The Croatian Journal of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Medicine (CJAIM) is an open-access, peer-reviewed journal that publishes original research articles, review articles, case reports, editorials, and letters to the editor in the fields of anaesthesiology, intensive care medicine, perioperative medicine, pain medicine, emergency medicine, and related disciplines.
SUBMISSION
Originality
Manuscripts must be original and not under consideration for publication elsewhere. Submissions should not have been previously published in any form (except as abstracts or in conference proceedings).
Language
All manuscripts must be submitted in English. Authors whose first language is not English are strongly advised to have their manuscripts professionally edited before submission.
Submission Format
Manuscripts should be submitted electronically through the journal's online submission system. Submissions should be in Microsoft Word format (.doc or .docx).
Suggested Reviewers
Authors are encouraged to suggest 2-5 potential reviewers with relevant expertise. At least two suggested reviewers should be from institutions outside of Croatia. Please provide full names, affiliations, and email addresses. Suggested reviewers should not have conflicts of interest with the authors.
ANONYMIZATION FOR DOUBLE-BLIND PEER REVIEW
CJAIM uses double-blind peer review, meaning neither authors nor reviewers know each other's identities. To ensure anonymity, authors must submit TWO separate files:
Title Page (separate file)
Submit author information in a separate file containing:
Title of the article
Full names and affiliations of all authors
Corresponding author contact details
ORCID IDs
Author contributions
Conflicts of interest
Funding sources
Acknowledgements
Main Manuscript (anonymized)
The main manuscript file must be completely anonymized:
Remove or avoid:
Author names and affiliations anywhere in the document
Acknowledgements that identify individuals or institutions
Funding information that could identify authors
Self-identifying citations (e.g., "In our previous study, we found..." or "As we reported in [Author, 2023]...")
References to specific institutions, hospitals, or locations that could identify authors
Ethics approval numbers that include institutional names (use "Ethics approval was obtained from [Institution blinded for review]")
Clinical trial registration details that link to author names
Self-citations: Replace self-identifying references with "[Author, year]" or "[blinded for review]" in both the text and reference list. These will be restored after acceptance.
Document properties: Remove author information from the file's metadata/properties (In Word: File → Info → Check for Issues → Inspect Document → Remove All).
Failure to properly anonymize submissions may result in delays or return of the manuscript for correction.
MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION — GENERAL REQUIREMENTS
Font: Times New Roman, 12 pt
Spacing: Double-spaced
Margins: 2.5 cm on all sides
Pages: Numbered consecutively
MANUSCRIPT TYPES
Original Research Articles
Maximum length: 4,000 words (excluding abstract, references, tables, and figures)
Maximum length: 6,000 words (excluding abstract, references, tables, and figures)
Should include: Abstract (250 words), Introduction, Main body organized by topic, Conclusion, References
Maximum 8 tables and/or figures
Should be comprehensive and critical analyses of current literature
Case Reports
Maximum length: 2,000 words (excluding abstract, references, tables, and figures)
Should include: Abstract (150 words), Introduction, Case Presentation, Discussion, Conclusion, References
Maximum 4 tables and/or figures
Should describe novel or educational cases
Editorials
Maximum length: 1,500 words
Usually invited by the Editorial Board
Should provide expert commentary on current topics
Letters to the Editor
Maximum length: 500 words
Maximum 5 references
Should comment on recently published articles or address current issues
MANUSCRIPT STRUCTURE
Title Page
The title page should include:
Title of the article (concise and informative, maximum 150 characters)
Full names of all authors (first name, middle initial, last name)
Institutional affiliations of all authors (department, institution, city, country), with the institution's ROR ID where one exists (search https://ror.org)
Corresponding author's name, email address, postal address, and phone number
ORCID IDs for all authors (if available)
Word count (excluding abstract, references, tables, and figures)
Number of tables and figures
Abstract
Required in English.
Original research articles and review articles: Structured abstract (250 words) with headings: Background, Methods, Results, Conclusion
Case reports: Unstructured abstract (150 words)
Should be self-contained and comprehensible without reference to the main text
Should not contain abbreviations or references
Keywords
3-6 keywords in English. Use MeSH terms.
REFERENCES
Use Vancouver style (numbered citations in order of appearance):
Number references consecutively in the order they appear in the text
List all authors up to 6; if more than 6, list first 6 followed by "et al."
Include DOI numbers when available
Examples:
Journal article: Smith J, Doe A, Johnson B. Title of article. J Anesth. 2023;45(3):123-130. doi:10.1234/ja.2023.12345
Book: Brown C. Anesthesia Principles. 3rd ed. New York: Publisher; 2022.
Chapter in book: Wilson D. Perioperative care. In: Miller R, ed. Anesthesia Textbook. 8th ed. Philadelphia: Elsevier; 2023:234-256.
TABLES AND FIGURES
Tables:
Number tables consecutively (Table 1, Table 2, etc.)
Provide a descriptive title above each table
Use clear column headings
Include footnotes if needed
Submit tables in editable format (not as images)
Figures:
Number figures consecutively (Figure 1, Figure 2, etc.)
Provide a descriptive legend below each figure
Ensure high resolution (minimum 300 dpi)
Acceptable formats: TIFF, JPEG, PNG, EPS
Obtain permission for any previously published figures
ETHICAL REQUIREMENTS
Human Subjects Research
Research involving human subjects must comply with the Declaration of Helsinki (2024 revision)
Include a statement that the study was approved by an appropriate ethics committee
Include the approval number
State that informed consent was obtained from all participants
Clinical Trials
CJAIM requires all clinical trials to be registered in a public registry at or before first patient enrolment, per ICMJE requirements. The registration number must appear in the abstract and methods section.
Acceptable registries include any WHO-approved primary registry:
ClinicalTrials.gov
EU Clinical Trials Register
ISRCTN
ANZCTR (Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry)
Any other WHO ICTRP primary registry
Animal Studies
Animal studies must comply with institutional guidelines and relevant regulations.
Authorship
All authors must meet ICMJE authorship criteria:
Substantial contributions to conception and design, or acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data
Drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content
Final approval of the version to be published
Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work
Conflicts of Interest
All authors must disclose any financial or non-financial conflicts of interest that could influence the interpretation of results. Authors are encouraged to use the ICMJE Disclosure Form (available at www.icmje.org). If no conflicts exist, state "The authors declare no conflicts of interest."
REPORTING GUIDELINES
Authors must follow the appropriate reporting guideline for their study design. Completed checklists should be submitted alongside the manuscript. CJAIM endorses the EQUATOR Network.
CJAIM applies a tiered disclosure framework for AI and generative tools. Authors remain fully accountable for the accuracy, originality, and integrity of all content.
Tier 1 — Linguistic assistance (grammar, spelling, light rewording): disclose in the Acknowledgements, with tool name, version, and date of use
Tier 2 — Research assistance (literature search, summarization, coding help): disclose in Methods, with tool name, version, prompts or prompt categories, verification procedure, and which human author is responsible
Tier 3 — Methodological assistance (data analysis, image/figure generation, synthetic data): disclose in Methods with full prompt transparency, model specificity, validation procedure, and data-privacy confirmation; synthetic data must be clearly labelled
AI tools cannot be listed as authors. AI must not be used for peer review of manuscripts. See the full AI Policy for detail.
CRediT (CONTRIBUTOR ROLES TAXONOMY)
CJAIM recommends the use of CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) to describe each author's contribution. CRediT provides a standardized way to represent the roles that contributors play in research output. Include the CRediT statement on the Title Page.
The 14 CRediT roles are: Conceptualization, Data curation, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Investigation, Methodology, Project administration, Resources, Software, Supervision, Validation, Visualization, Writing – original draft, Writing – review & editing.
ORCID REQUIREMENT
CJAIM requires the corresponding author's ORCID iD at submission. ORCID iDs for all co-authors are strongly encouraged. ORCID provides a persistent digital identifier for researchers and helps ensure accurate attribution. Register for free at orcid.org
DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT
All manuscripts must include a Data Availability Statement (DAS) specifying where and how data can be accessed, or explaining restrictions. See our Data Sharing Policy for details and examples.
FUNDING DISCLOSURE
Authors must identify all sources of financial support for the research. Include the funding organization name, grant number (if applicable), and the role of the funder in study design, data collection, analysis, manuscript preparation, or decision to submit. If no funding was received, state "This research received no specific grant from any funding agency."
PLAGIARISM SCREENING
All submissions are screened with Crossref Similarity Check (powered by iThenticate) prior to peer review. Manuscripts with unacceptable overlap are handled per COPE flowcharts.
COPYRIGHT AND LICENSING
Authors retain copyright of their work. By submitting to CJAIM, authors grant the journal a non-exclusive licence to publish the article under Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0). This license allows unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction provided the original work is properly cited.
Authors are required to sign an Author Agreement (License to Publish) form upon acceptance.
SELF-ARCHIVING POLICY
Authors may deposit the Version of Record (published PDF) in institutional or subject repositories immediately upon publication, in line with CJAIM's CC BY 4.0 license. No embargo period applies. We encourage authors to include a link to the publisher's version.
EDITORIAL PROCESS
Manuscript receipt and acknowledgment
Plagiarism screening (Crossref Similarity Check)
Initial editorial assessment
Double-blind peer review (minimum 2 reviewers)
Editorial decision
Revision (if required)
Acceptance/rejection
Language editing
Author proofs
Publication
REVISION AND RESUBMISSION
Address every reviewer comment point by point in a detailed response letter
Highlight changes in the revised manuscript
Resubmit within the specified timeframe (usually 30 days)
PUBLICATION FEES
CJAIM is an open-access journal with no article processing charges (APCs) or submission fees.
This submission meets the requirements outlined in the Author Guidelines.
This submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration.
All references have been checked for accuracy and completeness.
All tables and figures have been numbered and labelled.
Permission has been obtained to publish all photos, datasets and other material provided with this submission.
The submission file has been anonymized for double-blind peer review: no author names, affiliations, acknowledgements, or self-identifying citations. A separate title page with author information has been prepared.
Original Research
Original research articles report new findings from clinical or laboratory research in anaesthesiology, intensive care medicine, perioperative medicine, and pain management.
Structure: Abstract (structured, 250 words with Background, Methods, Results, Conclusion), Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion, References.
Requirements: • Maximum 4,000 words (excluding abstract, references, tables, and figures) • Maximum 6 tables and/or figures • 3-6 keywords (MeSH terms preferred) • Ethics approval required for human/animal research • Clinical trials must be registered and include registration number • Follow CONSORT guidelines for randomized trials, STROBE for observational studies
Review Articles
Review articles provide comprehensive, critical analyses of current literature on topics relevant to anaesthesiology and intensive care medicine. Both narrative and systematic reviews are welcome.
Structure: Abstract (250 words), Introduction, main body organized by topic, Conclusion, References.
Requirements: • Maximum 6,000 words (excluding abstract, references, tables, and figures) • Maximum 8 tables and/or figures • 3-6 keywords (MeSH terms preferred) • Systematic reviews must follow PRISMA guidelines and include flow diagram • Search strategy must be documented • Registration in PROSPERO is encouraged for systematic reviews
Case Reports
Case reports describe novel, rare, or educational clinical cases that contribute to medical knowledge in anaesthesiology and intensive care medicine.
Requirements: • Maximum 2,000 words (excluding abstract, references, tables, and figures) • Maximum 4 tables and/or figures • 3-6 keywords (MeSH terms preferred) • Written patient consent for publication is required • Patient anonymity must be protected • Follow CARE guidelines for case report writing
Methodology
Methodology articles describe new or significantly improved methods, techniques, procedures, or equipment in anaesthesiology, intensive care, perioperative medicine, or related fields.
Requirements: • Maximum 4,000 words (excluding abstract, references, tables, and figures) • Maximum 6 tables and/or figures • 3-6 keywords (MeSH terms preferred) • Sufficient detail for reproducibility • Include equipment specifications, protocols, and validation data • May cover: clinical techniques, monitoring methods, measurement procedures, statistical approaches, or technical innovations
Letters to the Editor
Letters to the Editor offer comments, questions, or constructive criticism regarding recently published articles in CJAIM, or address current issues in anaesthesiology and intensive care medicine.
Structure: No specific structure required. No abstract needed.
Requirements: • Maximum 500 words • Maximum 5 references • Maximum 1 table or figure (optional) • Should be submitted within 3 months of the original article's publication • Authors of the original article may be invited to respond • Must be constructive and professional in tone
Copyright Notice
OPEN ACCESS STATEMENT
The Croatian Journal of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Medicine (CJAIM) is an open-access journal. All articles are freely available online immediately upon publication, allowing users to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of articles without charge to the user or institution.
LICENCE
Articles published in CJAIM are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
Under this licence, you are free to:
Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially
Under the following terms:
Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
Authors retain copyright of their work. By submitting a manuscript to CJAIM, authors grant the journal the right of first publication.
AUTHOR RIGHTS
Authors of articles published in CJAIM retain the following rights:
Copyright ownership of their article
The right to use, reproduce, and share the article for non-commercial purposes
The right to post the article on personal websites, institutional repositories, and preprint servers
The right to present the work at conferences and meetings
The right to include the article in a thesis or dissertation
The right to use the article for teaching purposes
The right to prepare derivative works (with proper attribution)
THIRD-PARTY CONTENT
If your manuscript contains any material (figures, tables, text) from other copyrighted sources, you must obtain permission from the copyright holder before submission. The permission must be documented and submitted with the manuscript.
REPOSITORY POLICY
Authors may deposit the published version of their article (Version of Record) in institutional repositories or other open-access repositories immediately upon publication.
ARCHIVING
CJAIM is committed to long-term preservation of published content. Articles are archived to ensure permanent availability.
ATTRIBUTION REQUIREMENTS
When reusing content from CJAIM, please include:
Full citation of the original article (authors, title, journal, volume, pages, year)
DOI link to the original article
Statement that the article is published under CC BY 4.0 licence
Example citation: Author A, Author B. Article title. Croat J Anaesthesiol Intensive Med. Year;Volume(Issue):pages. doi:10.66166/cjaim.<volume>.<issue>.<article>. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
The Croatian Journal of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Medicine (CJAIM) is committed to protecting the privacy of all individuals whose personal data we process. This Privacy Statement explains how we collect, use, and protect personal information in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and applicable Croatian data protection laws.
DATA CONTROLLER
Anestezija Kišpatićeva 12 10000 Zagreb Croatia Email: editorial@cjaim.org
PERSONAL DATA WE COLLECT
Authors When you submit a manuscript, we collect: • Full name and academic title • Institutional affiliation • Contact details (email address, postal address, telephone) • ORCID identifier • Biographical information (if provided) • Co-author information
Reviewers When you participate in peer review, we collect: • Full name and academic title • Institutional affiliation • Contact details (email address) • Areas of expertise • Review history and performance metrics
Editorial Board Members We collect: • Full name and academic title • Institutional affiliation • Contact details • Professional biography and photograph (with consent)
Website Visitors We may collect: • IP address and browser information (for security and analytics) • Cookies (with consent, where required)
PURPOSE OF DATA PROCESSING
We process personal data for the following purposes: • Managing manuscript submissions and peer review • Communicating with authors, reviewers, and readers • Publishing articles (author names, affiliations, correspondence details) • Maintaining editorial records • Ensuring research integrity and handling misconduct investigations • Complying with legal obligations • Indexing and archiving published content
LEGAL BASIS FOR PROCESSING
We process personal data based on: • Contractual necessity: Processing is necessary to manage submissions and publish articles • Legitimate interests: Maintaining editorial quality, research integrity, and journal operations • Consent: Where specifically required (e.g., marketing communications) • Legal obligation: Compliance with applicable laws and regulations
DATA SHARING
We may share personal data with: • Peer reviewers (manuscript content, but not author identities in double-blind review) • Indexing services and databases (published article metadata) • Hrčak portal and other hosting platforms • Research integrity organizations (in case of misconduct investigations) • Legal authorities (when required by law)
We do not sell personal data to third parties.
DATA RETENTION
• Published articles: Author information is retained indefinitely as part of the scholarly record • Rejected manuscripts: Retained for 2 years, then deleted • Peer review records: Retained for 10 years for research integrity purposes • Correspondence: Retained for 5 years
DATA SECURITY
We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect personal data, including: • Secure data storage and transmission • Access controls and authentication • Regular security assessments • Staff training on data protection
YOUR RIGHTS
Under GDPR, you have the right to: • Access: Request a copy of your personal data • Rectification: Correct inaccurate or incomplete data • Erasure: Request deletion of your data (subject to legal limitations) • Restriction: Limit processing of your data • Portability: Receive your data in a structured format • Objection: Object to processing based on legitimate interests • Withdraw consent: Where processing is based on consent
Note: For published articles, author information forms part of the permanent scholarly record and cannot be removed, though corrections can be made.
CONTACT
For privacy-related inquiries or to exercise your rights, contact: Email: editorial@cjaim.org
You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Croatian Personal Data Protection Agency (AZOP).
CHANGES TO THIS STATEMENT
We may update this Privacy Statement periodically. The current version will always be available on our website.
