ABC's of Writing Medical Papers in English

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Abstract

Publishing medical papers in English is important as English remains the predominant language for most medical papers (both electronic and traditional journal publications). In addition, journals with the highest impact factors are published in English and a publication in English thus enhances the visibility of authors and their institutions, and is important for promotion in some academic centers. This article reviews the basic principles that will help you successfully publish a manuscript in English. Although other books and articles are available on this subject, there are relatively few references. The present article is based on this author's experience of publishing nearly 400 articles in English. It will emphasize writing original articles, but the principles can be applied to virtually any type of manuscript.

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Most cited references 20

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Covered versus uncovered self-expandable nitinol stents in the palliative treatment of malignant distal biliary obstruction: results from a randomized, multicenter study.

Jacob Freedman, C Rudberg, Martin Ljungman … (2010)

Covered biliary metal stents have been developed to prevent tumor ingrowth. Previous comparative studies are limited and often include few patients. To compare differences in stent patency, patient survival, and complication rates between covered and uncovered nitinol stents in patients with malignant biliary obstruction. Randomized, multicenter trial conducted between January 2006 and October 2008. Ten sites serving a total catchment area of approximately 2.8 million inhabitants. A total of 400 patients with unresectable distal malignant biliary obstruction. ERCP with insertion of covered or uncovered metal stent. Follow-up conducted monthly for symptoms indicating stent obstruction. Time to stent failure, survival time, and complication rate. The patient survival times were 116 days (interquartile range 242 days) and 174 days (interquartile range 284 days) in the covered and uncovered stent groups, respectively (P = .320). The first quartile stent patency time was 154 days in the covered stent group and 199 days in the uncovered stent group (P = .326). There was no difference in the incidence of pancreatitis or cholecystitis between the 2 groups. Stent migration occurred in 6 patients (3%) in the covered group and in no patients in the uncovered group (P = .030). Randomization was not blinded. There were no significant differences in stent patency time, patient survival time, or complication rates between covered and uncovered nitinol metal stents in the palliative treatment of malignant distal biliary obstruction. However, covered stents migrated significantly more often compared with uncovered stents, and tumor ingrowth was more frequent in uncovered stents. Copyright © 2010 American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

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A randomized trial comparing uncovered and partially covered self-expandable metal stents in the palliation of distal malignant biliary obstruction.

J M Poneros, R Thompson, W Brugge … (2010)

The most common complication of uncovered biliary self-expandable metal stents (SEMSs) is tumor ingrowth. The addition of an impenetrable covering may prolong stent patency. To compare stent patency between uncovered and partially covered SEMSs in malignant biliary obstruction. Multicenter randomized trial. Four teaching hospitals. Adults with inoperable distal malignant biliary obstruction. Uncovered or partially covered SEMS insertion. Time to recurrent biliary obstruction, patient survival, serious adverse events, and mechanism of recurrent biliary obstruction. From October 2002 to May 2008, 129 patients were randomized. Recurrent biliary obstruction was observed in 11 of 61 uncovered SEMSs (18%) and 20 of 68 partially covered SEMSs (29%). The median times to recurrent biliary obstruction were 711 days and 357 days for the uncovered and partially covered SEMS groups, respectively (P = .530). Median patient survival was 239 days for the uncovered SEMS and 227 days for the partially covered SEMS groups (P = .997). Serious adverse events occurred in 27 (44%) and 42 (62%) patients in the uncovered and partially covered SEMS groups, respectively (P = .046). None of the uncovered and 8 (12%) of the partially covered SEMSs migrated (P = .0061). Intended sample size was not reached. Allocation to treatment groups was unequal. There was no significant difference in time to recurrent biliary obstruction or patient survival between the partially covered and uncovered SEMS groups. Partially covered SEMSs were associated with more serious adverse events, particularly migration. Copyright © 2010 American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

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Endoscopic sclerotherapy as compared with endoscopic ligation for bleeding esophageal varices.

Ravi J Korula, Daniel Goff, P Michaletz-Onody … (1992)

Endoscopic sclerotherapy is an accepted treatment for bleeding esophageal varices, but it is associated with substantial local and systemic complications. Endoscopic ligation, a new form of endoscopic treatment for bleeding varices, may be safer. We compared the effectiveness and safety of the two techniques. In this randomized trial we compared endoscopic sclerotherapy and endoscopic ligation in 129 patients with cirrhosis who had proved bleeding from esophageal varices. Sixty-five patients were treated with sclerotherapy, and 64 with ligation. Initial treatment for acute bleeding was followed by elective retreatment to eradicate varices. The patients were followed for a mean of 10 months, during which we determined the incidence of complications and recurrences of bleeding, the number of treatments needed to eradicate varices, and survival. Active bleeding at the first treatment was controlled by sclerotherapy in 10 of 13 patients (77 percent) and by ligation in 12 of 14 patients (86 percent). Slightly more sclerotherapy-treated patients had recurrent hemorrhage during the study (48 percent vs. 36 percent for the ligation-treated patients, P = 0.072). The eradication of varices required a lower mean (+/- SD) number of treatments with ligation (4 +/- 2 vs. 5 +/- 2, P = 0.056) than with sclerotherapy. The mortality rate was significantly higher in the sclerotherapy group (45 percent vs. 28 percent, P = 0.041), as was the rate of complications (22 percent vs. 2 percent, P less than 0.001). The complications of sclerotherapy were predominantly esophageal strictures, pneumonias, and other infections. Patients with cirrhosis who have bleeding esophageal varices have fewer treatment-related complications and better survival rates when they are treated by esophageal ligation than when they are treated by sclerotherapy.

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Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): Korean J Radiol

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Korean J Radiol

Journal ID (publisher-id): KJR

Title: Korean Journal of Radiology

Publisher: The Korean Society of Radiology

ISSN (Print): 1229-6929

ISSN (Electronic): 2005-8330

Publication date (Print): Jan-Feb 2012

Publication date (Electronic): 23 April 2012

Volume: 13

Issue: Suppl 1

Pages: S1-S11

Affiliations

Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota 55905, USA.

Author notes

Corresponding author: Todd H Baron, MD, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN 55905, USA. Tel: (1507) 2655-7612, Fax: (1507) 284-2174, baron.todd@ 123456mayo.edu

Article

DOI: 10.3348/kjr.2012.13.S1.S1

PMC ID: 3341452

PubMed ID: 22563279

SO-VID: 4082ac76-a66a-472c-a6e0-b61d88dc9681

License:

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

ABC's of Writing Medical Papers in English

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Most cited references 20

Covered versus uncovered self-expandable nitinol stents in the palliative treatment of malignant distal biliary obstruction: results from a randomized, multicenter study.

A randomized trial comparing uncovered and partially covered self-expandable metal stents in the palliation of distal malignant biliary obstruction.

Endoscopic sclerotherapy as compared with endoscopic ligation for bleeding esophageal varices.

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