Research Ethics

Human subjects research

• Studies involving humans must comply with the Declaration of Helsinki and applicable national/local regulations.
• Manuscripts must include:
• Ethics/IRB committee name and approval number/date, or a justified statement of exemption.
• A clear statement on informed consent when required.
• If identifiable information is included (images, case details), authors must obtain explicit written consent and state this in the manuscript.

Clinical trials

• Clinical trials should be registered in a public trial registry (ClinicalTrials.gov or national registries) where applicable. The registration number must be provided.

Patient privacy and confidentiality

• Authors must remove identifiers and avoid presenting information that could reasonably identify a patient unless written consent is obtained.
• Any use of patient images requires appropriate consent and protection of identity.

Animal research (if applicable)

• Animal studies must include approval from the appropriate ethics committee and follow recognized welfare standards (ARRIVE guidance where relevant).

Data integrity and reporting

• Authors must present research honestly, without fabrication, falsification, or inappropriate manipulation of data or images.
• Authors should follow appropriate reporting guidelines (CONSORT, STROBE, PRISMA, CARE, STARD, TRIPOD, SQUIRE) where applicable.