Submissions

Author Guidelines

Journal Sections

The Belgian Journal of Paediatrics publishes the following types of manuscripts:

Research Articles: Research articles report original findings from clinical studies, trials or meta-analyses. Articles are limited to 250 words for the abstract and 4,500 words for the main body of the text (not including the abstract or references), with a maximum of 30 references and eight figures or tables. Results that are clearly shown in tables or figures should not be repeated in the text. Follow the EQUATOR reporting guidelines (https://www.equator-network.org/). For clinical trials and studies, mention ethical committee approval and registration details in the methods section. Also include a statement confirming that written informed consent was obtained from all participants and their parents or guardians.

Review Articles: Review articles should provide an authoritative summary of the current state of research on a particular topic. They should include an abstract of no more than 250 words and a main text of between 1,500 and 4,000 words (excluding the abstract and references), with up to 30 references, three figures and three tables.

• Systematic Review: The aim of a systematic review is to answer a research question through a systematic literature search based on specific inclusion and exclusion criteria, as well as an evaluation of the methodological quality of the included articles. A meta-analysis of the results may be conducted alongside a systematic review. Authors must adhere to the PRISMA checklist, which is available at https://www.prisma-statement.org/. They must also include a PRISMA-style flow diagram in the ‘Methods’ section (https://www.prisma-statement.org/prisma-2020-flow-diagram).
• Scoping review: A scoping review is similar to a systematic review in that it addresses a research question, but has less strict inclusion criteria. Scoping reviews focus on the nature, characteristics and number of studies, with the aim of identifying knowledge gaps. Authors must adhere to the PRISMA checklist for scoping reviews, which is available at https://www.prisma-statement.org/scoping.
• Narrative Review: A narrative review provides an update on the current understanding of the pathophysiology, diagnosis and treatment of a disease in descriptive form. Authors should briefly describe how the literature search was conducted, including which databases were used, the search terms employed, the timeframe, and any inclusion or exclusion criteria applied. A narrative review may be illustrated by one or more case descriptions. In this case, authors should include a statement confirming that written informed consent was obtained from the parents or guardians, and/or from the child when appropriate (consent templates available in NL, FR, and ENG). Authors must adhere to the AMJ narrative review guidelines for authors, which are available at https://amj.amegroups.org/pages/view/guidelines-for-authors.

Case Reports: Case reports include an abstract of no more 100 words, a main text of no more than 1500 words (excluding the abstract and references), a maximum of three tables and/or figures, and a maximum of 10 references. Authors should adhere to the CARE Case Report Guidelines (https://www.care-statement.org). Authors must include a statement confirming that written informed consent was obtained from the parents or guardians, and/or from the child when appropriate (consent templates available in NL, FR, and ENG).

Photo quiz:The aim of this section is to promote the visual recognition of clinical images that paediatricians may encounter in their practice. These images may include photos of visible clinical signs, medical scans, procedures, or microscopic slides. The title and keywords should not reveal the diagnosis, and all patient-identifying information must be removed. Submissions should have two parts (clinical presentation as part one and diagnosis with discussion as part two) and no abstract.

First part: Up to two high-quality figures without captions and a brief clinical history of no more than 500 words. Do not include the diagnosis. End with the question: ‘What is the diagnosis?’
Second part: Up to 800 words covering the diagnosis, figure descriptions, a short discussion, and a maximum of five references.

Written informed consent for publication should be obtained from the parents or guardians, and/or from the child when appropriate (consent templates available in NL, FR, and ENG). Authors should adhere to the CARE Case Report Guidelines (https://www.care-statement.org).

Short Communications: Short communications should be limited to a 100-word abstract, a 1,500-word main text (excluding the abstract and references), one table and/or one figure, and 10 references. These contributions are not peer-reviewed. Acceptance is decided by the editors.

• Brief communication: Brief communication contains concise reports of original research. 

• Made in Belgium: A summary of a PhD thesis presented by a paediatrician affiliated with a Belgian institution or working in Belgium. The title of the PhD thesis must be followed by the subtitle 'PhD thesis presented on [date] at [university or school], [city], Belgium'. The author is the PhD student. Promotors and co-promoters are listed under the author. No abstract is requested for this article type.
• Focus on symptoms: A short schematic or algorithmic approach to symptoms that are frequently encountered by clinicians. No abstract is requested.
• State of the Art: A state-of-the-art article presents the latest and most advanced research, findings and practices in a particular area of paediatrics.
• Seeds of Change: Do you care not only for children, but also for the world they grow up in?
Do you have a project in your practice or hospital that has a positive impact on: the climate, biodiversity, sustainable mobility, waste reduction or recycling? We want to hear from you!
We’re looking for inspiring projects from paediatricians who think and act sustainably. Whether it’s a small idea or a big initiative — your story matters!

Insights: Insight articles offer an insight into the work and/or life of paediatricians. They can be submitted by anyone.

Correspondence to the Editor: Correspondence should be limited to 400 words, and may include one essential table or figure and up to five references. It relates to a specific aspect of a previously published paper, and the authors of that paper are invited to write a reply, which is published alongside the letter.

Book Reviews: Authors who want to share their experience with the readers of BJP can submit book reviews related to paediatrics. Reviews should not exceed 500 words, and may include one table or figure if necessary, as well as up to five references. The editors decide whether or not to publish.

Submission information

Manuscripts must be submitted online at http://belgjpaediatrics.com/index.php/bjp/submissions.

Outline of the online submission process

The online submission platform consists of five modules: ‘Start’, ‘Upload Submission’, ‘Enter Metadata’, ‘Confirmation’, ‘Next Steps’.

1. ‘Start’
• Make a choice of section and category of the manuscript.
• When preparing your article, use the appropriate checklist from the Equator Network. The Equator Network website provides reporting guidelines for the main article types. A copy of the ticked checklist must be submitted with the article.
• Check all submission requirements.
• Letter to the editor: provide a brief explanation of why the manuscript should be considered for publication in the Belgian Journal of Paediatrics and mention additional information that may be useful to the editor. Authors are strongly encouraged to provide the names and email addresses of 4 potential reviewers..
• Check author under ‘Submit As’.
• Check ‘Acknowledge the copyright statement’.
2. ‘Upload submission’

• Pay attention please: in this module only the manuscript body and supplementary files, such as figures, tables, authorizations, parental consent, letter to the editor or other supplements) can be uploaded. The title, abstract, authors’ names and affiliations and keywords should be entered in the metadata module.

• Manuscripts should be submitted as single-line spaced Word files in Arial font size 10.
• We require adherence to the EQUATOR reporting guidelines. For all submitted articles, a completed reporting guideline checklist is mandatory and must be uploaded at the time of submission. For publishing narrative reviews guidelines can be downloaded here.
• Please read carefully and apply the editorial rules below before submitting your manuscript.
1. ‘Enter Metadata’
   • Authors should be entered in the list of contributors. Author’s affiliation, e-mail address, and other personal data can be edited. The order of authors and corresponding author (principal author) can be defined.  
   • Authors should pay particular attention to keywords as keywords are used by search engines to retrieve articles. To enhance traceability and impact of their work authors are encouraged to MeSH terms (Medical Subject Headings) as keywords. MeSH provides tools to help authors: MeSH on demand, an automatic identification of terms from the abstract text (available from: https://meshb.nlm.nih.gov/MeSHonDemand) and MeSH browser to search terms from an existing list of keywords (available from: https://meshb.nlm.nih.gov/search).
• Title, abstract, list of contributors and keywords
2. Confirmation: go back to review and adjust any of the information you have entered before continuing. When you are ready, click "Finish Submission".

Authorship Criteria: Only individuals who have made a substantial contribution to the design, collection and analysis of data, writing or critical revision, and final approval of the article are eligible for authorship, as stipulated in the ICMJE guidelines (www.icmje.org). The corresponding author must confirm that these criteria have been met in the letter to the editor. Those who contributed but do not meet these criteria should be listed under the 'Acknowledgements' heading after the conclusion. All authors must approve any changes to the author list after submission. Authors are responsible for the content of their article.

Language: All manuscripts must be written in UK English spelling. Authors who are not very familiar with English are strongly encouraged to seek assistance in writing the article. Authors can use artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to improve the readability and language of their article. If they do so, they should declare which AI technology they have used. Authors are strongly encouraged to use inclusive language avoiding stereotypes on race, ethnicity, gender or other identities and use person-first temrminolgie (e.g. “children with obesity” and “not obese” children). Further information can be found in the Guidelines on Inclusive Language and Images in Scholarly Communication.

Scientific writing

• Bacterial names should be italicised, e.g. Staphylococcus aureus. After the complete name of a microorganism has been written out for the first time, the genus name can be shortened to a capital letter only, e.g. S. aureus. When discussing unnamed species, the abbreviation 'sp.' refers to a single unnamed species and 'spp.' refers to more than one. Further information can be found at: https://www.enago.com/academy/write-scientific-names-in-a-research-paper-bacteria/.
• Virus names (i.e. the organism that makes you sick) should not be italicised. Virus species names should be written in italics and should not be abbreviated. More information can be found at https://ictv.global/faq/names.
• Genus and species names of parasites should be italicised. Gene symbols should be italicised, e.g. the CFTR gene. Gene names written out in full should not be italicised, e.g. the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator gene. Gene products should not be italicised, e.g. the CFTR protein. Further information can be found at https://insight.jci.org/kiosks/publish/genestyle.

Title page

Title rules: All proper nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs should be capitalised. Articles (e.g., a, an, the), prepositions, and conjunctions are not capitalised unless they are the first word of the title. The first letter after a colon should also be capitalised. Example: Possible Pitfalls in Adolescent Medicine in Flanders: A Qualitative Approach 

Author Names and Affiliation: Provide the full names of the authors, excluding any academic degrees, and their affiliations. Ensure that each author's name is clearly stated with the given name(s) first, followed by the family name(s). Verify the spelling of all names is accurate. Use a lowercase superscript letter right after each author's name to denote their respective affiliations, placing it also before the affiliation address in the affiliation list. Example: Marc Raes^a, Christophe Chantrain^b. ^a Jessa Ziekenhuis, Department of Paediatrics, Hasselt, Belgium. ^b CHC MontLégia, Department of Paediatric Haemato-Oncology and Immunology, Liège, Belgium

Corresponding Author: Only the email address of the corresponding author is printed in the paper version.

Keywords: Authors should provide a maximum of five keywords. To enhance the traceability and impact of their work, authors are encouraged to use MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) terms as keywords. The National Library of Medicine (US) provides the following tools to help authors: MeSH on Demand, which automatically identifies terms from the abstract text (available at: https://meshb.nlm.nih.gov/MeSHonDemand), and the MeSH Browser, which allows users to search for terms from an existing list of keywords (available at: https://meshb.nlm.nih.gov/search).

Abstract: Abstracts should not contain references. Abbreviations should not appear in abstracts. However, if it is important for readability, two or three different abbreviations can be accepted. These abbreviations should be spelled out the first time they appear in the abstract (and in the article tekst). Check the section on article types to find out the word limits for abstracts of different types of articles.

Body of the Article

Organise the manuscript according to the instructions in the 'Types of Manuscripts' paragraph. Place statements after the conclusion and before the references. Figure legends should be placed after the references.

Patient Privacy, Informed Consent and Ethical Standards: If the work involves human subjects, the author must comply with the Declaration of Helsinki (The Code of Ethics of the World Medical Association). For clinical trials and studies, details of ethical committee approval, the registration number and the registry site must be stated in the 'Methods' section.

A written informed consent from the patient (if applicable) and both parents or the legal guardian must be obtained for all manuscripts containing patient data. Informed consent is recommended for children aged 6 – 11 and mandatory for those aged 12 and over. Consent templates are available in NL, FR, and ENG. Both biological parents should give consent; plus parents can act as witnesses but not as legal representatives. As the Belgian Journal of Paediatrics does not have access to private data, it is the author's responsibility to retain the informed consent form. The standard retention period is 10 years. If applicable, the statement about obtaining informed consent should be included in the 'Methods' section or the 'Statements' section at the end of the article.

Information that could potentially identify patients should not be included in the paper unless it is essential for scientific purposes. Photographs of identifiable patients require explicit authorization from the patient, parent, or legal guardian, as clearly documented in the informed consent.

Information relating to race, ethnicity, gender or religion should only be included if it is relevant to the content or purpose of the article.

Abbreviations: Abbreviations should always be spelled out the first time they are used, with the acronym or abbreviation placed in parentheses immediately afterwards. All subsequent uses, including tables and figures, should use the abbreviation or acronym. Only use abbreviations for terms that are both long and repeated more than two times in the text. Try to avoid using too many abbreviations in the paper; otherwise, the text becomes difficult to read and understand. We recommend using no more than six abbreviations.

Data Analysis: The description of the data analysis should specify the methods used and explain the rationale behind them. It should also describe the underlying assumptions and explain how the data met these assumptions. It should also explain how any missing data were handled.

Units of Measurement and Laboratory Values: Follow internationally accepted rules and conventions by using the International System of Units (SI). If other units are mentioned, provide their SI equivalent. Where applicable, normal values should be given in brackets when the value is first stated.

Drugs and Other Products: Non-proprietary names of drugs or other products should be used unless a specific trade name is essential for the discussion.

Eponyms and Acronyms: Eponyms should be used in their non-possessive form (e.g. 'Down syndrome' rather than 'Down’s syndrome'). Acronyms should be avoided. If this is not possible, they should be fully explained when they are first used.

Tables: Tables should not exceed one A4 page in portrait format to ensure they remain legible and printable on one page when published. Larger tables can be published online as supplementary material. In this case, authors should indicate in their letter to the editor which tables they wish to be published as supplementary material. The editors may exceptionally decide to publish large tables in the printed version of the journal. Tables created using screen capture are not allowed. Tables should be numbered in order of appearance in the text. Tables and their legends should be submitted as separate files.

Figures: Figures must be submitted as separate files. Images and photographs should be submitted as JPEG files with a resolution of at least 600 dpi or as PDF files. Flow charts and other diagrams should be submitted as a Word or PDF file. However, images embedded in Word files cannot be used. Figures should be numbered in order of appearance in the text. Each figure must have a legend. Figure legends should appear after the references. Do not include extra text (including keys and headings) in the artwork; spell out these elements in the figure legend instead. 

Supplementary Materials: Authors can add supplementary material to enhance the online version of their published research. This includes additional material relevant to the main article, such as extra data, large tables, additional figures or methodological appendices. However, it can only be published in the digital version of the journal and will be available via the journal's website.

References: References should be numbered in order of their first appearance in the text. Reference numbers in the text should be placed at the end of the sentence, within curly brackets and before the punctuation. If more than one reference is cited, separate them by a comma, for example (1, 5, 8). For a sequence of consecutive numbers, the first and last numbers should be separated by a hyphen (e.g. 1–4).

Only published papers or papers in press should be included in the reference list. Personal communications or unpublished data should be cited in parentheses in the text including the author’s names, the source and the year.

The reference list should be numbered according to their order of appearance in the text and placed at the end of the manuscript. References must be formatted according to the Vancouver style. The Quick Vancouver Citing and Referencing Style Guide is available at: https://guides.lib.monash.edu/ld.php?content_id=48260115). Listing DOI numbers is not mandatory.

Some examples

Less than 6 authors: Gonzalez-Aguero A, Vicente-Rodriguez G, Gomez-Cabello A, Ara I, Moreno LA, Casajus JA. A combined training intervention programme increases lean mass in youths with Down syndrome. Res Dev Disabil. 2011;32(6):2383-8.

More than 6 authors: Bervoets L, Van Noten C, Van Roosbroeck S, Hansen D, Van Hoorenbeeck K, Verheyen E, et al. Reliability and Validity of the Dutch Physical Activity Questionnaires for Children (PAQ-C) and Adolescents (PAQ-A). Arch Public Health. 2014;72(1):47.

Electronic journal article: Stockhausen L, Turale S. An explorative study of Australian nursing scholars and contemporary scholarship. J Nurs Scholarsh [Internet]. 2011 Mar [cited 2013 Feb 19];43(1):89-96. Available from: http://search.proquest.com/docview/858241255

Book: Carlson BM. Human embryology and developmental biology. 4th ed. St. Louis: Mosby; 2009. 541 p.

Electronic book: Halpen-Felsher BL, Morrell HE. Preventing and reducing tobacco use. In: Berlan ED, Bravender T, editors. Adolescent medicine today: a guide to caring for the adolescent patient [Internet]. Singapore: World Scientific Publishing Co.; 2012 [cited 2012 Nov 3]. Chapter 18. Available from: http://www.worldscientific.com/

Statements: Statements should be placed after the conclusion and before the reference list. Statements may include: informed patient consent, acknowledgements, obtaining funding/financial support, disclosing conflicts of interest, use of artificial intelligence.

After submission

Manuscripts must comply with the guidelines set out in the Instructions for Authors. After submission, manuscripts are first reviewed editorially. Those not prepared according to these instructions will be returned to the author(s) before the review process begins.

All manuscripts considered for publication undergo peer review. The editors assign at least two external and independent reviewers. The reviewers' names are hidden from the authors. The authors' identities are not hidden from the reviewers.

When resubmitting a manuscript following peer review, authors should provide a document answering the reviewers' comments point by point. They should also submit a copy of the original manuscript showing the revisions made via track changes, as well as a clean copy of the revised document.
All co-authors must approve the revised manuscript. The corresponding author should confirm this. To submit a revision, log in as an author at https://belgjpaediatrics.com/index.php/bjp/login. Your submission record can be found by clicking 'View' → 'Revisions' → 'Upload file'.

After acceptance

Proofreading: The corresponding author will receive electronic page proofs of the copy-edited and typeset article for checking before publication. PDF files of the typeset pages and supporting documents will be sent to the corresponding author by email. Proofs must be checked carefully and any corrections returned within one week of receipt. It is the author’s responsibility to ensure that the proofs are error-free.

Publication Embargo: All submissions accepted for publication in the Belgian Journal of Paediatrics are subject to an embargo until they are published. This means that it may not be disclosed to third parties until then. However, presenting study data as an abstract or poster at a scientific meeting prior to publication is acceptable, as is publishing abstracts in print and online conference proceedings. Authors should not, however, distribute copies of the original manuscript.

Corrections: Requests to publish corrections should be sent to the editorial office. Corrections are reviewed by the editors and published in the next journal issue as an erratum.

Copyright: By accepting publication in the Belgian Journal of Paediatrics authors automatically transfer copyright to the journal.

Reprints: Reprints can be obtained from the Belgian Journal of Paediatrics website at www.belgjpaediatrics.com. The journal is indexed in Google Scholar, where articles can be searched for (https://scholar.google.com/).

Editorial Principles

Editorship: All papers submitted to the Belgian Journal of Paediatrics are previewed by a member of the editorial team. Those that are novel and impactful enough for publication are forwarded for peer review. Other papers are returned without review following an editorial decision. If an editor has a conflict of interest regarding a submitted manuscript or its authors, she/he will abstain from the editorial board's decision-making process.

Invited Editors: Invited editors are appointed by the editors to coordinate the compilation of a special chapter of the journal dedicated to a particular subject. They select the chapter's topics, contact authors with relevant expertise and ensure that the expected deadlines for reviews are met. They review the manuscripts in terms of content. They also write an editorial letter for the special chapter. 

Manuscript Submission: The section “Instructions for Authors” describes the guidelines for preparing and submitting manuscripts. No publication fee is charged for manuscripts or illustrative figures, whether in colour or not. The editors will ensure the confidentiality of authors' work.

Authorship Criteria and Ethical Standards: Authorship criteria and ethical standards are described in the instructions for authors section.

Negative Studies: The Belgian Journal of Paediatrics agrees with the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors statement regarding the obligation to publish negative studies.

Misconduct: Reviewers of manuscripts and readers of the journal are encouraged to report any instances of malpractice. If misconduct is proven, the editors will notify the authors and their institution, and inform readers of the journal.

Duplicate or Prior Publication: In principle, the Belgian Journal of Paediatrics only accepts original manuscripts that have not been published elsewhere (except in the form of an abstract, as part of a published lecture or thesis). In exceptional cases, the editors may accept the publication of an article with a message of significant importance for Belgian paediatricians that has been published elsewhere, provided that they have obtained permission from the original journal and adapted the article to fit the journal's editorial policy, clearly mentioning the previous publication.

Any written or illustrative material reproduced from other sources must be duly acknowledged, accompanied by written permission from the copyright holder, and the source(s) must be mentioned in the article.

Peer Review: All papers received will be peer-reviewed after editorial approval by at least two external and independent reviewers, who will be invited by the editors. To avoid conflicts of interest, these reviewers must not belong to the same institution as the authors. Reviewers must decline to review a manuscript if they have any potentially conflicting or competing interests. Reviewers should only agree to review a manuscript if they feel qualified to do so and are able to return the review within a maximum timeframe of three weeks. If they are unable to review a manuscript, they should suggest alternative reviewers. Reviewers are requested to maintain the confidentiality of the review process by not sharing, discussing or disclosing information from the reviewed paper with third parties. The reviewers' names will be hidden from the authors. However, the authors' identities will not be blinded to the reviewers.

Reviewers must provide a fair, honest and unbiased assessment of the manuscript's strengths and weaknesses. They should offer thoughtful suggestions to help authors enhance the quality of the manuscript in a respectful, constructive and actionable manner. If possible, we suggest that reviewers categorise their review into 'strong points', 'weak points', and 'suggestions for improvement'.

Comments to the authors will be passed in full to authors. The reviewers can also provide additional confidential comments to the editors, which will not be passed to the authors.

If the reviewer has concerns about misconduct during the elaboration or submission of the manuscript, he must notify the editor. This also applies to the case where the reviewer notices important similarities between the manuscript and a published article.

Following the review process, a decision will be made to accept as such or with minor or major revisions, or to reject. In case of controversy or strong disagreement regarding the merits of the work, an additional review may be solicited or one of the journal’s editors might give an evaluation. Manuscripts will be resubmitted to the reviewers after revision by the authors if the manuscript satisfactorily addresses the comments from the reviewers and editors. The editors are responsible for the final decision to accept or reject a manuscript. Authors will be notified about the decision and, if the manuscript is accepted, the timing of publication.

Advertising: Advertisers must not influence or modify the content of articles that have been accepted for publication. Advertisements for products such as alcohol and tobacco, or products known to be harmful to children's health, are not permitted in the journal. The editors have the final authority to accept advertisements for each published issue of the journal. Each advertisement is clearly labelled as such and should preferably not be inserted in the body of the manuscript. The Belgian Academy of Paediatrics oversees the journal's advertising policy. The editors are not responsible for advertising on linked sites of the electronic version of the journal.

Complaints: Complaints regarding editorial decisions have to be addressed to the Editorial Office bjp@baop.be. All complaints will be analysed by the Editorial Team and a detailed answer will be provided. 

Instructions for peer reviewers

Review of a submitted manuscript by at least two external and independent reviewers who are solicited by the editors. The reviewers’ names will be blinded to the authors. Authors’ identities are not blinded to the reviewers.

Reviewers should only agree if they feel qualified to review a manuscript and are able to return the review within a reasonable time-frame of maximum three weeks. If they cannot review, it is helpful to make suggestions for alternative reviewers.

Reviewers must refuse to review a manuscript in case of any potentially conflicting or competing interest.

Reviewers are requested to maintain confidentiality about the manuscripts and the information they contain.

Reviewers must provide a fair, honest, and unbiased assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the manuscript. Comments to the authors will be passed in full to authors. The reviewers can also provide additional confidential comments to the editors, which will not be passed to the authors. Reviewers should offer thoughtful suggestions to help authors enhance the quality of the manuscript, doing so in a respectful, constructive, and actionable manner.

If the reviewer has concerns about misconduct during the elaboration or submission of the manuscript, he must notify the editor. This also applies to the case where the reviewer notices important similarities between the manuscript and a published article.

Instructions for invited editors

Each year, a number of issues address a special chapter dedicated to a particular topic. Two guest editors, a Dutch-speaking and a French-speaking, are responsible for the content of these chapters.

A number of six manuscripts per chapter is expected. If more than six articles are needed to elaborate the topic of the chapter correctly, the editors can decide to spread the chapter over two issues.

The tasks of the invited editors are:

-           To make choices of topics

-           To invite authors

-           To supervise the manuscripts in terms of content

-           To protect the expected deadline for publication

-           To write an editorial introducing the chapter

Editorial review and solicitation of peer reviewers will be done by the editorial team of the BJP.