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Authors are the souls of any journal, and deserve much respect. To publish a journal manuscripts are needed from authors. Authors have a great responsibility for producing facts of their work in terms of number and results truthfully and an individual honesty is expected from authors in this regards. Both ways its true "No authors-No manuscripts-No journals" and "No journals–No manuscripts–No authors". Reviewing a manuscript is also a very responsible and important task of any peer-reviewed journal and to be taken seriously. It needs knowledge on the subject, sincerity, honesty and determination. Although the process of reviewing a manuscript is a time consuming task butit is expected to give one's best remarks within the time frame of the journal.
Salient features of the JCDR: It is a biomedical, multidisciplinary (including all medical and dental specialities), e-journal, with wide scope and extensive author support. At the same time, a free text of manuscript is available in HTML and PDF format. There is fast growing authorship and readership with JCDR as this can be judged by the number of articles published in it i e; in Feb 2007 of its first issue, it contained 5 articles only, and now in its recent volume published in April 2011, it contained 67 manuscripts. This e-journal is fulfilling the commitments and objectives sincerely, (as stated by Editor-in-chief in his preface to first edition) i e; to encourage physicians through the internet, especially from the developing countries who witness a spectrum of disease and acquire a wealth of knowledge to publish their experiences to benefit the medical community in patients care. I also feel that many of us have work of substance, newer ideas, adequate clinical materials but poor in medical writing and hesitation to submit the work and need help. JCDR provides authors help in this regards.
Timely publication of journal: Publication of manuscripts and bringing out the issue in time is one of the positive aspects of JCDR and is possible with strong support team in terms of peer reviewers, proof reading, language check, computer operators, etc. This is one of the great reasons for authors to submit their work with JCDR. Another best part of JCDR is "Online first Publications" facilities available for the authors. This facility not only provides the prompt publications of the manuscripts but at the same time also early availability of the manuscripts for the readers.
Indexation and online availability: Indexation transforms the journal in some sense from its local ownership to the worldwide professional community and to the public.JCDR is indexed with Embase & EMbiology, Google Scholar, Index Copernicus, Chemical Abstracts Service, Journal seek Database, Indian Science Abstracts, to name few of them. Manuscriptspublished in JCDR are available on major search engines ie; google, yahoo, msn.
In the era of fast growing newer technologies, and in computer and internet friendly environment the manuscripts preparation, submission, review, revision, etc and all can be done and checked with a click from all corer of the world, at any time. Of course there is always a scope for improvement in every field and none is perfect. To progress, one needs to identify the areas of one's weakness and to strengthen them.
It is well said that "happy beginning is half done" and it fits perfectly with JCDR. It has grown considerably and I feel it has already grown up from its infancy to adolescence, achieving the status of standard online e-journal form Indian continent since its inception in Feb 2007. This had been made possible due to the efforts and the hard work put in it. The way the JCDR is improving with every new volume, with good quality original manuscripts, makes it a quality journal for readers. I must thank and congratulate Dr Hemant Jain, Editor-in-Chief JCDR and his team for their sincere efforts, dedication, and determination for making JCDR a fast growing journal.
Every one of us: authors, reviewers, editors, and publisher are responsible for enhancing the stature of the journal. I wish for a great success for JCDR."
Thanking you
With sincere regards
Dr. Rajendra Kumar Ghritlaharey, M.S., M. Ch., FAIS
Associate Professor,
Department of Paediatric Surgery, Gandhi Medical College & Associated
Kamla Nehru & Hamidia Hospitals Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh 462 001 (India)
E-mail: drrajendrak1@rediffmail.com
On May 11,2011
Dr. Shankar P.R.
"On looking back through my Gmail archives after being requested by the journal to write a short editorial about my experiences of publishing with the Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research (JCDR), I came across an e-mail from Dr. Hemant Jain, Editor, in March 2007, which introduced the new electronic journal. The main features of the journal which were outlined in the e-mail were extensive author support, cash rewards, the peer review process, and other salient features of the journal.
Over a span of over four years, we (I and my colleagues) have published around 25 articles in the journal. In this editorial, I plan to briefly discuss my experiences of publishing with JCDR and the strengths of the journal and to finally address the areas for improvement.
My experiences of publishing with JCDR: Overall, my experiences of publishing withJCDR have been positive. The best point about the journal is that it responds to queries from the author. This may seem to be simple and not too much to ask for, but unfortunately, many journals in the subcontinent and from many developing countries do not respond or they respond with a long delay to the queries from the authors 1. The reasons could be many, including lack of optimal secretarial and other support. Another problem with many journals is the slowness of the review process. Editorial processing and peer review can take anywhere between a year to two years with some journals. Also, some journals do not keep the contributors informed about the progress of the review process. Due to the long review process, the articles can lose their relevance and topicality. A major benefit with JCDR is the timeliness and promptness of its response. In Dr Jain's e-mail which was sent to me in 2007, before the introduction of the Pre-publishing system, he had stated that he had received my submission and that he would get back to me within seven days and he did!
Most of the manuscripts are published within 3 to 4 months of their submission if they are found to be suitable after the review process. JCDR is published bimonthly and the accepted articles were usually published in the next issue. Recently, due to the increased volume of the submissions, the review process has become slower and it ?? Section can take from 4 to 6 months for the articles to be reviewed. The journal has an extensive author support system and it has recently introduced a paid expedited review process. The journal also mentions the average time for processing the manuscript under different submission systems - regular submission and expedited review.
Strengths of the journal: The journal has an online first facility in which the accepted manuscripts may be published on the website before being included in a regular issue of the journal. This cuts down the time between their acceptance and the publication. The journal is indexed in many databases, though not in PubMed. The editorial board should now take steps to index the journal in PubMed. The journal has a system of notifying readers through e-mail when a new issue is released. Also, the articles are available in both the HTML and the PDF formats. I especially like the new and colorful page format of the journal. Also, the access statistics of the articles are available. The prepublication and the manuscript tracking system are also helpful for the authors.
Areas for improvement: In certain cases, I felt that the peer review process of the manuscripts was not up to international standards and that it should be strengthened. Also, the number of manuscripts in an issue is high and it may be difficult for readers to go through all of them. The journal can consider tightening of the peer review process and increasing the quality standards for the acceptance of the manuscripts. I faced occasional problems with the online manuscript submission (Pre-publishing) system, which have to be addressed.
Overall, the publishing process with JCDR has been smooth, quick and relatively hassle free and I can recommend other authors to consider the journal as an outlet for their work."
Dr. P. Ravi Shankar
KIST Medical College, P.O. Box 14142, Kathmandu, Nepal.
E-mail: ravi.dr.shankar@gmail.com
On April 2011 Anuradha
Dear team JCDR, I would like to thank you for the very professional and polite service provided by everyone at JCDR. While i have been in the field of writing and editing for sometime, this has been my first attempt in publishing a scientific paper.Thank you for hand-holding me through the process.
Dr. Anuradha
E-mail: anuradha2nittur@gmail.com
On Jan 2020
Case report
Full Version
Placental Pathology in a COVID-19 Positive Patient with Abruptio Placentae- A Case Report
Correspondence Address :
Dr. Nishtha Jaiswal,
Flat No. 203, Type 4, LHMC Faculty Flats, New Delhi, Delhi, India.
E-mail: nishtha.amu@gmail.com
The effects of Severe Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome-Associated Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) on the placental tissue are still being explored. Whether these placental changes result in adverse foeto-maternal outcome is an aspect that needs to be understood. This is a report of 32-year-old pregnant woman who presented with Antepartum Haemorrhage (APH) and decreased foetal movements. She was also diagnosed to be positive for the SARS-CoV-2. The patient had abruptio placentae unrelated to pre-eclampsia. On histopathological examination, the umbilical cord showed funisitis with increased perivillous fibrin deposition on section from foetal and maternal surface of the placenta. Though the foetus was stillborn, with timely management the maternal outcome was not compromised.
Abruption, Coronavirus disease-2019, Histopathology, Placenta, Pregnancy outcomes
A 32-year-old secundigravida presented at gestation of 33 weeks and three days at Obstetric Emergency with complaints of abdominal pain since one day, decreased foetal movements and mild bleeding per vaginum. She had a history of previous caesarean section. The patient had no respiratory symptoms but she belonged to a locality with a high case load of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and therefore, underwent a nasopharyngeal swab-Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test for the SARS-CoV-2. The PCR turned out to be positive. She had normal blood pressure as per her antenatal records of this pregnancy and no complaints of headache, blurring of vision or epigastric pain which would otherwise point towards pre-eclampsia or hypertensive disorder of pregnancy. There was no precipitating factor for Antepartum Haemorrhage (APH) in the patient.
On examination, the patient was conscious and well-oriented but had significant pallor. She had tachycardia and was normotensive. The cardiovascular and respiratory system examinations were normal. On abdominal examination, the uterus was tense and tender and the fundal height corresponded to 36 weeks of gestation. Foetal heart sound was not heard on clinical examination and it was later confirmed to be an intrauterine foetal demise on obstetrics ultrasonography. The complete blood count revealed a haemoglobin of 6.7 g/dL, total leucocyte count of 12,400/cumm with 90% neutrophils and platelet count of 120,000/cumm. The liver function tests showed mildly elevated liver enzymes with Alanine Transaminase (ALT) of 113 IU/L and Aspartate Amino Transferase (AST) of 109 of IU/L. The prothrombin time and activated partial thromboplastin time were normal.
On per-speculum examination bleeding was present. On per-vaginum examination, the patient was found to be in latent labour. The diagnosis of non toxaemic abruptio placentae was made. Artificial rupture of membranes was noticed and blood mixed liquor was drained followed by torrential haemorrhage for which patient underwent an emergency caesarean section. She delivered a fresh stillborn male foetus weighing of 2.1 kg and no gross congenital anomalies. Per-operatively there was couvelaire uterus and the placental weight was 260 grams with 750 cc of retroplacental clots and 50 cc of intraplacental clots. The cord insertion and morphology was normal. The placenta was sent for histopathological examination. The patient was transfused multiple blood products intraoperatively and postoperatively. On histopathological examination, the umbilical cord showed funisitis with increased perivillous fibrin deposition on section from foetal and maternal surface of the placenta (Table/Fig 1). An autopsy of the dead foetus could not be performed as the patient declined for the same. The patient was managed supportively and was discharged in a stable condition after seven days of hospital stay.
The recent and ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by SARS-CoV-2 (1). It is characterised by respiratory symptoms causing pneumonia (2). As per the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists recommendations, COVID-19 positive pregnant women are not considered to be at greater risk of becoming seriously unwell than other healthy adults (3). Most of these pregnant women experiences only mild or moderate flu like symptoms. Other symptoms which they can develop includes cough, fever, shortness of breath, headache, anosmia and aguesia (3). However, adverse perinatal outcomes including increased risks of miscarriage, pre-eclampsia, prematurity and stillbirth have been reported with COVID-19 (4). Histopathological examination of placental tissue can provide significant information regarding the etiopathogenesis of the adverse perinatal outcomes associated with COVID-19.
With SARS-CoV-2 being a new infection, little is known about its effect on the placenta and subsequently on the foetus. In the initial studies available, evidence for vertical transmission of COVID-19 couldn’t be conclusively demonstrated in small cohorts of patients (5). However, the presence of IgM antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 in the neonate has been found, suggesting that vertical transmission is possible, although uncommon (6). Vivanti AJ et al., have recently published a case report in which they have proven a transplacental transmission, and the newborn then went on to develop neurological symptoms attributable to COVID-19 (7). Baergen RN and Heller DS, in a series of 20 pregnancies with COVID-19 demonstrated that 10 cases showed some evidence of foetal vascular malperfusion or foetal vascular thrombosis (8).
In COVID-19, the symptoms of hypercoagulability, are seen. This, in its most fulminant form can leads to gangrene, disseminated intravascular coagulopathy and multiorgan dysfunction (9). Baergen RN and Heller DS in their series of 20 patients showed that fibrin deposition, villitis and funisitis were present in the placental histopathology of COVID-19 pregnancies. They attributed this to foetal vascular malperfusion. The funisitis and chorioamnionitis seen in their series were thought to be due to ascending infection (8). The inflammation of the villi and cord may also result from a non specific inflammatory response to the virus. Present patient too had the evidence of foetal vascular malperfusion on the histopathology i.e., funisitis and perivillous fibrin deposition. This may be a result of the systemic procoagulable state that the SARS-CoV-2 is known to trigger. However, more data on the subject is needed.
The SARS-CoV-2 is characterised by the presence of a hypercoagulable state which may exacerbate pregnancy associated hypercoagulability. Histopathological presence of funisitis along with perivillous fibrin deposition in the above patient may point towards an association with foetal vascular malperfusion.
10.7860/JCDR/2020/48974.15230
Date of Submission: Feb 14, 2021
Date of Peer Review: May 22, 2021
Date of Acceptance: Jun 24, 2021
Date of Publishing: Aug 01, 2021
AUTHOR DECLARATION:
• Financial or Other Competing Interests: None
• Was informed consent obtained from the subjects involved in the study? Yes
• For any images presented appropriate consent has been obtained from the subjects. Yes
PLAGIARISM CHECKING METHODS:
• Plagiarism X-checker: Feb 15, 2021
• Manual Googling: Jun 14, 2021
• iThenticate Software: Jun 17, 2021 (8%)
ETYMOLOGY: Author Origin
- Emerging Sources Citation Index (Web of Science, thomsonreuters)
- Index Copernicus ICV 2017: 134.54
- Academic Search Complete Database
- Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)
- Embase
- EBSCOhost
- Google Scholar
- HINARI Access to Research in Health Programme
- Indian Science Abstracts (ISA)
- Journal seek Database
- Popline (reproductive health literature)
- www.omnimedicalsearch.com