Contact

Please use the most appropriate route below. Quoting the manuscript number, article DOI or relevant web address will help the journal respond efficiently.

For an enquiry about an existing submission, please include the manuscript identification number, the manuscript title, the corresponding author’s name and a concise description of the enquiry. Manuscripts should be submitted through the online system rather than by email.

Submission and account support

Contact the journal if you have difficulty creating an account, logging in, uploading files, submitting a revision, updating your details or viewing a decision. When reporting a technical problem, please include the page address, a screenshot where possible, the browser and device used, the approximate time of the error and the wording of any error message.

Accepted articles and production

For an enquiry about an accepted article, please quote the manuscript number or DOI. Such enquiries may concern proof corrections, author names or affiliations, production progress, article metadata, DOI information, scheduling or a problem with a published file.

Publication-ethics and patient-safety concerns

Concerns may relate to plagiarism, duplicate publication, data fabrication or falsification, image manipulation, authorship, undisclosed competing interests, research-ethics or consent matters, peer-review integrity or a published article. Please use the subject line “Publication Ethics Concern — [manuscript number, title or DOI]” and provide enough information and evidence to allow assessment. Concerns are handled in accordance with the journal’s Publication Ethics, Corrections and Complaints policies.

Complaints and appeals

Authors wishing to appeal an editorial decision or make a formal complaint should follow the Complaints & Appeals policy. Appeals and complaints should not be submitted through general website comments or social-media channels.