Publishing Ethics

When reporting studies on human subjects all authors are required to follow the ICMJE requirements on privacy and informed consent. Information that could be used to identify patients, in the form of written descriptions, photographs, and pedigrees, should not be published unless it is essential for scientific purposes and the patient (or parent or guardian) gives written informed consent for publication. Informed consent for this purpose requires that the patient be shown the manuscript to be published. Where someone is deceased, please ensure you have written consent from the family or estate.

Clinical trials and studies involving animal experiments must be approved by a local ethics committee. The researchers are strongly advised to register clinical trials to public trial registers, such as www.clinicaltrials.gov. Trial registration numbers should be included, and full details in the  methods section.