1. General information
The journal publishes original manuscripts in the field of endourology and minimally invasive diagnostic and surgical techniques. Manuscripts submitted are considered for publication, as they have not yet been published in print or electronic format. They are not being considered in another publication or in electronic form and receive approval from all authors and their institutions. It is the responsibility of the corresponding author to guarantee the authenticity of all data and will serve on behalf of all authors as the primary correspondent with the editorial office during the submission and review process.
All submissions are evaluated by the main editor and 2 editors of the relevant scientific section. Manuscripts are evaluated in accordance with the following criteria: material is original and timely, methods are appropriate, results and data are valid, and conclusions are reasonable and supported by the data. The decision to accept, revise or reject a manuscript is made by the editor-in-chief of the relevant scientific section after consideration of the opinion of the reviewers processing the manuscript. It is then sent to the corresponding author with any recommendations made by the reviewers and editors within one month of submitting the manuscript. Each manuscript submitted must include a cover page containing the clear and informative title of the publication, the names of the authors and their institution, and the contact information of the relevant author (address, e-mail, telephone). They should be written in Bulgarian and English as well as in the abstract.
Manuscripts must be written in professional language and should be understandable by professionals, who are not specialized in the respective field. The standard language of the journal is Bulgarian. Accepted manuscripts are edited as per the style of the journal. Changes that have been made to comply with the style of the journal will be maintained if they do not alter the meaning of the author. As soon as the manuscript has been accepted for publication and edited, a copy proof will be sent to the corresponding author as a PDF file. It is the author’s responsibility to check the accuracy of the content of the proofs. Proofs must be thoroughly checked and corrections must be returned within 24-48 hours of receipt.
Significant changes in the manuscript’s text, such as new results, new data, and changes in title and authors are not allowed without the approval of the Editor-in-chief for the respective scientific section. Once the manuscript has been published, corrections are made after request to the editorial office and published as Erratum in the next journal issue. Authors do not pay for the publication of manuscripts.
2. Text formatting
For submission and review purposes, the acceptable manuscript file format is Word, 12-point font size. Abbreviations used in the text must be written in their entirety at the time of their first appearance in the text, the abbreviation being then indicated in parentheses. Subsequently, only the abbreviation should be given. Units of measurement must conform to Systhème International (SI): minute (min), gram (g), number (n) etc. Tables should be composed in a word file and not inserted in the text as graphic elements. Tables are numbered in order of presentation in the text. Each table should be on a separate page with provided title above. Provide a title on top of every table.
Abbreviations and explanatory notes are placed below the table. Figures must supplement tables and text and should be numbered in the order that they appear in the text (Fig.1, Fig. 2 etc.).
All figures are submitted as separate files and the legend and title of the figures are provided at the end of the main article. Pictures and illustrations are numbered as figures in the order of presentation in the text and are submitted in jpeg/jpg or tiff format with a minimum resolution of 300 dpi. In the text, references should be numbered in the order in which they appear, with reference numbers enclosed in square brackets.
Every number should correspond to a single published source. References list should include only publications cited in the text in the order they appear in the text. Each reference should include the name of the authors, the title of the publication, the name of the journal or book, the year, the volume, and the first and last pages of the publication.
You must list the first five authors; for more than five authors list the first three followed by “et al.”. For example.: Soucy F, Ko R, Duvdevani M, et al. Percutaneous nephrolithotomy for staghorn calculi: A single centre’s experience over 15 years. J Endourol2009;23:1669–1673.
3. Types of Publications
А. Original articles
Every manuscript should state clearly the objective of the study, design and methods (including study setting and dates, number of patients, inclusion and exclusion criteria, and data sources), the essential details of all surgical or other interventions; the main results of the study; a discussion of the results in context with the published literature; conclusions.
The format of the article should be as follows:
- Abstract – no longer than 300 words with the following sections: introduction, objective, material and methods, results, conclusions, and keywords.
- Text of the article with the following sections – introduction, objective, material and methods, results, discussion, conclusions, and references (no more than 30 publications). Maximum word count is 2800, not including tables, figures, legends of figures and tables, references, and abstract.
Every section of the article should include the following content:
- Introduction – a short description of the importance of the study question.
- The objective – precise objective of the study. If more than one objective is addressed, the main objective should be indicated and only key secondary objectives should be stated.
- Material and Methods – description of study design, setting and duration, inclusion and exclusion criteria, number of patients, essential details of all surgical or other interventions, outcome measurements and statistical analysis.
- Results – The main outcomes of the study should be reported and quantified. The complications of interventions should be reported and quantified.
- Discussion – discussion of study results in context with the published literature. Limitations of the study should be acknowledged and discussed.
- Conclusions – authors are advised to provide only a conclusion directly supported by the results.
B. Review articles
Manuscripts describing a systematic review and meta-analysis should be comprehensive and summarize relevant evidence on the clinical topic in question.
The format of the article should be as follows:
- Abstract – no longer than 300 words, with the following sections: introduction, objective, evidence acquisition, evidence synthesis, conclusion, and keywords.
- Text of the article with the following sections – introduction, objective, evidence acquisition, evidence synthesis, conclusions, and references (no more than 30 publications).
Maximum word count is 3500, not including tables, figures, legends of tables and figures, references, and abstract.
Every section of the article should include the following content:
- Introduction – short description of the topic in question with its importance and implications for clinical practice.
- Objective – state the precise objective of the review.
- Evidence acquisition – description of data sources, years searched, methods of quality assessment and inclusion of identified articles.
- Evidence synthesis – the major findings of the review should be analyzed and addressed in an objective and unbiased fashion in the context of the published scientific data.
- Conclusions – conclusions should answer questions posed based on the available evidence and its implications in clinical practice.
C. Surgical techniques
The format of the article should be as follows:
- Abstract – no more than 300 words with the following sections: introduction, objective, surgical technique, conclusion, and keywords.
- Text of the article with the following sections – introduction, objective, surgical technique, discussion, conclusions, and references (no more than 30 publications).
The maximum word count is 2500, not including tables, figures, legends of figures and tables, references, and abstracts.
D. Letters to the Editor
Letters to the Editor referencing a recent journal article are considered for publication if they are received within 6 months of its publication. The maximum word count is 500. Figures or tables are not permitted. References should be limited to a maximum of five titles.