In 2017 there was a seamless transition to a new editorial team that did not result in any delays in the journal's operations.2,3 A competent coordination of this transition has been key to firmly maintain the course established by the previous team to improve manuscript processing and increase the visibility of Anales de Pediatría.

The total number of manuscripts submitted to the journal has declined slightly, from 695 in 2016 to 640 in 2017, with a concurrent reduction in the acceptance rate, from 33.9% to 25.3% (Fig. 1), which probably reflects the application of more stringent criteria for publication. The analysis of the distribution of submitted papers by type of article (Fig. 2) shows little variation in the past 3 years, with a mild increase in the proportion of original articles relative to the proportion of scientific letters and letters to the editor. Fig. 3 shows the trends in the number of submissions of original articles with the corresponding acceptance rate. The number of articles submitted has remained stable in recent years (between 250 and 300), while the acceptance rate has declined (from 24% in 2016 to 20.9% in 2017). The distribution by type of the articles published in 2017 was the following: 70 original articles (64 in 2016), 28 scientific letters (41 in 2016), 17 letters to the editor (23 in 2016) and 16 special articles and articles by the AEP (16 in 2016).

Figure 1.

Annual changes in the total number of received and accepted manuscripts, years 2009–2017.

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Figure 2.

Annual changes in the percentage of original articles, scientific letters and letters to the editor submitted to Anales.

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Figure 3.

Annual changes in the total number of received original article manuscripts and the percentage accepted.

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The time elapsed from receipt of the manuscript to editorial decision continues to be adequate (Fig. 4): 1.9 days from receipt of the manuscript in Anales de Pediatría to assignation to the editor-in-chief; 5.5 days from editor assignation to submission for peer review; 9.3 days from submission to peer review to the first editorial decision (it has decreased from 14 days in 2016, to approximate the shorter time of 9.8 days in 2015); and 6.2 weeks from acceptance of the manuscript to “ahead of print” online publication and indexing in PubMed, allowing citing of the article, an interval that was exactly the same as in 2016. This interval, achieved in 2016, was three weeks shorter compared to 2014.

Figure 4.

Mean manuscript processing times.

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The increased visibility of Anales de Pediatría has been consolidated, thanks, among other factors, to its simultaneous publication in Spanish and English. The number of visits to the Anales website increased by nearly half a million relative to 2016, exceeding 2700000 visits (Fig. 5), with visits made most frequently from Spain (amounting to more than 25% of the total) and Mexico (nearly 20%). For the first time, the number of visits received through ScienceDirect exceeded 1 million (Fig. 6), with 75% of these visits made from the United States (Fig. 7).

Figure 5.

Visibility of Anales de Pediatría. Number of visits to the website (http://www.analesdepediatria.org).

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Figure 6.

Percentage of visits received through ScienceDirect.

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Figure 7.

Percentage of visits by country of origin (ScienceDirect).

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Given the ongoing debate on the conflicts of interest of medical journal editors and the publication of a letter to the editor on this subject,4 we deemed it appropriate to declare our potential conflicts of interest, while remaining aware of the complexity of the situation and that the matter is not resolved with this decision.5 This statement can be found in a tab labelled Conflicts of Interest newly added to the website of Anales, next to the Editorial Board tab.

We feel compelled at every opportunity to emphasise the essential role of reviewers in the smooth operation of Anales de Pediatría. The quality and speed of their work is key in improving manuscript processing times and the selection of the finest articles. Table 1 presents the reviewers that have collaborated with Anales de Pediatría in 2017 in recognition of their invaluable work. One of the new elements we have introduced with the aim of making the review process as precise and organised as possible is the reviewer verification checklist, which is available in two formats: a very short one, which must always be submitted with the review, and another that is longer and of optional submission, available in a document that the reviewer can access through the reviewer's menu.

Manuscript authors provide Anales de Pediatría with the necessary content to fulfil the journal's mission of contributing to the dissemination of scientific knowledge in the field of paediatrics. With the aim of facilitating the administrative process of submitting manuscripts through our system, we eliminated requirement of submitting a scanned cover letter with the signatures of the authors, replacing it by notification to each author of their authorship in the article by electronic mail.

With the enactment of the new General Data Protection Regulation of the European Union, publishing houses must keep a register of all data processing activities and guarantee privacy in all its systems. In consequence, we can no longer ask authors to submit the informed consent (IC) of patients, nor store such information. To address this issue, we decided to replace the submission of informed consent documentation we previously required with submission of a statement where the authors declare that they possess proof of informed consent and could access it should it be necessary.

As is habitually done in other scientific journals, Anales de Pediatría has now made it requisite to nominate one or two reviewers depending on the type of article. The aim is to promote the collaboration of authors, who are experts on the subject of the article submitted for publication, in the designation of the most suitable reviewers for their work.

Lastly, the Asociación Española de Pediatría remains committed to publishing the articles in Anales de Pediatría, its flagship journal, at no cost to authors, which combined to the free access to the journal by members of the association requires significant efforts in fundraising, all the while preserving editorial independence, which as editors we deeply value and appreciate.

This year, we have once more awarded both the Anales de Pediatría award to the best original article published in the journal, selected based on criteria similar to those used in years past,1 and the Juan Rodríguez-Soriano award in recognition to the article that has most contributed to the impact factor of the journal in 2017. The first award has been granted to the original article “Respiratory viral infections in a cohort of children during the first year of life and their role in the development of wheezing. Cristina Calvo, Isabel Aguado, María Luz García-García, Esther Ruiz-Chercoles, Eloisa Díaz-Martinez, Rosa María Albañil, Olga Campelo, Antonio Olivas, Luisa Muñóz-Gonzalez, Francisco Pozo, Rosa Fernandez-Arroyo, Adelaida Fernandez-Rincón, Ana Calderon, Inmaculada Casas. An Pediatr (Barc) 2017;87:104-10”, and the second to the original article “Probiotic associations in the prevention of necrotising enterocolitis and the reduction of late-onset sepsis and neonatal mortality in preterm infants under 1500g. A systematic review” (Benjamin James Baucells, Maria Mercadal Hally, Airam Tenesor Álvarez Sánchez, Josep Figueras Aloy. An Pediatr [Barc] 2016;85:247–55).