Saudi Medical Journal Message ============================= * Fahdah Alokaily We embark on a new year, it is important to reflect on the progress we have made and the challenges that lie ahead. In this editorial, We aim to go over the impact factor (IF) and new policies before shedding light on the journal statistics. After more than 3 years, the World Health Organization has declared an end to the COVID-19 as a global health emergency.1 It seemed like yesterday when COVID-19 has changed our lives and we suddenly adapt to the new normal. Never before have research and healthcare systems gained the importance and priority they have now. One of our main roles is addressing global health issues. Over the years we have published COVID-19 related articles and this year the submissions on COVID-19 articles were not as ruling as with the previous years. It comprised 10% of our publication. The challenges that we face with these articles is the reproducibility. We do encourage novel contributions from other parts of the globe. The other challenge is the substantial amount of low-scientific relevance submissions; in addition to inadequate reviews or a lack of enthusiasm on the part of reviewers to offer an in-depth review, the editor has the last say in matters of opinion. This year it also has come to our attention that some predatory site/journal is using our name and logo for publishing purposes. We would like to warn our readers and authors to use only the official links and website for the submissions. We are not connected with these agencies and do not take part in any of thier activities, and transactions that they do using our name. We are working on expanding the use of the social media for dissemination of scientific information, we always advise the author to contribute in this process. Halfway through this year the Journal’s latest IF was released, it rose to 1.6 which is higher than the previous year’s (1.422) although IF importance may diminish over time as new metrics are developed, but still IF remains an important metric for evaluating journals. Despite everything that we have encountered this year, we consider this to be great news. It is encouraging that we are adhering to our goal of releasing high-impact and quality articles. Moving forward, we believe this task will be more achievable with the addition of our 2 new associate editors who will assist and review various prior-to-print editing processes. We are delighted to welcome on board Dr. Saad Albtal from the Department of Family Medicine, Prince Sultan Military Medical City, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Dr. Haifa from the Scientific Research Center, Ministry of Health Defense Health Services, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Surely they will be a great addition to our team. Once again we would like to bring light to some Journal’s policies for the benefit of our readers most especially our authors. We have announced last year, that the journal does not consider papers that were previously submitted to preprint repositories, although this is a requirment by many journals, we at Saudi Medical Journal find it confusing, inconvenient, and time consuming when screening for unethical previously published (duplicated) articles. Another thing is the withdrawal process for downgraded articles, downgraded articles are articles that were first submitted as Original article and after the peer-review process and evaluation it was decided to be revised as Brief Communication. We would like to affirm that this decision is final. Authors who refuse to revise and publish it as Brief Communication should follow the policy. We are committed to adhere to the withdrawal policy that is stated in the instruction to author. Only when it is reviewed and approved by the Editor, can the author officially withdraw the paper from the Journal and can be submitted elsewhere. ### Annual statistics This year we received 665 manuscripts from which we processed 354 articles that have complied with the Journal’s requirements (Figure 1). Over the past 12 issues, we have published 3 Editorials, 7 Systematic Reviews, 17 Reviews, and 119 Originals, with a total of 1298 pages. Approximately 74.5% of the papers we published were from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Table 1). Our total rejection rate was 76% of which 47% were rejected at the initial decision. Initial screening plays a very important step as it determines the articles that will advance in the editorial processes. Submissions declined from this step are not sent to external reviewers and reviewed by the Board, hence, no other comments and remarks are sent to the authors. Most likely to be rejected at this stage are articles that are too old, more than 5 years, too specialized, not within our scope, adds nothing new to existing literature, and previously submitted to preprint servers. ![Figure 1](http://smj.org.sa/https://smj.org.sa/content/smj/45/1/3/F1.medium.gif) [Figure 1](http://smj.org.sa/content/45/1/3/F1) Figure 1 - Type of manuscripts received for the year 2023. View this table: [Table 1](http://smj.org.sa/content/45/1/3/T1) Table 1 - Origin of “peer-reviewed” articles published in the Saudi Medical Journal for the year 2023. View this table: [Table 2](http://smj.org.sa/content/45/1/3/T2) Table 2 - Average processing time frame of articles published in the Saudi Medical Journal for the year 2023. The average processing time frame of original articles in year 2023 from received date to acceptance was 2.6 months, from acceptance to publication 1.3 months, and from received to publication 3.9 months. We will have a whole new year ahead and we would like to thank our readers, authors, reviewers, and the Editorial team for their continued support over the years. ## Editorial Message **Our thanks goes to the reviewers who have participated in the excellent review of manuscripts and books for the year 2023.** **A**. Seval Ozgu-Erdinc A.A. Gde Putra Semara Jaya Abdul Meshikhes Abdulaziz Mansoor Al Raimi Abdulbari Bener Abdulghani Alsaeed* Abdulla Darwish Abdullah Abdulkareem Abdullah Abudayah Abdullah Alarfaj Abdullah Alkattan Abdullah Alkhenizan Abdullah Awadh Abdulmoein AlAgha Abdulmohsen Al-Elq* Abdulmohsen Al-Zalabani Abdulrahman Alashkar Abeer Ali A. S. Chandrakumari Abuobaida Abukhelaif* Adnan Mubaraki Ahlam El Shikieri Ahmad Alsaeed Ahmed Abdel Moneim Ahmed Absi Ahmed Al Fagih Ahmed Al-Ameer Ahmed Alamri Ahmed Kadhum Ahmed Kemalettin Koltka Ahmed Morad Asaad Ahmet Aslan Ahmet Caglayan Ahmet Kokurcan Aladdin J. Mohammad Alberto Modenese Aleksa Jovanovic Alexander E. Berezin Alexandr V. Belousov Alexandra Senegaglia Ali A. Alshatwi Ali Alasmari Ali Aldhebaib Ali Alhilly Ali Alshabi Ali Alyami Ali Ismail Ali Abdelreahim Ali Jawad* Alian A. Alrasheedy Altug Tuncel AM Al-Hinnawi Amal Ismail Amari Alhozali Amjad Alharbi Amr Arafat Amro Hanora Amy Gladin Anan S. Jarab Andreas Jahnen Andreas Tiede Angham Al Mutair Anil Kumar Sah Anirudha Agnihotry Anna Baran Anna Horwood A. M. Badowska-Kozakiewicz Annang Giri Moelyo Anne Cusick Anshoo Malhotra Anusha Yanamadala Aqeel Alaqeel Areej Alkhaldy Arghya Das Arife Akay Arli Aditya Parikesit Armen Yuri Gasparyan Ashwin Subramaniam Asmaa Abdel Nasser Atousa Deljou Attia Bari Aveek Jayant Aws Al-Numan Ayman Al-hazmi Ayse Akbas **B**adr Aljarallah Bahar Dernek Balaji Zacharia Bander Alanazi Bang-Gee Hsu Banu Ordahan Bareng A.S. Nonyane Basile N. Landis Basman Al-Metwali Bedoor Alomran Bekir Kocazeybek Benoit Bedat Biswanath Basu **C**arlos Sanchez-Garcia Carlton Dampier Cathy L. Lazarus Cemil Kayali Chao Li Charles Doarn Cheorl-Ho Kim Christopher J. Nolan Christos Kosmas Chuan Shao Cristina Gluhovschi Cynthia L. Arfken **D**. Kafadar Dan Dupont Hougaard Daniel Reim Dara Al-Banna Dayel Alshahrani Deependra K. Rai Derya Karasu Desh Deepak D. Kostova-Lefterova Dhia Kadhem Dian Handayani Dina Alsohaibi Dingshen Lin Dongsheng Sun Dragos Ioan Tohanean **E.** Zangiacomi Martinez Eiman M. AbdulRahman Eitaro Kodani Eman Abdelrazek Eman Abduljawad Eman Dyab Eman E. Elsharkawy Enas Abdelaziz Endale Tefera Erna Rochmawati **F**adime Kilinc Fahad Al Juraibah Fahad Almutairi F. Mohammadghasemi Fairoz Ali Al-Wrafy Faizan Zaffar Kashoo* Farah Dayana Zahedi Fares Haddad Farid Alzhrani Farrukh Majeed Faruk Buba Fatimah Al Aldahan Fawaz Al-Kassim Feras Alkholaiwi Ferdinando Antonio Gulino Filiz Ozsoy Firas S. Azzeh Foad Abdallah Fouad Almomani Francesco Ria Frederic Triponez **G**aurav Goyal Gennaro Martines Ghada Elgohary Ghassan Alokby Giancarlo Micheletto Gina Joubert Giovanni Conti Girmay Fitiwi Lema Gokhan Ozkan Grigoris T. Gerotziafas Gulali Aktas Gulfem Ece Gulseren Akyuz Gunes Senol Gunnar Hillerdal **H**. Mazimilian Mehdorn Hadi Almohsen Hakan Cokmez Hakan Turkon Hala Abdelkarem* Hala Amer Halah Mosli Halil Ozcan Halls Suleyman Hamed Adetunji Hani Mawardi Mawardi Hao Zhang Hassan AbdulJabbar Hassan Abugad Hassan Al-Trabolsi Hatice Simsek Hatim Al-Jifree Henk Schonewille Hesham A. AbdelHalim Hisakazu Nakajima Hongxun Wu Hui-shan Wang **I** Reid Ibraheem Abosoudah Ilhan Ece Ilker M. Arer Imran Ahmad Inci Alacacioglu Isra Aljazeeri Iyad Naeem Muhammad **J**acqueline Maria Dias Jawahir Abuhaimed Jigeeshu Vasishtha Divatia Joan L. Robinson Jone Trovik Jong Woo Chung Joshua Barzilay Jyoshid R. Balan Jyrki Vuola **K**azuya Takehana Kenji Hayashida Kevin Hellman Khaled Hamed Salem Khaled Saad Khalid Al-Mugheed Khalid Alshahrani Khalid Banimelhem Khalil Abu Jamileh Kostas Persinakis **L**. Faggioni* Lamia Elgarhy Lamya Alnaim Lasitha Samarakoon Latifa Yahya Al Ajeel Layth Al-Hajjar Leman Acun Delen Leo Massari Liang Zong Li-ming Yu Li-Ting Kao **M**agdalena Baymakova Magdi Salih Maha Aleid Maha Alharthi Maha Elkholy Mahwish Faizan Maja Surbatovic Mamdouh Allahyani Mana Almuhaideb Manar Nabolsi Man-sang Wong Marcone Lima Sobreira Mario Lima Martin H. Steinberg Martino Introna Marwa Abdelhamed Maryam Al Badi Maryam Al-Zahrani Marzia Miglionico Mateusz Spalek May Bin-Jumah Mazen Almehmadi* Md. Rabiul Islam Mehmet Ali Eren Mehmet Artac Mehmet Burak Eskin Mert Senturk Michael D. Crossland Michele Merli Milan Lepic Miltos Lazarides Mine Kiseli Mirjana Kostic Misra Abdulahi Moba Al Shahed Mohamed AlAgeel Mohamed I. Kamel Mohamed S. Abdel-Latif Mohammad A. Gaballah Mohammad Abdelghani Mohammad Abu Assab Mohammad Alam Mohammad Alfuhaily Mohammad Eid Mahfouz M. Waheed El-Anwar Mohammed AlAteeq Mohammed Alhendi Mohammed Alsaadi Mohammed Alsakkaf Mohammed Salih Mahfouz Mohd Yazid Bajuri Mohsen Alzahrani Mona F. Mahmoud Morten Dahl Mostafa Waly Muath Alammar Muhammad Kashif Munir Muhanna AlShaibani Munierah Al-Hussain Murat Baykara Murat Gunay Mushtak T. S. Al-Ouqaili Mustafa Arslan Mustafa Said Aydogan **N**. Hancerliogullari Nadia Alhazmi Nagwa Alamin Naser Shari Nasser Shubayr Nawal Dayoub Nesrin Alharthy Nicola Magnavita Nicola Mumoli Nicola Troisi Noorizan Abd Aziz Nopporn Apiwattanakul Noura Alqahtani Nuha Alkhattabi Nuri Bayram **O**dd Martin Vallersnes Ola A. Bakry Omar Al Zahrani Onur Fezvi Erer Osama A. Samargandi Osama B. Albasheer **P**aolo Boffano Paolo Cavoretto Philip S. Barie Pinar Korkmaz Pinar Okyay Polina Popova Pradeep H. Navsaria **Q**. E. Ali Q. Ji Qin Xiang Ng Qintai Yang Qun Wang **R**. A. Gadelkareem Rabie Soliman Raghib Abusaris Ram Das Ram Samujh Ramazan Akcan Rami Abazid Raymon Siu Ming Wong Recep Akdur Rehab Werida Reinaldo Figueroa Riwa Kishimoto Roah Merdad Ronald Oude Elferink Rose Costa Rudyard dos Santos Oliveira **S**aad AlKhowaiter Saad Alqahtani Sabah Jastaneiah Saddam Al Demour Sakina Zerizer Saleh Alanazi Salih Ozgocmen Salina Husain Samah Abohamr* Sameh Ahmed Sameh Shehata Samera AlBasri* Sami Abu-Halaweh Samy Kasem Satyabhuwan Singh Netam Sayed Abdulazeez Selim Afsar Selma Tosun Sema Alacam Serbulent Yigit Seshadri Reddy Varikasuvu Seyda Efsun Ozgunay Shawn Thomas Sheela Mathew Sherif Abdelmonim Shi-Yang Guan Shoroq Altawalbeh Shu-Qin yu Sibtain Ahmed Siraj Wali Sirajudeen Shaik Alavudeen Siva Reddy Challa Sohaib Al-Khatib Sohaib Shujaat Sohail Ahmad Stefan Opperman Stefan Stortecky Stephanie Baggio Subhi Alghanem Suhael Ahmed Suheyla Abitagaoglu Sultan Alamri Sultan Alhowti Sultan Ayesh Saghir Sumayah Al Helali Susan Busch Svetlana Madjunkova **T**ahir Hameed* Taisuke Ito Talal Alfaadhel Tamer Abouelgreed Tatjana Pekmezovic Taymour Mostafa Turki Albacker Turki Al-Hussain **U**lunay Kanatli Umut Sabri Kasapoglu **V**. Bedekovic Veli Avci Vikas Gupta **W**afa I. Elhag Waled Ahmed Waleed Abdelfattah Waleed Milaat Waqas Sami Wei Kang **X**iang-jun Qiu **Y**asemin Astandaa Yasir Khayyat Yasser Hadi Yasser Samhan Yassin Abdelsamad Yoichi Nishimura Yong Joo Kim Yoshikatsu Nomura Young Han Lee Youssef M. Mosaad Yusuf Aksu **Z**aid Zoumot Zainab A. Al Jufairi Zakaria Al Habib Zubair Syed Zulqarnain Baloch ****Reviewers who reviewed 3 or more articles for the year 2023*** * Copyright: © Saudi Medical Journal This is an Open Access journal and articles published are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (CC BY-NC). Readers may copy, distribute, and display the work for non-commercial purposes with the proper citation of the original work. ## References 1. 1.WHO. WHO Director-General’s opening remarks at the media briefing. [Updated 2023; 2023 Dec 7]. Available at: [https://www.who.int/news-room/speeches/item/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing\---|5-may-2023](https://www.who.int/news-room/speeches/item/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing\---|5-may-2023)