trials including Case Reports and Short Communications. True research ethics code must be obtained from the ethics committee of the institute or research center.

Copyright Notice

Upon publication, each author agrees that the “Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences” is the copyright owner of the material published in “International Journal of Medical Toxicology and Forensic Medicine (IJMTFM)”. The users are free to copy, distribute, and display the work; to make any reasonable noncommercial use of the work, subject to proper attribution of authorship and ownership of the rights. Authors may use their material in presentations and subsequent publications they write or edit themselves, provided that “IJMTFM” is notified in writing and is acknowledged as the original publication.

At the time of sending the manuscript, it must be accompanied by copies of any permission to reproduce published material, to use illustrations or report information about identifiable people, or to name people for their contributions and send its signed agreement by ALL authors, along with a covering letter from the corresponding author indicating their agreements upon submission to and the right to reproduce and distribute the article for “IJMTFM”. Upon receiving them, the editorial board of “IJMTFM”, reserves the right to accept or reject the article in any stage and any time or delete a part of the text, tables or figures, if necessary.

Privacy Statement

The names and email addresses entered in this journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.