From Anales de Pediatría, we have tried to increase access to paediatric protocols endorsed by the Asociación Española de Pediatría (Spanish Association of Paediatrics, AEP) creating a special “Coronavirus COVID-19” section in the website of the journal.2 This section has been making available to our readers the latest modification to these protocols to try to keep information that is progressively changing up to date. On the other hand, we have published one special article3 and have strived to prioritise manuscripts related to clinical experience with paediatric cases, aware that the avalanche of data on the subject makes it difficult to keep the content updated. All articles related to COVID-19 have been grouped and can be accessed through a direct link in the home page of the site. The response of readers has been positive, as the special article and the article on the first case of infection by SARS-CoV-2 in a newborn4 are the 2 most-read articles in the first months of 2020.

The total number of manuscripts submitted to the journal continued to be greater than 700 (Fig. 1). Due to this high number, the acceptance rate continues to be low, decreasing from 23% in 2018 to 20% in 2019. As for the type of manuscripts submitted (Fig. 2), we found that the distribution was very similar compared to 2018. Fig. 3 shows the changes in the number of original articles and the corresponding rate of acceptance, revealing a small decrease compared to 2018. In 2018, the journal received 389 original articles, compared to 310 in 2019. When it came to the articles published in 2019, the distribution by type was as follows: 13 editorials (13 in 2018), 72 original articles (72 in 2018), 36 scientific letters (36 in 2018), 25 letters to the editor (22 in 2018), and 24 special articles and articles by the AEP (19 in 2018).5

Figure 1.

Annual changes in the total number of received and accepted manuscripts, years 2011–2019.

(0.16MB).

Figure 2.

Annual changes in the percentage of original articles, scientific letters and letters to the editor received in the 2011–2019 period.

(0.12MB).

Figure 3.

Annual changes in the total number of received original article manuscripts and the percentage accepted in years 2011–2019.

(0.14MB).

Figs. 4 and 5 present the response time in manuscript processing, with values that have remained relatively stable in the past few years. We believe that these figures reflect that the response times to submitting authors in case of rejection are quite reasonable for the purpose of submitting their work to other journals.

Figure 4.

Mean time elapsed to first response (years 2011–2019).

(0.13MB).

Figure 5.

Mean manuscript processing time from acceptance to publication (years 2011–2019).

(0.12MB).

The considerable increase in the visibility of Anales de Pediatría throughout 2019 is the most positive aspect to highlight in the evolution of the journal. Since 2012 and particularly in 2014 we had witnessed a substantial increase in the number of readers, which we attributed to a great extent to the publication of the journal in English as well as Spanish. However, the increase achieved in 2019 is probably due to other factors, such as the redesign of the digital platform of Anales de Pediatría to make it more user-friendly and appealing, facilitating consultations from mobile devices or increased visibility in social networks. At any rate, what the figures seem to indicate once again is that the journal is received favourably by potential readers. Specifically, compared to 2018, the number of visits to the Anales de Pediatría website increased by more than 2.5 million, with the total number of visits exceeding 5.6 million (Fig. 6). The highest percentage of readers correspond to Spain, with 22.8%, and Mexico, with 20.9%. The increasing trend in visits from Science Direct (Fig. 7) was consolidated with an increase that approximated 50,000 visits, of which 87.2% were from the United States (Fig. 7). The total number of visits, with an increase of nearly 3 million, exceeded 7 million (Fig. 8).

Figure 6.

Visibility de Anales de Pediatría: number of visits to the site (www.analesdepediatria.org) (years 2011–2019). The percentage distribution by country was: Spain: 23%, Mexico: 21%, Argentina: 10%, Colombia: 10%, Chile: 6%, Peru: 6%, Ecuador: 4%, USA: 3%, Bolivia: 2%, Venezuela: 2% and other: 13%.

(0.17MB).

Figure 7.

Visibility of Anales de Pediatría: number of visits from Science Direct (years 2011–2019).

(0.16MB).

Figure 8.

Visibility de Anales de Pediatría: total number of visits (years 2011–2019).

(0.12MB).

The website of Anales de Pediatría features the number of visits to each article, which is updated daily, allowing readers and authors to know which are the most read.

Table 1 details the names of the 314 reviewers that have collaborated with Anales de Pediatría in 2019. We will never tire of emphasising how essential their work is. They select the best manuscripts and provide constructive comments to improve the articles that they review. As we do every year, we express our gratitude for their disinterested efforts.

In an attempt to improve the recruitment of new reviewers, Elsevier has included Anales de Pediatría in its “volunpeers” initiative. The latter consists in inviting interested researchers, usually authors of recently published articles, to register as reviewers through the Editorial Manager system.

We also thank the authors of the manuscripts for their interest in publishing their research in Anales de Pediatría. We regret the high percentage of rejections that we are forced to issue due to the difference between the number of submitted manuscripts and the publication capacity of the journal. We are aware that we may sometimes err in the manuscript evaluation process and reject articles with sufficient scientific rigour to deserve publication. We hope that authors will be understanding in these situations and continue to submit the work to the journal. It has been a few months since we have made it possible to submit videos to the Images in Paediatrics section. This option has only been used occasionally. However, we keep it open, as we believe that it is particularly useful to convey clinical aspects in which static images are limited in the amount of the total information they can present.

The annual award Anales de Pediatría 2020 to the best article published in Anales de Pediatría in 2019 was given to “Marta Montejo Fernández, Iñaki Benito Manrique, Arantza Montiel Eguía and Javier Benito Fernández. Una iniciativa para reducir el uso de medicación innecesaria en lactantes con bronquiolitis en atención primaria. An Pediatr (Barc). 2019;90:19–25”.

The award to the article that contributed the most to the impact factor of Anales de Pediatría in the past 2 years (2018 and 2019) corresponded to “Ana Jiménez de Domingo, Rafael Marañón Pardillo, Vanessa Arias Constanti, Luis Alberto Frontado Haiek, Marta Soriano Arola, Frances Ripoll Oliveras, Cristina Remón García, Gloria Estopiña Ferrer y Jorge Lorente Romero, en representación del Grupo de Trabajo de Lesiones no Intencionadas de la Sociedad Española de Urgencias de Pediatría. Epidemiología y factores de riesgo de las lesiones por caídas en niños menores de un año. An Pediatr (Barc). 2017;86:337–343”.

We offer our congratulations to the authors of these articles.

In every previous editorial, we have highlighted the support that Anales de Pediatría receives from the Board of Directors of the AEP.6 A year ago we expressed our gratitude for the ongoing effort of the AEP to ensure the journal is free both for the authors that publish their work and the readers. We believe that this is another of the factors that have promoted the spectacular increase in the visibility of the journal in 2019. Our main objective is to publish high-quality content to be read by a great number of paediatricians worldwide. It seems that with the support of the AEP we are achieving it.