For authors

SUBMITTING A MANUSCRIPT
All manuscripts must be written in English and in accordance with the ICMJE Recommendations (Recommendations by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, formerly the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts) available at the following webpage: http://www.icmje.org/.

Manuscripts are submitted through the Open Access Journal system (OJS) exclusively and must contain the following items, submitted as separate files:

1. COVER LETTER

The Cover letter is a concise statement signed by all authors outlining the research being submitted and its relevance to the journal’s scope, and guaranteeing that the manuscript has not been published before.

2. TITLE PAGE

The title page contains all the forms of the manuscript’s titles: both the full and running title in English, as well as the full title in Croatian. These are followed by the full names and affiliations of all the authors*, and the full name and contact of the corresponding author.

3. BLINDED MANUSCRIPT

The file containing the manuscript must exclude the authors’ names and affiliations, and the list of references — these are listed in the Title page and References file, respectively.

The text of the manuscript should be formatted as a Microsoft Word file with 1.5 line spacing, Times New Roman 12pt font and numbered pages (in the bottom right corner).

The manuscript must be structured in a way to include the following chapters, in exactly the presented order: Abstract and Keywords in English and Croatian, Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion, Acknowledgements and Conflict of Interest.

Abstract and Keywords
The abstract (summary) is submitted in both English and Croatian and must comprise no more than 250 words in each language. Each abstract is followed by a maximum of 6 keywords in the appropriate language. The keywords should be capitalized, italicized and separated by semicolons. They should use terms from the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) list of Index Medicus.

Introduction
The introduction states the purpose of the article and summarizes the rationale for the study or observation. In this chapter, provide only strictly relevant references and exclude data or conclusions from the work being reported.

Methods
Describe subject selection and all key characteristics, defining each descriptor clearly. Explain data collection methods in detail, including procedures, equipment, and software (with manufacturer name and address) sufficient for reproducibility. Reference established methods and statistical techniques. For new or modified methods, justify their use and note limitations.
Identify all drugs and chemicals using generic names only. Express all measurements in SI units.
Include statistical methods with enough detail for independent verification. Quantify findings with appropriate measures of uncertainty or error. Specify any general-use computer programs employed.

Results
Describe the results of your study. This chapter does not need to be very long, as the results will naturally be elaborated on in the Discussion.

Discussion
Emphasize the new and important aspects of the study and the conclusions that follow from them. Do not repeat in detail the data or other material provided in the Introduction or the Results section. Include the implications of the findings and their limitations, including implications for future research, but avoid unqualified statements and conclusions not completely supported by the data. Relate the observations from your study to other relevant studies. State new hypotheses when warranted, but clearly label them as such.

Conclusion
Provide a quick summary of your main hypothesis and results in light of the discussion, and highlight why this is important: opens new avenues of research, importance for future studies in the area, brings about a new discovery, etc.

Acknowledgements
List all contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship, such as a person who provided purely technical help, writing assistance, or a department chair who provided only general support.

Disclosure of Conflict of Interest
All authors are expected to disclose to the readers any real or apparent conflict(s) of interest that may have a direct bearing on the subject matter of the article. All sources of funding, material support and possible authors’ and reviewers’ conflicts of interest must be clearly disclosed at the end of the manuscript. For more information, please visit this website.

References
Referencing must follow the NLM standards (available here).
Number references consecutively in the order of first mention, identifying them in the text, tables, and legends with superscript Arabic numerals. Include matching DOIs for all applicable entries. Cite unpublished but accepted papers as “in press”; for e-publications ahead of print, provide the DOI and ensure you have obtained written permission and verification of acceptance.

4. OPTIONAL

Suggestion of reviewers
If they wish to do so, the authors may suggest up to five relevant reviewers (at least two foreign) who hold a PhD degree, excluding co-authors and employees of the authors’ institutions. Possible reviewers should be listed with their affiliation and email address. However, the final selection of reviewers will be determined by the Editors.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

Ethics
Papers dealing with experiments on human subjects should clearly indicate that the procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional or regional responsible committee on human experimentation and with the Declaration of Helsinki of 1975, as revised in 1983. Never use patients’ names, initials, or hospital numbers, especially in illustrative material. Papers dealing with experiments on animals should indicate that the institution’s or a national research council’s guide for the care and use of laboratory animals was followed.

*Authorship
All listed authors must qualify for authorship by contributing sufficiently to take public responsibility for appropriate portions of the work. Those who do not meet authorship criteria should be named in the Acknowledgements. All authors share responsibility for the integrity of the entire work from inception to publication. The first and corresponding authors are considered the main authors. There can only be one corresponding author.

Tables
Type out each table with 1.5 spacing. Do not submit tables as photographs. Number tables consecutively in the order of their first citation in the text and supply a brief title for each. Give each column a short heading.

Figures
Ensure all figures and illustrations are professionally prepared with legible letters, numbers, and symbols when reduced for publication. Number figures consecutively based on first citation in the text.

For photographs of people, ensure subjects are unidentifiable or include written permission for use. Preferred formats are JPEG and TIFF (other standard, non-application-specific formats acceptable). The minimum resolution is 300 dpi.

Abbreviations
Use only standard abbreviations. The full term for which an abbreviation stands should precede its first use in the text unless it is a standard unit of measurement.

EDITORIAL PROCESS
First steps after submission
After submitting the manuscript, the author will receive a letter confirming manuscript receipt. Each manuscript is checked for text similarity and manually verified by the editor. We use
CrossRef Similarity Check with the Ithenticate algorithm. All manuscripts appropriate for the reviewing process are anonymously sent to at least two reviewers.

Peer review
Acta Clinica Croatica is committed to promote peer review quality and fairness. The reviewers are asked to treat the manuscript with confidentiality. Authors are welcome to suggest up to five potential reviewers for their manuscript (excluding co-authors and employees of the authors’ institutions), or to ask for the exclusion of reviewer(s) and the reasons for it. The Editorial Board may or may not accept the authors’ suggestions regarding reviewers.

Steps after peer review
Authors receive reviews within two months of submission and must closely follow reviewer instructions, explaining amendments accordingly. Manuscripts receiving multiple “major review” recommendations return to the same reviewers post-revision. The Editorial Board makes the final acceptance decision based on these recommendations and notifies authors via an acceptance letter.

Article Processing Charge
As of March 15, 2026, an Article Processing Charge (APC) in the amount of 600 EUR (VAT included) will be introduced to support the editorial and publishing process.
Once manuscripts pass the review process and receive an allocation number for publication in a specific volume and number, an invoice will be issued to the corresponding author. They are responsible for performing the payment. After payment, every manuscript undergoes the language editing process.

Payment exemptions
Manuscripts whose main and/or corresponding author are employees of Sestre milosrdnice University Hospital Center and are subscribers of Acta Clinica Croatica are exempt from APC payment.
As Acta Clinica Croatica is published by Sestre milosrdnice University Hospital Center, the institution offers its employees a journal subscription for 100 EUR (VAT included), available exclusively to its staff.

Final approval of manuscripts
After payment, every manuscript undergoes the language editing process. The corresponding author will receive a page-proof version of the article to make the final corrections of any printing errors. They do so on behalf of all the authors.

After the corresponding author approves the page-proof, no further text amendments, nor author additions or changes are possible.

Erratum/Corrigendum
An Erratum/Corrigendum is possible only in case of printed mistakes that significantly change the meaning of the manuscript, and its research and data. It will not be approved for minor spelling or technical errors, nor for changes in authorship, as these are meant to be corrected during language editing and proofreading.

Copyright
Manuscripts are published under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license, which enables sharing with citing, without changes and for non-commercial purposes.