レターとは

いわゆるレターとは、簡単に言うと、読者の投稿欄へのお手紙です。論文を読んで浮かんだ疑問点について著者へ問い合わせ、議論します。 critical appraisal (批判的吟味)の力を養うことが出来ます。

たかがレター、とも言われますが、されどレターです。
論文を読んで、もし疑問点が生まれたら、投稿してみるのも良いでしょう。

主な医学誌のレターの投稿について、以下に纏めてみます。

医学4大誌

NEJM, JAMA, Lancet, BMJが4大誌とされていますが、それぞれ、レターの投稿を受け付けています。投稿規定は以下のようになっています。

NEJM

Letters in reference to a Journal article must not exceed 175 words (excluding references), and must be received within three weeks after publication of the article. Articles are available for selection on the submission site on the print publication date each Thursday and remain for three weeks. If you are responding to an Online First article that does not have a print publication date, the article will be listed under "Online Articles." Letters not related to a Journal article must not exceed 400 words (excluding references). A letter can have no more than five references and one figure or table. A letter can be signed by no more than three authors.

JAMA

Letter to the editorの投稿について(英語)

Letter to the Editor Letters discussing a recent article in this journal should be submitted within 4 weeks of the article's publication in print.3 Letters received after 4 weeks will rarely be considered. Letters should not exceed 400 words of text and 5 references, 1 of which should be to the recent article. Letters may have no more than 3 authors. The text should include the full name, academic degrees, and a single institutional affiliation for each author and the email address for the corresponding author. Letters must not duplicate other material published or submitted for publication and should not include unpublished data. Letters not meeting these specifications are generally not considered. Letters being considered for publication ordinarily will be sent to the authors of the original article, who will be given the opportunity to reply. Letters will be published at the discretion of the editors and are subject to abridgement and editing for style and content.

Lancet

Correspondenceの投稿について(英語)

Correspondence
• We welcome correspondence on content published in The Lancet or on other topics of interest to our readers
• Letters for publication in the print journal must reach us within 2 weeks of publication of the original item and should be no longer than 250 words
• Letters of general interest, unlinked to items published in the journal, can be up to 400 words long
• Correspondence letters are not usually peer reviewed (we rarely publish original research or Case Reports in this section), but the journal might invite replies from the authors of the original publication, or pass on letters to these authors
• Only one table or figure is permitted, and there should be no more than five references and five authors
• All accepted letters are edited, and proofs will be sent out to authors before publication
• Some letters might be chosen for online-only publication

BMJ

Responding to articles (rapid responses, letters)(英語)

We won’t publish responses that we consider inappropriate. We won’t publish responses that are likely to end us up in legal difficulties or that are obscene, libellous (or would require us spending time or money to establish that they aren't), or in some other way illegal—for example, inciting racial hatred, contempt of court, breach of intellectual property rights. We won’t publish responses that are over 1000 words long (excluding references), incomprehensible, insubstantial, written in capital letters, not written in English, almost entirely a quote from somewhere else, gratuitously rude, or blatant advertising. We also won’t publish responses that give information on patients without their written consent, are sent by someone who does not provide adequate and accurate personal details, including a functioning email address, or are from people we suspect have used an alias or who do not respond to email. However, it is for us to decide whether we believe it appropriate to post a given response.

こうした一流誌の採択率は10%とも言われています。

JAMA Oncology

Letter to the Editor

Letters discussing a recent article in this journal should be submitted within 4 weeks of the article's publication online.3 Letters received after 4 weeks will rarely be considered. Letters should not exceed 400 words of text and 5 references, 1 of which should be to the recent article. Letters may have no more than 3 authors. The text should include the full name, academic degrees, and a single institutional affiliation for each author and the email address for the corresponding author. Letters must not duplicate other material published or submitted for publication and should not include unpublished data. Letters not meeting these specifications are generally not considered. Letters being considered for publication ordinarily will be sent to the authors of the original article, who will be given the opportunity to reply. Letters will be published at the discretion of the editors and are subject to abridgement and editing for style and content.