How to get published in JVIR

Successfully placing an article in the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology has never been more competitive. In addition to an increased impact factor of 3.1, JVIR has seen a 30% rise in submissions.

Editors Brian Funaki, MD, FSIR, and Chuck Ray, MD, PhD, FSIR, recently announced that after expanding the editorial board, turnaround time from submission to initial decision has been reduced to under 30 days. The quickness of these decisions, paired with JVIR’s strong citation performance—JVIR receives approximately 50% more citations than comparable journals in the field—means that the science and literature submitted must both be of the highest quality to catch editors’ attention.

Good science can be hindered by simple mistakes when drafting an article. To ensure your article has the best chance of standing out amongst the competition, be sure to follow some easy tips and tricks from the JVIR editors.

What is appealing to JVIR?

JVIR is looking for content that can be cited and contribute to advancing IR. This includes original research, meta-analyses/reviews, laboratory studies, or guidance and standards documents.

Editors are also interested in information that will serve the IR community in an educational capacity, like letters to the editors, case reports, state-of-the-art reviews, and lessons in IR like short-focused adverse events or M&M case reviews.

When considering submitting, editors suggest asking several questions:

• How does my study add to existing literature and impact the field of medicine? ​
• Is it new, unique, novel or important? (And widely applicable.)​
• Is the research prospective, multicenter or randomized?​
• Does it provide comparison between competing therapies or techniques?​
• Is it timely?

JVIR is not interested in content that does not add measurably to existing knowledge. If your article is repeating well-established techniques, therapies or existing manuscripts, it is not providing a new perspective. The same goes for obscure case reports, dated comparisons or retrospective case studies.

Additionally, science should not be outside the scope of interventional radiology.

Follow the JVIR formula

There is a formula for crafting a JVIR article, which all potential authors can find on jvir.org. This article goes in-depth on each section, outlining what should be included as well as how to properly format for submission.

Farrell T, Lokken R, Sze D. A Formula for Writing a JVIR Article. JVIR, 2024; 36, 409-413

However, there are some general items in each section that editors advise authors to be mindful of.

• Title: Your title should be clear and crafted so that it can be found in searches and easily cited.
• Abstract: Your abstract should be tight, concise and accurate. Avoid unnecessary “background” statements and overreaching conclusions not supported by the study.
• Introduction: Keep this section to three concise paragraphs: the background needed for JVIR audiences, the gaps in existing knowledge and the aim of the study and hypothesis. Any additional information can be placed in the discussion.
• Materials and methods: Be sure to include your IRB or equivalent statement, as well as demographic data. Explicitly define success and failure and ensure that any devices mentioned are described generically.
• Results: Your results should include your outcomes and endpoints, including statistical analysis, as well as adverse events. Your demographic data should not be listed here.
• Discussion: Discussions should be strictly focused on summarizing your findings, impact and limitations. It is also the place to discuss previous literature and how your findings relate to existing research. Do not include new information regarding your results and avoid overreaching conclusions or gratuitous calls for randomized prospective studies.
• References and figures: Ensure all references and figures are in the order they appear in the manuscript and are labeled clearly. Include items as separate high-resolution files.
• Avoid non-standard or invented acronyms.

Be precise with your language

Editors often see common writing mistakes that are easy to avoid and will result in less editing if your paper is accepted. Always check your submissions for some of these broad terms:

• Instead of “stenting” use “stent placement”
• Instead of “bleed” use “hemorrhage”
• Instead of “coiling” use “coil embolization”
• Instead of “complications” use “adverse events”
• Instead of “average” use “mean” or “median”
• Instead of “efficacy” use “effectiveness” for most real-world studies
• Instead of “conscious sedation” use “moderate sedation”
• Instead of “non/con” or “non-contrast” use “unenhanced”
• Instead of “contrast” use “contrast agent” or “contrast media”
• Avoid overuse of the term “novel”
• Say that patients are “included” rather than “enrolled” in retrospective studies
• Use past tense
• Ensure U.S. spelling
• Avoid imprecise adjectives such as “experienced” or “favorable”

Use AI appropriately

JVIR encourages the use of large language models for editing your submissions. However, AI usage should be limited to improving syntax and grammar or aiding in non-English translation. 

Any author utilizing AI for editing must include a disclosure statement at the end of their manuscript. The format and language can be found on jvir.org.

Follow publishing ethics

While the above errors can be edited out if the science is strong, no article will be accepted which violates publishing ethics. This includes not reporting the use of AI or using AI to generate work. It also includes plagiarism, as well as self-plagiarism and duplicate submissions to other journals. Elsevier uses tools that can detect these violations, and articles will be flagged for review. 

When in doubt, don’t give up

In a field like IR, where the science is constantly evolving, competition for publication is high—but it is a shame if strong science is hampered by poor packaging. Following these tips is not a guarantee of acceptance, but it will help your article rise to the top of the pile.

For more in-depth information and guidance, always defer to the JVIR author guidelines.