Patients and study participants have a right to privacy that should not be violated without their informed consent. Identifying information, including names, initials or hospital record numbers, should not be published in written descriptions, photographs or pedigrees unless the information is essential for the scientific purposes and the patient (or parent or guardian) gives a written informed consent for the publication.
The informed consent for this purpose requires that an identifiable patient be shown the manuscript to be published. The authors should disclose to these individuals whether any potential identifiable material might be available via the Internet as well as in print after the publication. The consent of the patient and study participant should be written and archived by the journal, authors or both, as dictated by the local law.
Non-essential identifying details should be omitted. The informed consent should be obtained if there is any doubt that anonymity can be maintained. For example, masking the eye region in the photographs of the individuals is an inadequate protection of the anonymity. If the identifying characteristics are altered to protect the anonymity, such as in genetic pedigrees, the authors should provide the assurance and the editors should note the fact, that such alterations do not distort a scientific meaning.
The requirement for the informed consent is included in the journal’s Guide for the Authors. When the informed consent has been obtained, the article is accepted for the publication.
The research must meet all the applicable standards for the ethics of experimentation and research integrity. If the work involves the use of animal or human subjects, the author should ensure that the manuscript contains a statement that all procedures have been performed in compliance with the relevant laws and institutional guidelines and that the appropriate institutional committee has approved them. The authors should include in the manuscript the statement that the informed consent has been obtained for the experimentation with humans and animals.
If the work involves chemicals, procedures or equipment that have any unusual hazards inherent in their use, the author must clearly identify these in the manuscript.