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Introduction

Ticino Medical Tribune, the official journal of the Ordine dei medici del Cantone Ticino, is a publication dedicated to general medicine. The articles in its scientific section are of interest to physicians from various specialties and aim to contribute to the advancement of clinical practice and medicine as a whole.

Contributions particularly relevant to general medicine, studies highlighting unmet clinical needs, and commentaries on recently published research are especially encouraged.

To this end, the journal publishes:

1. a) original data studies, narrative/systematic reviews/meta-analyses, and editorials
2. b) case reports
3. c) letters

Starting from January 2025, in addition to the regular "scientific" section, Ticino Medical Tribune introduces a new "peer-reviewed scientific" section, in which articles are subject to peer review. This section is managed in collaboration with the Institute of Family Medicine at the Università della Svizzera Italiana.

Authors wishing to submit a manuscript to Ticino Medical Tribune must follow the guidelines outlined below, in accordance with the principles established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Adhering to these rules ensures a transparent editorial process that meets ethical standards.

If a researcher contributed to the work but does not meet all the criteria for authorship, they may be acknowledged for their specific contribution at the end of the article.

1. Management

This section is managed in collaboration with the Institute of Family Medicine at the University of Lugano, which ensures the scientific quality of the contributions.

2. Article

2.1. General information

Articles in this section may be written in Italian or English and must include the following sections in order:

• Title in Italian (maximum 10 words)
• List of authors without affiliations
• The text of the articles is divided into four sections:
  • Introduction
  • Materials and Methods
  • Results
  • Discussion
  • (Conclusion)
• Title translated into English (maximum 10 words)
• Abstract in English, without sections ("unstructured"). The abstract length should be between 150 and 250 words for articles. For case reports, it should not exceed 100 words. For letters and editorials, an abstract is not required. For articles in English, an abstract is required in both English and Italian.
• Keywords: must include between 3 and 5 keywords in English, separated by commas.
• References: with a maximum of 20 references for original data studies, narrative/systematic reviews, meta-analyses, and editorial articles; 10 for case reports; and 3 for letters and editorials.  Authors of systematic reviews and meta-analyses with a higher number of references are encouraged to use an online digital repository, where they can list the references of the analyzed studies or other supplementary information. The repository must be publicly accessible without restrictions. The manuscript must include the link to access the repository.
  The bibliography must include only journal articles indexed in PubMed and should be formatted according to the NLM model of PubMed. (Important: a. List all authors and avoid using "et al."; b. Include the full page range of the article (e.g., not just 220-5 but 220-225)).
  Example:
  Feketea G, Vassilopoulou E, Andreescu O, Berghea EC, Pope RM, Sabin OA, Zdrenghea M, Bocsan IC. Vitamin D level and immune modulation in children with recurrent wheezing. J Pediatr. 2024;121(2):220-225.
• Repetition of the author list with affiliations.
• Declarations:
  • Role of each author in the preparation of the manuscript
  • Conflicts of interest
  • Funding and sponsor’s role
  • Ethics: name of the ethics committee that approved the study and a statement on informed consent obtained from participants
  • Access to raw data, repository address
  • Acknowledgments

2.2. Language

The journal is read by doctors from all specialties. Therefore, overly technical language should be avoided, and abbreviations should be minimized (ideally, no abbreviations should be used).

2.3. Authors

After the title (which must not exceed 10 words), the full first and last name of each author should be provided. If an author has one or more middle names, they should be indicated with an initial followed by a period (e.g., "Marco P. Bolzano", NOT "MP Bolzano" or "Bolzano Marco Paolo"). At the end of the article, the full name and affiliation of all authors should be listed again. Only the corresponding author should include their email address immediately after the affiliations according to the following model:

Title of the author (First name, Last name)
Affiliation (Department/Service, Name of the Hospital/University)
Postal Code, City (Country)

Corresponding author: First name, Last name, Email

Example:
Dr. med. Marco P. Bolzano
Rheumatology Service, Cassarate Hospital
6900 Lugano (Switzerland)

Dr. med. Marina Calzi
Orthopedics Service, Cassarate Hospital
6900 Lugano (Switzerland)
Corresponding author: Marco P. Bolzano, email: marco.bolzano12341@webmaster.ch

2.4. Documents

The following documents must be submitted separately:

• Main manuscript (in Microsoft Word)
• Tables (each table in a separate Microsoft Word file)
• Figures (each figure as a separate file in any preferred format)

The total number of tables and figures combined must not exceed six. Each table and figure must have a title or a brief legend and be referenced in the text.

For case reports, the total number of tables and figures combined must not exceed three.

Articles must not explicitly advertise clinics, services, or institutions affiliated with the authors.

The authors of each article are responsible for ensuring that their work and statements:

• Comply with applicable regulations
• Follow international recommendations (including authorship criteria)
• Have been approved by an ethics committee, if necessary
• Adhere to the authorship criteria as outlined by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE):
  https://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/roles-and-responsibilities/defining-the-role-of-authors-and-contributors.html

2.5. Length

a. The length of articles must not exceed 2,500 words (preferably 2,000 words or fewer).
b. The length of case reports must not exceed 1,000 words (ideally 800 words or fewer).
c. The length of letters (comments on articles recently published in the journal; relevant medical issues; clinical cases in letter format) must not exceed 400 words (ideally 300 words or fewer).

2.6. Font

The required font is Arial 10.

3. Submission letter

It will be necessary to state in the submission letter that:

"The corresponding author declares that the work submitted for the attention of Tribuna Medica Ticinese has been conducted in compliance with applicable regulations and international recommendations."

Additionally, the submission letter must include a declaration of the presence or absence of conflicts of interest for each author.

Each article must have a corresponding author responsible for the following:

• Ensuring that the names of the authors, their order, and affiliations are correct, and verifying that all authors have approved the manuscript before submission.
• Properly formatting the manuscript, tables, and figures.
• Obtaining permissions to reproduce previously published material.
• Ensuring that patients have given their consent for the publication of photographs or imaging studies.
• Including (if applicable) conflict of interest statements.

4. Costs

Ticino Medical Tribune does not charge any fees for online submission and publication of articles.

5. Evaluation

Manuscripts submitted to the peer-reviewed scientific section will be evaluated by reviewers, who will critically assess the work. The experts will remain anonymous.

6. Transmission

Articles for the peer review section must be submitted via the following link: www.tribunamedica.ch

7. Review of Instructions

Author instructions are periodically updated, and authors are advised to review them before each submission.