Preliminary evidence that letters to the editor are indexed inconsistently in PubMed and in exercise science and physical therapy journals: Implications and resolutions

Key points

• Letters to the editor are important to science because they are a form of post‐publication review.

• Examination of 3,203 letters published in exercise science and physical therapy journals revealed letters are indexed inconsistently.

• Issues exist with letter titles, letter authorship, and letter digital object identifiers (DOIs) and PubMed identifiers (PMIDs).

• Implications are that some letters are difficult to discover and cite, and some letter writers are not recognized for their intellectual contributions.

• Resolutions include indexing letters in PubMed under the “letter” [pt] search term and indexing each letter with the author's name, a distinct but consistently formatted title, and a unique DOI and PMID.