INSTRUCTIONS TO AUTHORS

The Acta Medica Philippina is a peer-reviewed general ethics board or committee, date) and has been endorsed
medical and health science journal that is published six favorably by the said board or committee. I/We hereby confer
times a year by the University of the Philippines Manila all copyright ownership/s to the Acta Medica Philippina in
and the Department of Science and Technology of the the event that this work is published in this journal.”
Government of the Philippines, and publishes original
scientific papers in the field of basic and clinical medical GENERAL GUIDELINES
or health-related research. It has complete editorial 1. One hard copy of the manuscript and an electronic copy
independence from its publishers. The editor-in-chief of (on a compact disc or sent by email) must be submitted.
the Acta is Joven Jeremius Q. Tanchuco, MD. The articles The manuscript should be typed double-spaced
it accepts for publication may be in the form of collective throughout with 1¼ cm (½ inch) paragraph indentation,
and current reviews, original papers, case reports, lectures, using only one side of each 22 x 28 cm (8½ x 11 inch)
essays, editorials, abstracts or letters to the editor. Original opaque bond paper with 3-cm margins (1¼ inch) all
scientific papers and articles of a medical or public health around. Preferred font styles and sizes are: Times New
nature are preferred, and the Acta shall accept journal Roman 12, Arial 11, Tahoma 11, & Verdana 11.
articles from publications from anyone, provided criteria 2. The manuscript should be arranged in sequence as follows:
are met. The Acta is the most widely circulated professional (1) Title Page (2) Abstract (3) Text (4) References (5)
health publication in the Philippines and likewise reaches Tables (6) Figures & Illustrations. A manuscript for an
key medical libraries in Asia and the world. It has been in original article should not exceed 25 typewritten pages
continuous publication since 1939. (including tables, figures, illustrations and references).
All manuscripts, correspondence and editorial business The text for case reports should not exceed 10 pages,
should be sent to Acta Medica Philippina, College of including the visual aids and references. All manuscripts
Medicine, University of the Philippines, 547 Pedro Gil not complying with the above shall be promptly returned.
Street, P.O Box 593, Manila 1000, Philippines. However, 3. References should be selective and pertain directly to
email submissions are also accepted. Manuscripts are the work being reported.
received with the understanding that they are not under 4. All the sheets of the manuscript should be labelled with
simultaneous consideration by another publisher. Accepted the family name of the main/first author (all in capital
manuscripts become the permanent property of the Acta letters) and page number (in Arabic Numeral) printed
Medica and may not be republished without permission on the upper right corner.
from the Editor. These manuscripts are subject to editorial
modifications to bring them in conformity with the style of TITLE PAGE
the journal. Statements or views expressed by an author or 1. The title should be as concise as possible. Include only
authors are not the responsibilities of the editor or publisher. the full names of the authors directly affiliated with the
work starting with the first name, middle initial if any,
COVER LETTER and last name. The highest educational attainment or
A covering letter must accompany all manuscripts title of the authors should be included as an attachment
with one author designated as correspondent, providing his whenever appropriate; name and location of no more
complete mailing address, telephone number, e-mail address than three institutional affiliations may be included.
and fax number. In order for a manuscript to be considered, 2. If the paper has been presented in a scientific program or
reviewed or edited, the following statement must be signed convention, provide a footnote giving the name, location
by all the authors: “I/We have been sufficiently involved in and date of the meeting.
this work to take public responsibility for its validity and
final presentation as an original publication.” Whenever ABSTRACT
applicable, there should also be a written declaration that For original articles, the abstract should contain no
the article had written/informed consent for publication more than 200 words and should have a structured format
from the involved subject/s, had conformed with ethical consisting of the objective, methods, results and conclusion.
standards, and/or had been reviewed by the appropriate For case reports, the abstract should be from 50 to 75 words
ethics committee. The transmittal letter must include the and need not be structured. At least 3 keywords, preferably
statement “This paper has not been published and is not using terms from the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
under simultaneous consideration for publication elsewhere. list of Index Medicus, should be listed horizontally under the
This paper has been subjected to ethics review by (name of abstract for cross-indexing of the article.

390 ACTA MEDICA PHILIPPINA VOL. 52 NO. 4 2018

 TEXT TABLES
1. Generally, the text should be organized consecutively as 1. Cite all tables consecutively in the text and number
follows: Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results them accordingly. Create tables preferably using a
and Discussion (and Conclusion). spreadsheet program such as MS Excel with one table
2. All references, tables, figures and illustrations should be per worksheet. Tables should not be saved as image files.
cited in the text, in numerical order. The content of tables should include a table number
3. Even if commonly employed, all abbreviations should (Arabic) and title above the table, and explanatory notes
be spelled out once, the first time they are mentioned and legends as well as definitions of abbreviations used
in the text, followed by the abbreviations enclosed in below. Recommended font is Arial Narrow size 8.
parentheses. Subsequently, the same abbreviations may 2. Each table must be self-explanatory, being a supplement
be used instead of the long names. rather than a duplicate of information in the text. The
4. All measurements and weights should be in System use of too many tables is discouraged.
International (SI) units.
5. Acknowledgments to individuals/groups of persons, FIGURES AND GRAPHS
or institution/s should be included at the end of the 1. Figures or graphs should be identified by Arabic
text just before the references. Grants and subsidies Numeral/s with titles and explanations underneath.
from government or private institutions should also The numbers should correspond to the order in which
be acknowledged. the figures/graphs occur in the text. It is recommended
that figures/graphs also be submitted as image files
REFERENCES (preferably as .jpeg or .gif files) of high resolution.
1. References in the text should be identified by Arabic 2. All identifying data of the subject/s or patient/s under
Numerals in superscript on the same line as the study such as name, case numbers, etc., particularly in
preceding sentence. case reports, should be removed.
2. References should be typed double-spaced on a separate
sheet. They should be numbered consecutively in the ILLUSTRATIONS AND PHOTOGRAPHS
order by which they are mentioned in the text. They 1. All illustrations/photographic prints should be
should not be alphabetized. submitted in duplicate and placed in separate envelopes.
3. All references should provide inclusive page numbers. 2. Black and white glossy prints, unmounted, for
4. Journal abbreviations should conform with those used photographs and photomicrographs are preferred.
in PubMed. However, digital photographs are also accepted, and
5. A maximum of six authors per article can be cited; they should at least be 800 x 600 dpi.
beyond that, name the first three and add “ et al.” 3. Computer-generated illustrations which are not suited
6. The style/punctuation approved by Acta Medica for reproduction should be professionally redrawn or
conforms to that recommended by the ICMJE, which is printed on good quality laser printers. Photocopies are
the ANSI standard style used by the NLM, and should not acceptable.
follow the format of the examples shown below: 4. All lettering for illustration should be done professionally
and should be of adequate size to retain even after
Journal size reduction.
Putaala J, Metso AJ, Metso TM, et al. Analysis of 1008 5. The principal author’s last name and illustration number
consecutive patients aged 15 to 49 with first-ever ischemic should be placed at the back of each illustration/photo
stroke. Stroke. 2009;40(4):1195-203. print in soft pencil. An arrow on the gummed label
indicating the top should be drawn.
Website/Internet 6. For photomicrographs, the stain used (ex. H & E)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Falls and magnification (ex. X400) should be included in
among older adults: summary of research findings [Online]. the description.
2005 [cited 2006 Jan]. Available from http://www.cdc.gov/
ncipc/pubres/toolkit/SummaryOfFalls.htm. Editorial Office Contact Information:
For comments, questions, and concerns:
Book Acta Medica Philippina
Dumitru D, Amato AA, Zwarts MJ. Nerve conduction PM 202, 2nd Flr., Paz Mendoza Building,
studies. In: Dumitru D, Amato AA, Zwarts MJ, eds. UP College of Medicine
Electrodiagnostic medicine, 2nd ed. Philadelphia: Hanley 547 Pedro Gil St., Ermita, Manila 1000, Philippines
and Belfus, Inc; 2002. pp. 159–217. Associate Editor: Abigail C. Domingo-Pascual, MD
Telefax: +632 353-0990
E-mail: [email protected]

VOL. 52 NO. 4 2018 ACTA MEDICA PHILIPPINA 391