About Annals

Established in 1927 by the American College of Physicians (ACP), Annals of Internal Medicine is the premier internal medicine journal. Annals of Internal Medicine’s mission is to promote excellence in the clinical practice of internal medicine, to help physicians be well-informed citizens of the medical community and society, and to publish information that helps to advance the health of people worldwide. To achieve this mission, the journal publishes a wide variety of original research, review articles, practice guidelines, and commentary relevant to clinical practice, health care delivery, public health, health care policy, medical education, ethics, and research methodology. In addition, the journal publishes personal narratives that convey the feeling and the art of medicine.

Annals of Internal Medicine has a large readership that includes the over 129,000 members of the American College of Physicians and many more physicians and researchers worldwide who read the journal via institutional subscriptions. Our 2008 impact factor of 17.5 makes the Annals of Internal Medicine one of the most cited general medical journals in the world. Material published in Annals is subject to peer review and the journal greatly appreciates the efforts of the over 17,000 volunteers in our reviewer database who provide critical input into our peer review process. Acceptance rates for original research range from 6-8% in recent years. Annals of Internal Medicine publishes new issues twice a month on the first and third Tuesday of each month.

A detailed history of the Annals’ first 75 years is available at Annals of Internal Medicine at Age 75: Reflections on the Past 25 Years

About ACP

Annals of Internal Medicine’s publisher, the American College of Physicians (www.acponline.org), is the largest medical specialty organization and the second-largest physician group in the United States. ACP members include 129,000 internal medicine physicians (internists), related subspecialists, and medical students. Internists specialize in the prevention, detection, and treatment of illness in adults. Follow ACP on Twitter (www.twitter.com/acpinternists) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/acpinternists).

Annals of Internal Medicine publishes original articles, reviews, clinical conferences, editorials, letters, and other information relevant to internal medicine and related fields. Further details on the kinds of manuscripts that are considered for publication are provided in Information for Authors.

Portions of the content of Annals of Internal Medicine are protected by copyright. Papers authored by U.S. government employees whose work was done as part of their official duties are in the public domain. Manuscripts are accepted for publication with the understanding that their contents, all or in part, have not been published elsewhere and will not be published elsewhere, except in abstract form or by the express consent of the Editor.

Copyrighted information on this Web site is provided solely for personal use. Permission for other uses must be obtained from the American College of Physicians. For further details, see Request to Reproduce Annals Content.

Statements expressed in Annals of Internal Medicine reflect the views of the authors and not necessarily the policies of the journal or of the American College of Physicians, unless so identified. Annals of Internal Medicine and the American College of Physicians accept no responsibility for statements made by contributors or claims made by advertisers, nor does the publication of advertisements constitute or imply endorsement.

Disclaimer: The American College of Physicians disclaims all liability for damages arising out of the use of any information provided on this Web site, including special and consequential damages, expenses, or other claims. The American College of Physicians specifically disclaims any warrant, guarantee, or representation as to the correctness, accuracy, reliability, timeliness, fitness of purpose, merchantability, or use of this information.

Access to Annals online

Annals gives free access to the following content:

1. Articles published early at www.annals.org prior to publication in the print version of Annals

2. Articles that the Editors determine to be of immediate importance to the public

3. Clinical Guidelines and Summaries for Patients (use the advanced search page to search Annals for only these articles)

4. PDFs of all articles from 1993 to 6 months before the current issue

5. Any article if the user is:

• An Annals subscriber
• A member of the American College of Physicians
• From a country in the HINARI initiative or in the World Bank's list of "Lower-income economies"

Editorial Staff

Editor
Christine Laine, MD, MPH

Editors Emeriti
Frank Davidoff, MD, Robert H. Fletcher, MD, MSc, Suzanne W. Fletcher, MD, MSc, Edward J. Huth, MD, Harold C. Sox, MD

Senior Deputy Editor
Cynthia D. Mulrow, MD, MSc

Executive Deputy Editor
Barbara J. Turner, MD, MSEd, MA

Deputy Editor for Annals and annals.org
Michael Berkwits, MD, MSCE

Deputy Editors
Deborah Cotton, MD, MPH, Darren B. Taichman, MD, PhD, Sankey V. Williams, MD

Associate Editors
E. Victor Adlin, MD, John E. Cornell, PhD, Steven N. Goodman, MD, PhD, MHS, Michael E. Griswold, PhD, Eliseo Guallar, MD, PhD, DuPont Guerry IV, MD, William G. Kussmaul III, MD, Michael A. LaCombe, MD, Ebbing Lautenbach, MD, MPH, MSCE, A. Russell Localio, JD, Anne R. Meibohm, PhD, Ashwini Sehgal, MD, Yu-Xiao Yang, MD

Associate Editors Emeriti
John L. Abruzzo, MD, Martin Black, MD, Leonard E. Braitman, PhD

Managing Editor
Mary Beth Schaeffer

Science Writer
Jennifer Fisher Wilson

Editorial Office
Robert Blackwell, Nicole Briglia, Jill Jackson, Ann Paul, Renee Wise

Editorial Board

Edward Abraham, MD, Birmingham, Alabama
Larry R. Churchill, PhD, Nashville
Carolyn Clancy, MD, Rockville
Matthias E. Egger, MD, MSc, Bern
John Ioannidis, MD, Ioannina, Greece
Sharon Inouye, MD, MPH, Boston
Michael S. Lauer, MD, Boston
Anna Lok, MD, Ann Arbor
Jonathan S. Skinner, PhD, Hanover, New Hampshire

Publication Committee, ACP

Nitin S. Damle, MD, Vice Chair
Jack Ende, MD
Kesavan Kutty, MD
Valerie Lawrence, MD
Nareesa Mohammed, MD
Michael F. Rein, MD
Dennis R. Schaberg, MD, Chair
Samuel Thigpen, MD
Lavanya Viswanathan, MD

Publishing Staff

Vice President, Publishing
Robert Spanier

Associate Publisher
Diane McCabe

Director, Editorial Production
Linda Drumheller

Managing Editor
Mary E. Boylan

Senior Production Editors
Shannon L. Donovan, Beth A. Jenkinson

Production Editors
Christopher Cappuccio, Sarah E. Mormello, Patrick Szostak

Assistant Editor
Amanda Neiley

Advertising Operations

Manager
Brian S. Barker

Advertising Production and Billing
John Carney

Supervisor, Recruitment Sales
Margaret Gardner

Advertising Sales

Director, Advertising Sales
Kevin A. Bolum

National Account Manager
Ken Watkins

Web Site Technical Staff

Annals

Manager, Systems Development
Ricki Jo Kauffman

Senior Systems Analyst/Developer
Dan Barron

Senior Systems Analyst/Developer
Scott Hurd

ACP

Manager, Web Operations And Development/Senior Architect
Neil Kohl

Senior Application Architect
Parsh Mehta

Systems Analyst
Andrew Langman