Author Guidelines

To learn about the submission requirements, structure, ethical considerations, editorial policies, and other publication criteria for the journal, authors should consult the Guidelines for Authors, available at the following link:

LETTER OF COMMITMENT AND EDITORIAL SUMMARY (Download)

INFORMED CONSENT (Download)

Authors interested in submitting manuscripts must register as an author on the journal website at https://www.revistaspp.org/index.php/pediatria/user/register and log in to the manuscript submission system.

This journal uses Open Journal Systems (OJS), an open-access editorial management platform. Therefore, all manuscripts submitted for publication must be sent exclusively through this system.

LETTER OF COMMITMENT AND EDITORIAL SUMMARY (Download)

INFORMED CONSENT (Download)

MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION

Manuscripts intended for PEDIATRÍA (ASUNCIÓN) must be submitted through the journal's web platform. The submission process must follow the system's step-by-step instructions available at: https://revistaspp.org/index.php/pediatria/about/submissions

Articles submitted for evaluation by Pediatría (Asunción) must be scientific, original, unpublished, and comply with the following requirements:

·         Follow the guidelines of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, published in the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals [N Engl J Med 1997;336(4):309-315], available online at: http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/

·         Manuscripts must also follow the guidelines of the Enhancing the QUAlity and Transparency Of health Research (EQUATOR) Network (http://www.equator-network.org). This website provides guidelines, including Spanish translations, for preparing research reports.

EDITORIAL PROCESS

1.       Manuscripts received are reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief, who evaluates whether they meet the journal's publication standards, comply with the current regulations, and include the corresponding letter of commitment. The Editor-in-Chief reserves the right to reject articles for technical or scientific reasons and to suggest or make reductions or modifications to the text or graphic material. If the submitted manuscript meets the publication requirements, the peer-review process begins. This review is conducted with both authors and reviewers blinded.

2.       Reviewers issue one of the following three decisions: a) Accepted without modifications; b) Accepted subject to the proposed modifications (minor revisions or major revisions); c) Rejected. The order of publication of accepted manuscripts is determined by the Editorial Board.

3.       The final decision regarding publication rests with the Editor-in-Chief.

4.       The works and opinions published in the journal are the sole responsibility of the authors. Authors grant the Journal the copyright rights necessary for the articles to be published and disseminated in any form or medium under a Creative Commons Attribution License.

5.       To increase the global visibility of published work, the journal accepts submissions in English and Spanish; however, the journal's official language is Spanish. If an article is submitted exclusively in English, the cost of translation into Spanish shall be borne by the authors. The title and abstract must be provided in both languages, regardless of whether the author chooses to publish the manuscript entirely in English or in Spanish.

ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT TYPES

Editorial: Brief essays presenting the authors' opinions or viewpoints on a topic in Pediatrics. The content may or may not be related to an article published in the journal and may address a current topic. Editorials are generally commissioned by the journal from an author or group of authors. In other cases, the content may reflect the journal's position on a specific topic; in such cases, it is signed by members of the Editorial Committee. No abstract, tables, figures, or keywords are included. Length: up to 1,200 words. References: up to 10.

Letters to the Editor: The author's viewpoints on an important or current topic, or an expansion of or discussion about an article. No abstract, tables, figures, or keywords are included. Length: up to 1,200 words. References: up to 10.

Original Articles: Clinical or experimental research articles on topics related to the journal's aims. They must be methodologically sound and original and provide updated information on the topic, with appropriate references. They include Abstract, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, and Conclusions. Length: up to 3,500 words, excluding the abstract and references. References: up to 24.

Review Articles: Review articles, whether narrative or systematic, analyze, summarize, and compare the results of multiple studies on the same topic and draw conclusions based on the available evidence. They must include an abstract of up to 250 words and the sections Introduction, Methodology, Results, and Discussion. Length: up to 4,000 words. References: up to 40.

Clinical Case Reports: Presentation of a case involving a rare disease or condition, or an unusual presentation of a common condition. Abstract: up to 150 words. Sections: Introduction, Clinical Case, Discussion, and References. Length: up to 2,000 words. References: up to 15.

Consensus Statements and Guidelines: Documents prepared by working committees of the local Society or by other scientific pediatric societies in the region.

Consensus Statements: These must justify the need for the document, identify participants and their affiliations, describe the method used to reach agreement (Delphi, nominal group, or another formal method), establish consensus criteria, distinguish evidence-based recommendations from those based on expert opinion, and disclose conflicts of interest. Manuscripts lacking an explicit methodology for building consensus will not be considered consensus statements.

Guidelines: These must clearly define their objectives and target population, describe the methodology used to search for and assess scientific evidence, specify the system used to grade the evidence and strength of recommendations (GRADE or another recognized system), present explicit evidence-based recommendations, disclose conflicts of interest, and indicate the date of preparation and update, when applicable.

Both guidelines and consensus statements must include a title, abstract/resumen (up to 250 words), introduction, methodology, document development, recommendations or consensus statements, conclusion, and references (maximum 30, at least 50% of which must have been published within the last 5 years). The use of the international AGREE II and/or RIGHT Statement guidelines for the development and reporting of guidelines is recommended. The Editorial Committee may reclassify the manuscript type when the methodology presented does not correspond to the category proposed by the authors.

Special Article: Special Articles are publications that, because of their exceptional nature, institutional relevance, topical subject matter, or innovative format, are invited or accepted by decision of the Editorial Committee outside the usual categories. They include institutional positions, scientific tributes, or contributions of particular impact.

MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION FORMAT

Manuscripts must be prepared using a word processor (MS Word) on A4-size pages, double-spaced, in 12-point Arial font. Pages must be numbered beginning with the title page, with the page number centered. Length will depend on the manuscript type.

FIRST PAGE (one file)

a) Title in Spanish and English (maximum 20 words).

b) Authors' first and last names and affiliations (hospital or institution), listed in descending hierarchical order. Titles such as director, coordinator, and academic degree should NOT be included.

Example: Juan Pérez¹, Luis Mendieta¹˒², Valentina Samudio¹˒²

¹Universidad Nacional de Asunción. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas. Hospital de Clínicas, Cátedra de Pediatría. San Lorenzo, Paraguay.

²Hospital General Pediátrico Niños de Acosta Ñu, Departamento de Investigación. San Lorenzo, Paraguay.

c) ORCID for all authors (https://orcid.org/)

Example:
Juan Pérez https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6090-2351
Luis Mendieta https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6090-2352
Valentina Samudio https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6090-2358

d) Correspondence: First and last name of the corresponding author, email address, and telephone number.

The corresponding author must ensure that all persons listed as authors have made significant contributions and that each has reviewed and approved the final manuscript before submission. This approval must be explicitly indicated in the individual author contributions, in accordance with the journal's editorial criteria.

e) Participation of each author in the study, following the Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT) recommendations. Include a brief description of each author's contribution to the work: https://casrai.org/credit/

The 14 CRediT contributor roles

·         Conceptualization: Development of the main ideas of the study.

·         Data curation: Management, organization, and storage of data.

·         Formal analysis: Use of statistical or mathematical tools to analyze the data.

·         Funding acquisition: Seeking and managing funding for the research.

·         Investigation: Conducting the research, including data collection and analysis.

·         Methodology: Design and application of research methods.

·         Project administration: Supervision and management of the research project.

·         Resources: Provision of the resources necessary for the research.

·         Software: Development and implementation of software for the research.

·         Supervision: Oversight and guidance of the research.

·         Validation: Verification of the validity and accuracy of the results.

·         Visualization: Creation of graphs, tables, or other visual representations of the data.

·         Writing – original draft: Writing the first version of the research article.

·         Writing – review and editing: Reviewing and editing the research article.

f) Ethical considerations: State whether the work was evaluated by the institution's ethics committee. Studies involving human participants must have approval from a research ethics committee. The journal adheres to ethical conduct and good publication practices, including the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing published by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), the Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA), and the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME), as well as the Codes of Conduct published by COPE: https://publicationethics.org/core-practices

For studies involving experiments in humans, procedures must comply with the ethical standards of the Council for International Organizations of Medical Sciences (CIOMS): https://cioms.ch/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/CIOMSEthicalGuideline_SP_INTERIOR-FINAL.pdf and https://cioms.ch/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/WEB-CIOMS-EthicalGuidelines.pdf, and with the Declaration of Helsinki of 1975, 6 September 2022: https://www.wma.net/policies-post/wma-declaration-of-helsinki-ethical-principles-for-medical-research-involving-human-subjects/

Do not use patients' names, initials, or hospital identification numbers, particularly in illustrative material. Descriptions, photographs, or other details that may contribute to identifying a patient may not be published unless the information is essential for publication, in which case the patient, parent, or legal guardian must provide written consent. Manuscripts must state in the text that the protocol was approved by the Ethics Committee of the institution where the study was conducted or by a higher-level committee. In some cases, authors may be asked to provide the study approval code and confirmation that informed consent was obtained from study participants or their guardians.

g) Informed consent: Manuscripts containing patient case reports must have informed consent from parents or guardians for children younger than 10 years and informed assent for children aged 10 to 12 years. This requirement applies to all manuscripts containing data that could identify the patient(s) in any way, including photographs, identifying information, place of origin, treating institution, clinical presentation, investigations, treatment, and clinical course.

h) Funding source: Indicate whether the study was self-funded or funded by an institution. Authors must disclose all sources of funding that supported the work, including scholarships, grants, institutional funds, contracts, or other financial support. If no funding was received, this must be explicitly stated: "The authors declare that they received no funding for this study."

i) Conflict of interest statement: Authors must disclose any financial, personal, or professional conflict of interest that could influence or appear to influence the content of the manuscript. If no conflicts exist, the following statement must be included: "The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest."

j) Declaration of the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools and writing-support technologies must be transparently disclosed in the manuscript. Authors who have used generative AI tools (such as chatbots, translators, writing assistants, or similar tools) in preparing the text must describe their use in the Methods section or Acknowledgments, as appropriate, indicating the tool used and the purpose for which it was used. Responsibility for the integrity, accuracy, and originality of the content rests exclusively with the authors, regardless of the use of these tools. AI tools may not be listed as authors or co-authors and may not be cited as sources of information. The journal reserves the right to reject manuscripts in which inappropriate use of AI is detected that compromises the originality, scientific integrity, or authorial accountability of the work. This policy is based on the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), and the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME).

k) Data availability

Authors must include a section entitled "Data Availability" at the end of the manuscript, before the "References" section. Authors must clearly indicate how the research data can be accessed; for example, by providing the link/DOI of the public repository where the data are deposited, or by stating that they will be available upon reasonable request from the reviewer.

l) Acknowledgments

Recognition of persons or institutions that contributed to the completion of the study but were not directly involved in its conception, execution, methodological framework, revision, or final version.

SECOND PAGE (in a separate file)

·         Abstract in Spanish: maximum 250 words.

·         Abstract in English: same content as the Spanish abstract, maximum 250 words.

·         Keywords: 3 to 6 in both English and Spanish. Use terms defined in the DeCS Health Sciences Descriptors available at https://decs.bvsalud.org/es/. For English, use MeSH descriptors available at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/.

·         Manuscript text: must include Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, and Conclusion.

·         Tables: The title must appear above the table. Tables must be numbered with Arabic numerals according to their order of appearance in the text. They must contain sufficient information, both in the content and in the title, to be interpreted without referring to the text. Only one horizontal line will be accepted, used to separate the heading from the body of the table; vertical lines must not be used. Tables must be double-spaced and use the same font as the manuscript. If abbreviations are used, they must be explained in a smaller font at the foot of the table. Statistical tests used in observational and clinical studies must also be referenced in the table footnotes. Tables must appear at the end of the manuscript and be properly cited in the text. (See example in Table 1.)

Table 1. Antimicrobial susceptibility profile of Shigella spp. (n=610)

·         Figures: Maps, photographs, diagrams, or graphs are considered figures and must be numbered with Arabic numerals. TIFF or JPG formats are acceptable at a resolution greater than 600 dpi or 300 pixels and must be editable. Legends for photomicrographs must indicate magnification and staining method.

Maps must include a scale. In figures showing patients' faces, the image must be edited to prevent identification of the individual. Authors must attach written authorization from the patient or legal representative consenting to publication of the photographs. If a previously published figure is included, the original source must be indicated and written permission from the copyright holder must be submitted. As with tables, all figures must have a clear and concise legend title, placed below the figure, unlike tables, whose titles appear above. Figures must be placed at the end of the manuscript and properly cited in the text.

·         Images: Images can help achieve the precision required for a scientific manuscript. It is important to label key elements and indicate the meaning of the different colors and symbols used. Images must appear at the end of the manuscript and be properly cited in the text.

·         Data graphs: The purpose is often to show a functional or statistical relationship between two or more elements. For data graphs, ensure that all axes are labeled, units are specified for measured quantities, all curves and data sets are labeled, and a legible font size is used.

·         Maps: Maps are important for placing fieldwork in the context of the location where it was conducted. A good map will help the reader understand how the site affects the study. For maps, ensure that latitude and longitude are included, scales are provided, important elements are labeled, and a map legend is added.

·         References: References must follow Vancouver style (NLM Style) and be listed in order of appearance in the text, using Arabic numerals in parentheses. Multiple citations must be separated by commas (5,7,9), and sequential citations of three or more references must be indicated as a range (8-10). In the reference list, the first six authors must be listed, followed by “et al.” when applicable. Authors are responsible for verifying the accuracy, completeness, and correspondence of all cited references. The use of reference-management software (Mendeley®, EndNote®, Zotero®, RefWorks®, or equivalent tools) is recommended to organize references and ensure compliance with the journal's style.

Artificial intelligence tools must not be used as sources of bibliographic references. Authors must directly verify all citations included in the manuscript against the original sources. Whenever available, the DOI (Digital Object Identifier) of the cited reference must be included.

GUIDE FOR WRITING BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES

Journal article

Pineda Fretez AB, Alvarez M, Orrego V, Ortíz H, Díaz N, Abreu KV, et al. Distribución de especies, serotipos y resistencia antimicrobiana de Shigella spp. en pacientes del área metropolitana de Paraguay (2019-2025). Pediatr. (Asunción). 2026;53(1):5-14. doi: doi.org/10.31698/ped.53012026002

Book

If the source is not online, omit the information in brackets and the access link or DOI.

Organización Mundial de la Salud. Plan de acción para prevención y control de infección por el VIH y las infecciones de transmisión sexual 2016-2021 [Internet]. OMS; 2016 [citado 2020 Nov 23]. Disponible en: https://iris.paho.org/bitstream/handle/10665.2/34079/DC552017-spa.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

Book chapter

Rojko JL, Hardy WD Jr. Virus de la leucemia felina y otros retrovirus. In: Sherding RG, editor. El gato: enfermedades y manejo clínico. New York: Churchill Livingstone; 1989. p. 229-332.

Conference proceedings

Furton EJ, Dort V, editores. Adicción y conductas compulsivas. Actas del XVII Taller para Obispos; 1999; Dallas, TX. Boston: National Catholic Bioethics Center (US); 2000. 258 p.

Thesis

Coronel Grunce JE. Factores de riesgos cardiovasculares asociados en pacientes adultos con obesidad igual o menor a 40 años que consultaron en el Departamento de Obesidad del Hospital de Clínicas. [tesis de grado] San Lorenzo: Universidad Nacional de Asunción, San Lorenzo; 2018.

Reports

Ministerio de Salud y Bienestar Social, Dirección de Vigilancia de la Salud. Boletín Epidemiológico Semanal. Asunción: Dirección de Vigilancia de la Salud (Paraguay); 2021. Boletín nro 10. 14 p.

Websites

Sociedad Paraguaya de Pediatría [Internet]. Asunción: Sociedad Paraguaya de Pediatría; 2021 [citado 2021 May 31]. Disponible en: https://www.spp.org.py/

CHECKLIST BEFORE SUBMITTING A MANUSCRIPT TO THE JOURNAL

✓ The manuscript complies with the journal's publication guidelines and required format.

✓ The manuscript is not currently under consideration by another journal.

✓ All authors have complete institutional affiliations and ORCID identifiers and have approved the final version of the manuscript.

✓ Statements on funding, conflicts of interest, author contributions, and ethical approval (when applicable), as well as the declaration of AI use and data availability, are included.

✓ Bibliographic references and in-text citations comply with Vancouver style and have been properly verified with their corresponding links.

✓ All supplementary documents required by the journal according to the manuscript type are attached, e.g., letter of commitment and informed consent.