JAMA Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery—The Year in Review, 2017

Abstract

As I complete my second year as Editor of JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, I would like to take this opportunity to thank our authors, reviewers, members of the editorial board, and staff for the many contributions to the journal and to share our accomplishments. This past year, we received 822 submissions and published 94 Original Investigations, 35 Reviews, 34 opinion articles, and 11 Research Letters. In 2017, the acceptance rate for major submissions was 19%. The publication of opinion articles provides context to the original investigations and a forum for active dialogue in our specialty. Some of the topics covered in 2017 included a comparison of alkaline water and Mediterranean diet vs proton pump inhibition for treatment of laryngopharyngeal reflux, natural history and tumor volume kinetics of papillary thyroid cancers, cognitive training for adults with bothersome tinnitus, association of iron deficiency anemia with hearing loss in US adults, association of ibuprofen use with severity of surgically treated posttonsillectomy hemorrhage, a consensus review and recommendation of optimal perioperative care in major head and neck cancer surgery with free flap reconstruction, a review of control of pain after tonsillectomy in children, and a systematic review of reconstructive techniques for saddle nose deformity in patients with granulomatosis with polyangiitis. A highlight of the year was our successful work with the American Head & Neck Society (AHNS) and simultaneous publication of 5 articles from their 2017 meeting in San Diego. We accepted 17 AHNS-associated articles, and with Neal Futran's lead and outstanding support from the editorial and production staff in St Louis and Chicago, we were able to quickly move from review to publication. The quality of our published articles continues to rise and is reflected in several different metrics. The impact factor of 2.95 and the immediacy index, or the average number of times an article is cited in the year it is published, of 0.56, continue to increase and lead all other general otolaryngology journals. Additional ways to measure the impact of the articles published in the journal include the article's Altmetric score, which tracks the mention of the article in the mainstream media, online references managers, blogs, and social media. The Altmetric score is made available to authors immediately on publication. Of the top 50 articles in otolaryngology by Altmetric score in 2017, 32 (64%) were published in JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery. The articles with the top 3 Altmetric scores for 2017 are shown in the Table. Last year, there were