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Journal of Neonatal Surgery 2012;1(2):19

EL-MED-Pub Publishers.

http://www.elmedpub.com

E D I T O R I A L

SCOPE OF JOURNAL OF NEONATAL SURGERY

Bilal Mirza

Department of Pediatric Surgery, The Childrens Hospital and the Institute of Child Health Lahore, Pakistan

Available athttp://www.jneonatalsurg.com

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License

How to cite:Mirza B. Scope of journal of neonatal surgery. J Neonat Surg 2012; 1: 19.

The second issue of Journal of Neonatal Surgery has been

successfully published. It is a matter of great pride and cele-

bration for the editorial team. Every editor has contributed

to the best of the capacity to bring forth the issue within the

specified time. Professor Yogesh Kumar Sarin led us from

the front; his meticulous efforts are worth a mention.

The primary scope of the journal is provision of a platform

for publication of evidence-based neonatal surgery. It is the

only available journal dedicated to the specialty. Neonatalsurgery is often performed by pediatric surgeons in many

parts of the world. Surgical neonates, the targeted propor-

tion of the population, are entirely different with other age

groups. Their body composition, requirements, immunity,

pathophysiology, and response to various diseases are spe-

cific to this age group [1]. Management of surgical neonates

often starts while in-utero, especially in those with congeni-

tal malformations. The decision to continue or terminate

pregnancy in a case of congenital malformation is generally

based on the type and severity of the malformation, parents

will, countrys law, or religious recommendations etc. Simi-

larly, there are other issues like management of surgical

neonates in surgical neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) or

medical NICU; should they be operated in operation theatre

or in surgical NICU etc. Here, the role of a specialty journal

as a forum for policy making and recommending cannot be

ignored. In this issue, a debate on where should the surgi-

cal neonates be nursed? is published to help find the an-

swer.

Often the surgical practice in neonatal population is mini-

mally evidenced. Hall et al reviewed the literature and found

that most of the surgical practice in neonatal surgery is not

supported by randomized controlled trials (RCTs) [2]. The

current practice is largely based on the retrospective reviews

and individual preferences [2]. The better scope of the jour-

nal is to publish highly evidenced neonatal surgery as RCTs.

Various categories have been developed for different kind of

publications each with its own level of evidence and signifi-

cance. Case reports are also published to support clinical

evidence, though they are considered to represent lowest

level of clinical evidence.

Electronic publishing has recently evolved as a preferred

mode of publication. Print journals have also started pub-

lishing online for their continued existence [3]. This mode of

publishing has given us the opportunity and freedom of

space, as not the case with print journals. A great deal ofmanuscripts can be published at a time, without delaying

the delivery of latest research to the readers. Since the

launch [4], a few original articles have been published; of

which majority are descriptive analyses. We are committed

to publish RCTs in future; nevertheless, a limited span of the

age is related to the specialty which may be the reason of

more retrospective analyses than proper RCTs. The same is

true for more case reports that are being published in the

age group. This problem can be handled by publishing Meta-

analyses of these descriptive series that might infer more

concrete evidence.

The parallel scope of the journal is Continuing Professional

Development (CPD) which states that everyone in any field ordiscipline must have up-to-date knowledge-base and skills

[5]. The clinical data on various diseases and their manage-

ment are dynamic and optimum therapies are continually

being evolved. Therefore, it is our endeavor to publish recent

literature on neonatal surgery help support the CPD. The

journal also provides an opportunity to the junior surgeons

and residents to learn the basic research and publication.

Research papers are welcome from the junior lot. A complete

section under the heading of Face the Examiner is espe-

cially devoted to the residents to check their basic knowledge

about important neonatal surgical disorders. Similarly,

Athenas Pages will keep the readers abreast of latest re-

search in the field.

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SCOPE OF JOURNAL OF NEONATAL SURGERY

Journal of Neonatal Surgery Vol. 1(2); 2012

The journal is in the beginning. It has been indexed with few

journal-databases. Indexing with PubMed Central, PubMed,

and acquisition of Impact Factor are the goals that would be

achieved once the journal qualifies the recommended num-

ber of publications. Every manuscript that has been pub-

lished since the launch would be indexed with all known and

credulous indexing agencies. Moreover, neonatal/pediatric

surgery associations and groups are invited to become our

partners. We also invite conference officials to use this jour-

nal as a platform for their publications.

REFERENCES

1. Louhimo I. Neonatal surgery. Ann Clin Res. 1980; 12: 28-35.

2. Hall NJ, Eaton S, Pierro A. The evidence base for neonatalsurgery. Early Hum Dev. 2009; 85: 713-8.

3. Zaman M. Electronic journals: a new dimension to research.J Neonat Surg. 2012;1:13.

4. Sarin YK, Bhatnagar SN. On the birth of journal of neonatalsurgery. J Neonat Surg. 2012;1:2.

5. Continuing professional development. Wikipedia [SerialOnline] 2012 [cited 2012 March 21]. Available from;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuing_professional_develo

pment.

Address for correspondenceDr. M. Bilal Mirza

Editor- Journal of Neonatal Surgery

428 Nishter Block Iqbal Town Lahore, PakistanE mail: blmirza@yahoo.com

Mirza B, 2012

Submitted on: 19-03-2012

Accepted on: 24-03-2012

Published on: 01-04-2012Conflict of interest: None

Source of Support: Nil