Factors for Predicting Time to Acceptance in the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Factors for Predicting Time to Acceptance in the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Ethan Crawford, Maria Gergoudis, Sarah Whitaker, Logan Laubach, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5300633/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 27 Feb, 2025 Read the published version in European Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery & Traumatology → Version 1 posted 11 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Purpose The Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (JAAOS) is a high-impact journal that publishes crucial research to inform surgeons’ clinical decision-making. The purpose of this study was to determine the median time from submission to acceptance for articles published by the JAAOS and to evaluate factors which may influence time to acceptance. Methods All studies published in JAAOS from 2020-2022 were obtained. Abstracts were screened for submission and acceptance dates, and time to acceptance was calculated. Studies were excluded if dates were unavailable. Data extracted included article type, main topic, and sex of the first author. Simple linear regression, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and independent samples t-test were utilized for univariate analysis. For multivariate analyses, a standard least squares regression was applied. Results We analyzed 754 articles. Over the past 3 years, time to acceptance has not significantly changed (p = 0.894). Regarding article type, letters had the shortest time to acceptance (median 5 days, IQR 2-10, p<0.0001), while interventional studies had the longest time to acceptance (median 171.5 days, IQR 106-309.5).. Articles pertaining to COVID-19 (median 62 days, IQR 2-121) and diversity (median 90 days, IQR 24-156) had the shortest times to acceptance. Articles pertaining to radiology (median 189.5 days, IQR 100-309.5) and trauma (median 183 days, IQR 126.5-269.5) had the longest times to acceptance (p<.0008). Time to acceptance was not significantly different between male and female first authors. Conclusion This study provides a tool for authors to estimate their mean time from submission to acceptance based on the characteristics of their study. With literature submissions constantly increasing each year with unknown times to acceptance, authors may make a more informed decision with journal selection based on the qualities of their study. Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Introduction The Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (JAAOS) is a high-impact journal that publishes crucial research to inform clinical decision-making in practice and education. Colloquially known as “The Yellow Journal [ 1 ], JAAOS publishes a collection of articles twice per month or twenty-four times per year, including clinical reviews and research articles as well as an online collection of podcasts, videos, webinars, and blogs and has more than 38,000 subscribers worldwide per its publisher, Wolters Kluwer. According to a letter from Editor-In-Chief Peter Rose, M.D., the journal had more than 1,600 submissions in 2023 which was a record high [ 2 ]. With both a growing audience and growing number of submissions, we sought to determine the average time to acceptance for the JAAOS. Recent studies examining orthopaedic surgery journals including a 2022 analysis by Chopra et al. of fourteen orthopaedic surgery journals found a median time to acceptance of 119 days [ 3 ] and have found little evidence of nonscientific factors affecting time to publication. While there is a known bias toward publishing positive outcomes in surgical literature, including orthopaedics, other factors contributing to publication bias are not often studied [ 4 ]. Additionally, there has been a surge in research in the field of orthopaedic surgery, especially for medical students hoping to match into the specialty. In 2022, successfully matched applicants in orthopaedic surgery had a mean number of abstracts, presentations, and publications of 16.5, compared with the mean of 7.9 for matched fourth year allopathic medical students across all specialties [ 5 ]. For comparison, the mean number of abstracts, presentations, and publications of successfully matched orthopaedic surgery applicants was just 4.5 in 2011 and 6.7 in 2014 [ 6 ]. With growing competition, applicants often struggle with where to submit their work to maximize chances of publication. A study by Freshman et al. in 2020 evaluated the number of publications listed as “submitted” on orthopaedic surgery residency applications. The authors found that works listed as "submitted" frequently remained unpublished or were published in less impactful journals than listed by applicants [ 7 ]. There are a multitude of reasons why an author may elect to submit their work to a different journal than originally intended, including rejection by the original journal due to a content or quality mismatch, publication or open access fees, or time to receive a decision. Choosing the most appropriate journal may be difficult, especially with the growing emphasis on research within the field of orthopaedics. The purpose of this study was to determine the mean time from submission to acceptance for articles published by the JAAOS and to evaluate factors which may influence time to acceptance. We hope to provide guidance to medical students, orthopaedic surgery residency applicants, and surgeons in choosing the most appropriate journal for publication. Methods A list of papers published in the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (JAAOS) from 2012–2022 (n = 2,152) was obtained via PubMed search using the term “Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.” Three researchers (MG, SW, EC) screened each article for date received, date accepted, and date published. Articles were excluded if the date of submission was unavailable. Notably, the majority of articles published prior to 2020 did not have the required dates; therefore, in order to ensure appropriate comparison between years using a similar sample size, only articles published after 2020 were included. For each included article, researchers (MG, SW, EC) collected the following information: date of submission, date of acceptance, and date of original publication, type of article, primary topic, and sex of the first author. Article type includes guidelines, interventional studies, letters to the editor, observational studies, and reviews. Guideline studies are those that discuss the guidelines for clinical practice, interventional studies are clinical trials, and letters to the editor are author’s responses to another author’s work. Observational studies include cohort studies, case-control studies, cross sectional studies, and retrospective studies, among others. Reviews include literature reviews, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses. Simple linear regression, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and independent samples t-test were utilized for univariate analysis. A standard of least squares regression was applied for multivariate analyses of time to acceptance. Results A total of 2,152 studies were identified upon initial retrieval of all studies published in the JAAOS from 2020–2022. Of these, 1,395 did not have sufficient information to calculate time from initial article submission to acceptance. Thus, a total of 754 articles were included in the final analysis (Fig. 1 ). Upon analysis, there was no statistically significant correlation between year of publication and time to acceptance. However, time to acceptance did correlate significantly with both article type and main topic. Articles published in 2022 had a median time to acceptance of 129.5 days (IQR 78-199.5) compared to a median time of 125 days (IQR 82–188) in 2020 (Table 2 ). Regarding article type, letters had the shortest median time to acceptance at 5 days (IQR 2–10), followed by guidelines with a median of 63.5 (IQR 20.75-178.25) and observational studies at 127 days (IQR 87.5-191.5). Interventional studies had the longest median time to acceptance at 171.5 days (IQR 106-309.5), followed by reviews at 147.5 days (IQR 91.25–214). Regarding the main topic, articles regarding COVID-19 had the shortest median time to acceptance at 62 days (IQR 2-121), followed by diversity at 90 days (IQR 24–156), and training at 92 days (IQR 63.5-150.5). Articles investigating radiology had the longest median time to acceptance at 189.5 days (IQR 100.25–309.5), followed by trauma at 183 days (IQR 126.5-256.5) and sports at 157.5 days (IQR 100-269.5) (Table 4 ). This study did not identify any statistically significant associations between time to acceptance and annual quarter received or first author sex, shown in Tables 1 and 5 , respectively. Table 1 Time to acceptance based on quarter received Quarter N Median time to acceptance (IQR) P-value 1 221 122 (79–217) 0.249 2 208 129.5 (81.25-199.75) 3 170 149 (87.75-207.75) 4 155 128 (81–184) Time to acceptance measured in days Table 2 Time to acceptance based on year of publication Year N Median time to acceptance (IQR) P-value 2020 171 125 (82–188) 0.894 2021 293 138 (85.5–207) 2022 290 129.5 (78-195.5) Time to acceptance measured in days Table 3 Time from to acceptance based on article type Article type N Median time to acceptance (IQR) P-value Guideline 10 63.5 (20.75-178.25) < 0.0001 Interventional 16 171.5 (106-309.5) Letter 31 5 (2–10) Observational 373 127 (87.5-191.5) Review 324 147.5 (91.25–214) Time to acceptance measured in days Guideline: Studies regarding clinical practice guidelines Interventional: Clinical trials Letter: Letters to the editor, typically a response to another paper Observational: Includes cohort studies, case-control studies, cross sectional studies, and retrospective studies, among others Review: Includes literature reviews, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses Table 4 Time from to acceptance based on main topic Article topic N Median time to acceptance (IQR) P-value COVID-19 11 62 (2-121) 0.0008 Diversity 19 90 (24–156) Foot/ankle 21 157 (115-199.5) Hand/wrist 16 139 (74-210.75) Joints 200 130.5 (92.75-204.25) Pain Management 25 127 (65-176.5) Pediatrics 18 129.5 (93.75–272) Practice Management 20 107 (75.5–170) Radiology 8 189.5 (100.25–309.5) Shoulder/elbow 68 128.5 (94.75-194.25) Spine 58 129.5 (66.5-239.75) Sports 28 157.5 (100-269.5) Training 49 92 (63.5-150.5) Trauma 84 183 (126.5-256.5) Tumors/Oncology 14 121 (86.5-157.75) Other 115 105 (62–184) Time to acceptance measured in days. Articles classified as other did not fit into the categories mentioned above. If articles fit into more than one category, the predominant topic was chosen. Table 5 Time to acceptance based on sex of first author Sex of first author N Median time to acceptance (IQR) P-value Male 617 133 (82-199.5) 0.219 Female 137 125 (77–191) Time to acceptance measured in days Using the results of the final analysis, the authors devised an algorithm for prospective authors to calculate estimated time to acceptance based on the year submitted, article type, and main topic. Further details can be found in Fig. 2 . Based on the year of publication the average article submitted in 2021 took 2.5 days fewer than the overall journal median to be accepted compared to articles submitted in 2020, which took 4.8 days longer. The algorithm further demonstrates that on average, letters took 113 fewer days than the overall journal median to be accepted, compared to interventional articles taking 81.5 days longer. Regarding study topic, articles with the main topic of COVID-19 were, on average, accepted 44.4 days faster than the journal’s median time to acceptance. Articles focusing on radiology took 52.2 days longer than the median to publish. Discussion Performing an analysis of the JAAOS provides researchers with quantitative data that allows them to assess possible publication speed based on the characteristics of their study. As the first in-depth analysis of publishing patterns of the JAAOS to our knowledge, this study illustrates that, regarding article type, letters have the shortest time to acceptance of 5 days (IQR 2–10) and interventional studies have the longest time to acceptance with a median of 171 days (IQR 106-309.5). Regarding the article topic, this study shows that those involving COVID-19 had the shortest median time to acceptance at 62 days (IQR 2-121), while those involving diagnostics had the longest time to acceptance at 189 days (IQR 100.25–309.5). Importantly, this study also demonstrates that there is no significant difference in times to acceptance between male and female first authors, whose median times to acceptance were 133 days and 125 days, respectively. While this is the first known study to analyze the publishing patterns of the JAAOS, other analyses have been completed regarding publishing speeds in other medical specialties. Mohanty et al. found that median time to acceptance in 2018 for anesthesiology journals was 120 days (IQR 83–167) [ 8 ]. Jain et al. reported a median time to acceptance of 107 days (IQR 66–168) across 14 spine journals [ 9 ]. Chen et al. reviewed articles from 50 ophthalmology journals and reported median time to acceptance of 133 days (IQR 100.5-171.5) [ 10 ]. In 2022, Chopra et al. analyzed 14 orthopaedic surgery journals and reported a mean time to acceptance of 119 days (IQR 78–165), suggesting that orthopaedic surgery journals have a competitive peer review time compared to journals of other specialties [ 3 ]. This study demonstrates that the JAAOS has an overall median time to acceptance of 130 days (IQR 81–197), indicating that the JAAOS has a comparable time to acceptance when compared to its peers in the field of orthopaedic, spine, plastic surgery, and ophthalmology journals. However, it is important to consider that this is comparing one journal to the average of many journals in other fields, and it may be that JAAOS is comparatively more competitive when compared to these journals individually. Regarding article type, this study found that letters have the shortest median time to acceptance of 5 days (IQR 2–10), while interventional studies have the longest time to acceptance with a median of 171.5 days (IQR 106-309.5). Though there is a paucity of research related to how article type affects time to acceptance and publication, it is reasonable to conclude that experimental and evaluation studies may require a more thorough review process and therefore have a longer time to acceptance. Regarding article subject, this study found that articles relating to COVID-19 had the fastest time to acceptance with a median of 62 days (IQR 2-121), while those on diagnostics had the longest time to acceptance at 189.5 days (IQR 100.25–309.5). This suggests that studies analyzing and comparing diagnostic measures or surgical techniques (diagnostic studies) could be held to a higher standard of review. These results regarding COVID-19 articles follow a broader trend in literature of COVID-19 articles being published faster than non-COVID-19 articles. Various studies have reported that, during this time period, non-COVID-19 articles faced reduced odds of acceptance [ 11 ] and diminished numbers [ 12 ] while publication rates for COVID-19 articles increased [ 11 ]. On the time to publication of COVID-19 articles, one study of 20 orthopaedic surgery journals showed a median time to publication of 24.5 days for COVID-19 articles compared to a median of 129 days for articles published before the pandemic [ 13 ]. Our study is consistent with trends seen across medical journals of various specialties, as well as journals specific to orthopaedic surgery, showing that articles regarding COVID-19 are published faster than non-COVID-19 articles. According to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) 2022 Physician Specialty Data Report, 37.1 percent of physicians in the United States identify as female. Within the field of orthopaedic surgery, that number was merely 5.9 percent [ 14 ]. Despite this, current numbers indicate that women make up the majority of medical school applicants, matriculants, and total enrollment [ 15 ]. Though medicine and orthopaedic surgery are making strides toward gender parity, in 2020 only 16 percent of orthopaedic surgery residents were female [ 16 ]. Due to historical discrepancies in male and female physician numbers, it is important to understand both the current dynamic, and how workforce demographics will be changing in the future. In research, women are less likely to be first author on papers in high-ranking medical journals [ 17 ]. In orthopedic surgery journals, women are less likely to have abstracts published [ 18 ], experience a longer time to publication [ 18 ], have fewer publications [ 19 ], and are cited fewer than their male counterparts [ 19 ]. Due to the scarcity of research directly studying gender on time to acceptance and publication in orthopaedic surgery journals, we sought to understand this relationship in the JAAOS. While the conclusion cannot be drawn for other specialties or other orthopaedic surgery journals, our study demonstrates the JAAOS has no difference in time to acceptance for papers with female first authors compared to male first authors. The time to publication of scientific articles influences the implementation of research into clinical practice. Studies show an average of 17 years for research results to be implemented into clinical practice; therefore, discovering ways to speed up the process of dissemination of these results is increasingly important [ 20 ]. Publication speed is also important for the advancement of clinical practice and training throughout all stages of medicine. Current studies show that between 60% and 71% of orthopaedic surgery residency program directors view research as a central tenet of deciding which candidates to invite for an interview [ 21 ]. Furthermore, residents at higher-tier orthopaedic surgery residency programs generally have higher academic productivity when compared to residents at lower-tier programs [ 22 ]. Studies have found that medical students matching into orthopaedic surgery had significantly more publications and presentations compared to students matching into other specialties [ 5 ] and that academic rank of orthopaedic surgeons in the United States was positively correlated to academic productivity [ 23 ]. Due to the importance of research production in career advancement, it is important to understand publishing patterns of orthopaedic surgery journals to make informed decisions that can impact career progression. In the last decade, artificial intelligence (AI) has become increasingly important to understanding publication patterns. Multiple studies have demonstrated an ability for AI algorithms to accurately predict manuscript acceptance or rejection from a given journal [ 24 ]. It has also been shown that AI models have the ability to predict the quality of a journal that an article is likely to be published in according to impact factor [ 25 ]. Despite the benefits of these algorithms in guiding journal selection and publication probability, these models fail to provide predictive value for articles time to acceptance in journals. Our algorithm, as described in Fig. 2 , helps address this gap by portraying the specific time to acceptances based on article characteristics. For example, if an author submitted an interventional article in 2020 on COVID-19 to JAAOS then the average time to acceptance could be predicted as (81.5 + 4.8–44.4) = 41.9 days. This provides a valuable predictive algorithm for an author to estimate the amount of time to publish their article based on the main characteristics of the study. This model could possibly be applied to other journals and specialties to help researchers publish their work. Our study has limitations. Primarily, nearly half of articles published in JAAOS during the established time frame were excluded due to lack of complete information. Though the majority of articles included date published, nearly half omitted date of submission, which made calculating the time to acceptance impossible and thus these articles were excluded from the analysis. Although this could potentially limit the power of the study, the analysis of over 1,000 peer-reviewed articles provides sufficient information for conclusions to be drawn. Additionally, only one journal was studied. Although this could limit generalizability, JAAOS is a well-respected journal within the field of orthopaedic surgery. Finally, it is unclear how the COVID-19 pandemic may have impacted article publication. It is clear that studies regarding COVID-19 were accepted for publication faster than those on other topics. Conclusion This study provides a tool for authors to estimate their mean time from submission to acceptance based on the characteristics of their study. With literature submissions constantly increasing each year with unknown times to acceptance, authors may make a more informed decision with journal selection based on the qualities of their study. Declarations Author Contribution E.C., S.W., M.W., participated in data collection and wrote the main manuscript. L.L. prepared figures and tables. T.Y. ran statistics. N.P. oversaw the project and assisted in writing. All authors reviewed the manuscript. References Cooney, WPI: The “Yellow Journal.” JAAOS - J Am Acad Orthop Surg 2005;13:299. Rose, PS: The New Year for JAAOS. J Am Acad Orthop Surg 2024;32:1–1. 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Mohanty, CR, Bellapukonda, S, Mund, M, Behera, BK, Sahoo, SS: Analysis of publication speed of anesthesiology journals: a cross-sectional study. Braz J Anesthesiol Elsevier 2021;71:110–115. Jain, M, Mohnaty, CR, Sahoo, J, Radhakrishnan, RV, Biswas, M: A bibliometric analysis of the spine journals. J Clin Orthop Trauma 2021;16:219–225. Chen, H, Chen, CH, Jhanji, V: Publication times, impact factors, and advance online publication in ophthalmology journals. Ophthalmology 2013;120:1697–1701. Raynaud, M, Goutaudier, V, Louis, K, Al-Awadhi, S, Dubourg, Q, Truchot, A, Brousse, R, Saleh, N, Giarraputo, A, Debiais, C, et al. : Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on publication dynamics and non-COVID-19 research production. BMC Med Res Methodol 2021;21:255. He, J, Liu, X, Lu, X, Zhong, M, Jia, C, Lucero-Prisno, DE, Ma, ZF, Li, H: The impact of COVID-19 on global health journals: an analysis of impact factor and publication trends. BMJ Glob Health 2023;8:e011514. 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Pradhan, T, Bhatia, C, Kumar, P, Pal, S: A deep neural architecture based meta-review generation and final decision prediction of a scholarly article. Neurocomputing 2021;428:218–238. Macri, C, Bacchi, S, Teoh, SC, Lim, WY, Lam, L, Patel, S, Slee, M, Casson, R, Chan, W: Evaluating the Ability of Open-Source Artificial Intelligence to Predict Accepting-Journal Impact Factor and Eigenfactor Score Using Academic Article Abstracts: Cross-sectional Machine Learning Analysis. J Med Internet Res 2023;25:e42789. Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 27 Feb, 2025 Read the published version in European Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery & Traumatology → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 31 Dec, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 26 Dec, 2024 Reviews received at journal 26 Dec, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 26 Dec, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 26 Dec, 2024 Reviews received at journal 26 Dec, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 26 Dec, 2024 Reviewers invited by journal 01 Nov, 2024 Editor assigned by journal 23 Oct, 2024 Submission checks completed at journal 23 Oct, 2024 First submitted to journal 20 Oct, 2024 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-5300633","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":369457835,"identity":"e80f6575-73fb-40c7-9d28-37583a5d7c5e","order_by":0,"name":"Ethan Crawford","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAyklEQVRIiWNgGAWjYLCCCgYGxgaG5AMQ3gFitJwBa0lLIFlLjgFxWvhnH34mcaDinmw/e843iZ9tDHJ8NxLwa5E4l2YmceBMsfHMnrfbJHvbGIwlCWkx4GEwu/2xLSFxw43czcaMbQxABkEt7N9uHARq2X8j5zFISz0RWnjMwFo2SOQwPgZqSTAg6JczPOU/DpxJMJ5x5pnhw55zEoYzzzzAr4W/h32zwYGKBNn+9uQHB36U2cjzHSdgC4atpCkfBaNgFIyCUYAdAAAHJUtuplBSQQAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"Virginia Commonwealth University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ethan","middleName":"","lastName":"Crawford","suffix":""},{"id":369457836,"identity":"0af5edc0-eb79-4b48-a8b1-ae8679813e61","order_by":1,"name":"Maria Gergoudis","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Virginia Commonwealth University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Maria","middleName":"","lastName":"Gergoudis","suffix":""},{"id":369457837,"identity":"ba9812c6-910a-4085-b529-5bfe4aa9dc2a","order_by":2,"name":"Sarah Whitaker","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Virginia Commonwealth University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Sarah","middleName":"","lastName":"Whitaker","suffix":""},{"id":369457838,"identity":"cbed74f5-7dca-4aae-9698-9093f2b792be","order_by":3,"name":"Logan Laubach","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Virginia Commonwealth University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Logan","middleName":"","lastName":"Laubach","suffix":""},{"id":369457839,"identity":"f1bce650-2eeb-4efb-9cd4-05dfb1eda3a7","order_by":4,"name":"Teja Yeramosu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Virginia Commonwealth University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Teja","middleName":"","lastName":"Yeramosu","suffix":""},{"id":369457840,"identity":"6dbecf51-0469-416b-b6d4-f582f1b7d7a7","order_by":5,"name":"Nirav Patel","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Johns Hopkins University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Nirav","middleName":"","lastName":"Patel","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-10-21 02:53:08","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5300633/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5300633/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00590-025-04178-8","type":"published","date":"2025-02-27T15:57:48+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":67465845,"identity":"25ba8d91-226e-4656-b877-9e146f85df2f","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-10-25 10:40:11","extension":"png","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":43473,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003ePRISMA chart for study methodology\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"1.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-5300633/v1/3e5d31fc543661f4f616e13e.png"},{"id":67465846,"identity":"909f7201-cbfd-4f84-85c5-32921c2d0282","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-10-25 10:40:11","extension":"png","order_by":2,"title":"Figure 2","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":70008,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eAlgorithm for calculating estimated time to acceptance (days)\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"2.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-5300633/v1/ab6498971ff17625fed4c3fc.png"},{"id":77622485,"identity":"ba865306-c43a-493c-b18b-85392bd39adb","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-03-03 16:07:24","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":623869,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-5300633/v1/46b228d3-966f-46ac-80f7-3a8b9001728c.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Factors for Predicting Time to Acceptance in the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons ","fulltext":[{"header":"Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (JAAOS) is a high-impact journal that publishes crucial research to inform clinical decision-making in practice and education. Colloquially known as \u0026ldquo;The Yellow Journal [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e], JAAOS publishes a collection of articles twice per month or twenty-four times per year, including clinical reviews and research articles as well as an online collection of podcasts, videos, webinars, and blogs and has more than 38,000 subscribers worldwide per its publisher, Wolters Kluwer. According to a letter from Editor-In-Chief Peter Rose, M.D., the journal had more than 1,600 submissions in 2023 which was a record high [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e]. With both a growing audience and growing number of submissions, we sought to determine the average time to acceptance for the JAAOS.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eRecent studies examining orthopaedic surgery journals including a 2022 analysis by Chopra et al. of fourteen orthopaedic surgery journals found a median time to acceptance of 119 days [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e] and have found little evidence of nonscientific factors affecting time to publication. While there is a known bias toward publishing positive outcomes in surgical literature, including orthopaedics, other factors contributing to publication bias are not often studied [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAdditionally, there has been a surge in research in the field of orthopaedic surgery, especially for medical students hoping to match into the specialty. In 2022, successfully matched applicants in orthopaedic surgery had a mean number of abstracts, presentations, and publications of 16.5, compared with the mean of 7.9 for matched fourth year allopathic medical students across all specialties [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e]. For comparison, the mean number of abstracts, presentations, and publications of successfully matched orthopaedic surgery applicants was just 4.5 in 2011 and 6.7 in 2014 [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e]. With growing competition, applicants often struggle with where to submit their work to maximize chances of publication. A study by Freshman et al. in 2020 evaluated the number of publications listed as \u0026ldquo;submitted\u0026rdquo; on orthopaedic surgery residency applications. The authors found that works listed as \"submitted\" frequently remained unpublished or were published in less impactful journals than listed by applicants [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e7\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThere are a multitude of reasons why an author may elect to submit their work to a different journal than originally intended, including rejection by the original journal due to a content or quality mismatch, publication or open access fees, or time to receive a decision. Choosing the most appropriate journal may be difficult, especially with the growing emphasis on research within the field of orthopaedics. The purpose of this study was to determine the mean time from submission to acceptance for articles published by the JAAOS and to evaluate factors which may influence time to acceptance. We hope to provide guidance to medical students, orthopaedic surgery residency applicants, and surgeons in choosing the most appropriate journal for publication.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Methods","content":"\u003cp\u003eA list of papers published in the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (JAAOS) from 2012\u0026ndash;2022 (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;2,152) was obtained via PubMed search using the term \u0026ldquo;Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.\u0026rdquo; Three researchers (MG, SW, EC) screened each article for date received, date accepted, and date published. Articles were excluded if the date of submission was unavailable. Notably, the majority of articles published prior to 2020 did not have the required dates; therefore, in order to ensure appropriate comparison between years using a similar sample size, only articles published after 2020 were included. For each included article, researchers (MG, SW, EC) collected the following information: date of submission, date of acceptance, and date of original publication, type of article, primary topic, and sex of the first author. Article type includes guidelines, interventional studies, letters to the editor, observational studies, and reviews. Guideline studies are those that discuss the guidelines for clinical practice, interventional studies are clinical trials, and letters to the editor are author\u0026rsquo;s responses to another author\u0026rsquo;s work. Observational studies include cohort studies, case-control studies, cross sectional studies, and retrospective studies, among others. Reviews include literature reviews, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses. Simple linear regression, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and independent samples t-test were utilized for univariate analysis. A standard of least squares regression was applied for multivariate analyses of time to acceptance.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Results","content":"\u003cp\u003eA total of 2,152 studies were identified upon initial retrieval of all studies published in the JAAOS from 2020\u0026ndash;2022. Of these, 1,395 did not have sufficient information to calculate time from initial article submission to acceptance. Thus, a total of 754 articles were included in the final analysis (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eUpon analysis, there was no statistically significant correlation between year of publication and time to acceptance. However, time to acceptance did correlate significantly with both article type and main topic. Articles published in 2022 had a median time to acceptance of 129.5 days (IQR 78-199.5) compared to a median time of 125 days (IQR 82\u0026ndash;188) in 2020 (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e). Regarding article type, letters had the shortest median time to acceptance at 5 days (IQR 2\u0026ndash;10), followed by guidelines with a median of 63.5 (IQR 20.75-178.25) and observational studies at 127 days (IQR 87.5-191.5). Interventional studies had the longest median time to acceptance at 171.5 days (IQR 106-309.5), followed by reviews at 147.5 days (IQR 91.25\u0026ndash;214). Regarding the main topic, articles regarding COVID-19 had the shortest median time to acceptance at 62 days (IQR 2-121), followed by diversity at 90 days (IQR 24\u0026ndash;156), and training at 92 days (IQR 63.5-150.5). Articles investigating radiology had the longest median time to acceptance at 189.5 days (IQR 100.25\u0026ndash;309.5), followed by trauma at 183 days (IQR 126.5-256.5) and sports at 157.5 days (IQR 100-269.5) (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e). This study did not identify any statistically significant associations between time to acceptance and annual quarter received or first author sex, shown in Tables\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e and \u003cspan refid=\"Tab5\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e, respectively.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTime to acceptance based on quarter received\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"4\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eQuarter\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eN\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMedian time to acceptance (IQR)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eP-value\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e221\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e122 (79\u0026ndash;217)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.249\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e208\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e129.5 (81.25-199.75)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e170\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e149 (87.75-207.75)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e155\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e128 (81\u0026ndash;184)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"4\"\u003eTime to acceptance measured in days\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab2\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 2\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTime to acceptance based on year of publication\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"4\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYear\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eN\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMedian time to acceptance (IQR)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eP-value\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2020\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e171\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e125 (82\u0026ndash;188)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.894\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2021\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e293\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e138 (85.5\u0026ndash;207)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2022\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e290\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e129.5 (78-195.5)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"4\"\u003eTime to acceptance measured in days\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab3\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 3\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTime from to acceptance based on article type\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"4\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eArticle type\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eN\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMedian time to acceptance (IQR)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eP-value\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGuideline\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e63.5 (20.75-178.25)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.0001\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eInterventional\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e16\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e171.5 (106-309.5)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLetter\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e31\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5 (2\u0026ndash;10)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eObservational\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e373\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e127 (87.5-191.5)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eReview\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e324\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e147.5 (91.25\u0026ndash;214)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"4\"\u003eTime to acceptance measured in days\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"4\"\u003eGuideline: Studies regarding clinical practice guidelines\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"4\"\u003eInterventional: Clinical trials\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"4\"\u003eLetter: Letters to the editor, typically a response to another paper\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"4\"\u003eObservational: Includes cohort studies, case-control studies, cross sectional studies, and retrospective studies, among others\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"4\"\u003eReview: Includes literature reviews, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab4\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 4\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTime from to acceptance based on main topic\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"4\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eArticle topic\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eN\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMedian time to acceptance (IQR)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eP-value\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCOVID-19\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e62 (2-121)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e0.0008\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDiversity\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e19\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e90 (24\u0026ndash;156)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFoot/ankle\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e21\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e157 (115-199.5)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHand/wrist\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e16\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e139 (74-210.75)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eJoints\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e200\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e130.5 (92.75-204.25)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePain Management\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e25\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e127 (65-176.5)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePediatrics\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e18\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e129.5 (93.75\u0026ndash;272)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePractice Management\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e20\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e107 (75.5\u0026ndash;170)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eRadiology\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e189.5 (100.25\u0026ndash;309.5)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eShoulder/elbow\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e68\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e128.5 (94.75-194.25)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSpine\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e58\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e129.5 (66.5-239.75)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSports\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e28\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e157.5 (100-269.5)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTraining\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e49\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e92 (63.5-150.5)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTrauma\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e84\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e183 (126.5-256.5)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTumors/Oncology\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e14\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e121 (86.5-157.75)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eOther\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e115\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e105 (62\u0026ndash;184)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"4\"\u003eTime to acceptance measured in days. Articles classified as other did not fit into the categories mentioned above. If articles fit into more than one category, the predominant topic was chosen.\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab5\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 5\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTime to acceptance based on sex of first author\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"4\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSex of first author\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eN\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMedian time to acceptance (IQR)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eP-value\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMale\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e617\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e133 (82-199.5)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.219\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFemale\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e137\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e125 (77\u0026ndash;191)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"4\"\u003eTime to acceptance measured in days\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eUsing the results of the final analysis, the authors devised an algorithm for prospective authors to calculate estimated time to acceptance based on the year submitted, article type, and main topic. Further details can be found in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e. Based on the year of publication the average article submitted in 2021 took 2.5 days fewer than the overall journal median to be accepted compared to articles submitted in 2020, which took 4.8 days longer. The algorithm further demonstrates that on average, letters took 113 fewer days than the overall journal median to be accepted, compared to interventional articles taking 81.5 days longer. Regarding study topic, articles with the main topic of COVID-19 were, on average, accepted 44.4 days faster than the journal\u0026rsquo;s median time to acceptance. Articles focusing on radiology took 52.2 days longer than the median to publish.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Discussion","content":"\u003cp\u003ePerforming an analysis of the JAAOS provides researchers with quantitative data that allows them to assess possible publication speed based on the characteristics of their study. As the first in-depth analysis of publishing patterns of the JAAOS to our knowledge, this study illustrates that, regarding article type, letters have the shortest time to acceptance of 5 days (IQR 2\u0026ndash;10) and interventional studies have the longest time to acceptance with a median of 171 days (IQR 106-309.5). Regarding the article topic, this study shows that those involving COVID-19 had the shortest median time to acceptance at 62 days (IQR 2-121), while those involving diagnostics had the longest time to acceptance at 189 days (IQR 100.25\u0026ndash;309.5). Importantly, this study also demonstrates that there is no significant difference in times to acceptance between male and female first authors, whose median times to acceptance were 133 days and 125 days, respectively.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhile this is the first known study to analyze the publishing patterns of the JAAOS, other analyses have been completed regarding publishing speeds in other medical specialties. Mohanty et al. found that median time to acceptance in 2018 for anesthesiology journals was 120 days (IQR 83\u0026ndash;167) [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e8\u003c/span\u003e]. Jain et al. reported a median time to acceptance of 107 days (IQR 66\u0026ndash;168) across 14 spine journals [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e9\u003c/span\u003e]. Chen et al. reviewed articles from 50 ophthalmology journals and reported median time to acceptance of 133 days (IQR 100.5-171.5) [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e10\u003c/span\u003e]. In 2022, Chopra et al. analyzed 14 orthopaedic surgery journals and reported a mean time to acceptance of 119 days (IQR 78\u0026ndash;165), suggesting that orthopaedic surgery journals have a competitive peer review time compared to journals of other specialties [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e]. This study demonstrates that the JAAOS has an overall median time to acceptance of 130 days (IQR 81\u0026ndash;197), indicating that the JAAOS has a comparable time to acceptance when compared to its peers in the field of orthopaedic, spine, plastic surgery, and ophthalmology journals. However, it is important to consider that this is comparing one journal to the average of many journals in other fields, and it may be that JAAOS is comparatively more competitive when compared to these journals individually.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eRegarding article type, this study found that letters have the shortest median time to acceptance of 5 days (IQR 2\u0026ndash;10), while interventional studies have the longest time to acceptance with a median of 171.5 days (IQR 106-309.5). Though there is a paucity of research related to how article type affects time to acceptance and publication, it is reasonable to conclude that experimental and evaluation studies may require a more thorough review process and therefore have a longer time to acceptance. Regarding article subject, this study found that articles relating to COVID-19 had the fastest time to acceptance with a median of 62 days (IQR 2-121), while those on diagnostics had the longest time to acceptance at 189.5 days (IQR 100.25\u0026ndash;309.5). This suggests that studies analyzing and comparing diagnostic measures or surgical techniques (diagnostic studies) could be held to a higher standard of review. These results regarding COVID-19 articles follow a broader trend in literature of COVID-19 articles being published faster than non-COVID-19 articles. Various studies have reported that, during this time period, non-COVID-19 articles faced reduced odds of acceptance [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e11\u003c/span\u003e] and diminished numbers [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e12\u003c/span\u003e] while publication rates for COVID-19 articles increased [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e11\u003c/span\u003e]. On the time to publication of COVID-19 articles, one study of 20 orthopaedic surgery journals showed a median time to publication of 24.5 days for COVID-19 articles compared to a median of 129 days for articles published before the pandemic [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e13\u003c/span\u003e]. Our study is consistent with trends seen across medical journals of various specialties, as well as journals specific to orthopaedic surgery, showing that articles regarding COVID-19 are published faster than non-COVID-19 articles.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAccording to the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) 2022 Physician Specialty Data Report, 37.1 percent of physicians in the United States identify as female. Within the field of orthopaedic surgery, that number was merely 5.9 percent [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e14\u003c/span\u003e]. Despite this, current numbers indicate that women make up the majority of medical school applicants, matriculants, and total enrollment [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e15\u003c/span\u003e]. Though medicine and orthopaedic surgery are making strides toward gender parity, in 2020 only 16 percent of orthopaedic surgery residents were female [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e16\u003c/span\u003e]. Due to historical discrepancies in male and female physician numbers, it is important to understand both the current dynamic, and how workforce demographics will be changing in the future. In research, women are less likely to be first author on papers in high-ranking medical journals [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e17\u003c/span\u003e]. In orthopedic surgery journals, women are less likely to have abstracts published [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e18\u003c/span\u003e], experience a longer time to publication [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e18\u003c/span\u003e], have fewer publications [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e19\u003c/span\u003e], and are cited fewer than their male counterparts [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e19\u003c/span\u003e]. Due to the scarcity of research directly studying gender on time to acceptance and publication in orthopaedic surgery journals, we sought to understand this relationship in the JAAOS. While the conclusion cannot be drawn for other specialties or other orthopaedic surgery journals, our study demonstrates the JAAOS has no difference in time to acceptance for papers with female first authors compared to male first authors.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe time to publication of scientific articles influences the implementation of research into clinical practice. Studies show an average of 17 years for research results to be implemented into clinical practice; therefore, discovering ways to speed up the process of dissemination of these results is increasingly important [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e20\u003c/span\u003e]. Publication speed is also important for the advancement of clinical practice and training throughout all stages of medicine. Current studies show that between 60% and 71% of orthopaedic surgery residency program directors view research as a central tenet of deciding which candidates to invite for an interview [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e21\u003c/span\u003e]. Furthermore, residents at higher-tier orthopaedic surgery residency programs generally have higher academic productivity when compared to residents at lower-tier programs [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e22\u003c/span\u003e]. Studies have found that medical students matching into orthopaedic surgery had significantly more publications and presentations compared to students matching into other specialties [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e] and that academic rank of orthopaedic surgeons in the United States was positively correlated to academic productivity [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e23\u003c/span\u003e]. Due to the importance of research production in career advancement, it is important to understand publishing patterns of orthopaedic surgery journals to make informed decisions that can impact career progression.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn the last decade, artificial intelligence (AI) has become increasingly important to understanding publication patterns. Multiple studies have demonstrated an ability for AI algorithms to accurately predict manuscript acceptance or rejection from a given journal [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e24\u003c/span\u003e]. It has also been shown that AI models have the ability to predict the quality of a journal that an article is likely to be published in according to impact factor [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e25\u003c/span\u003e]. Despite the benefits of these algorithms in guiding journal selection and publication probability, these models fail to provide predictive value for articles time to acceptance in journals. Our algorithm, as described in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e, helps address this gap by portraying the specific time to acceptances based on article characteristics. For example, if an author submitted an interventional article in 2020 on COVID-19 to JAAOS then the average time to acceptance could be predicted as (81.5\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;4.8\u0026ndash;44.4)\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;41.9 days. This provides a valuable predictive algorithm for an author to estimate the amount of time to publish their article based on the main characteristics of the study. This model could possibly be applied to other journals and specialties to help researchers publish their work.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOur study has limitations. Primarily, nearly half of articles published in JAAOS during the established time frame were excluded due to lack of complete information. Though the majority of articles included date published, nearly half omitted date of submission, which made calculating the time to acceptance impossible and thus these articles were excluded from the analysis. Although this could potentially limit the power of the study, the analysis of over 1,000 peer-reviewed articles provides sufficient information for conclusions to be drawn. Additionally, only one journal was studied. Although this could limit generalizability, JAAOS is a well-respected journal within the field of orthopaedic surgery. Finally, it is unclear how the COVID-19 pandemic may have impacted article publication. It is clear that studies regarding COVID-19 were accepted for publication faster than those on other topics.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Conclusion","content":"\u003cp\u003eThis study provides a tool for authors to estimate their mean time from submission to acceptance based on the characteristics of their study. With literature submissions constantly increasing each year with unknown times to acceptance, authors may make a more informed decision with journal selection based on the qualities of their study.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003ch2\u003eAuthor Contribution\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eE.C., S.W., M.W., participated in data collection and wrote the main manuscript. L.L. prepared figures and tables. T.Y. ran statistics. N.P. oversaw the project and assisted in writing. All authors reviewed the manuscript.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eCooney, WPI: The \u0026ldquo;Yellow Journal.\u0026rdquo; \u003cem\u003eJAAOS - J Am Acad Orthop Surg\u003c/em\u003e 2005;13:299.\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eRose, PS: The New Year for JAAOS. \u003cem\u003eJ Am Acad Orthop Surg\u003c/em\u003e 2024;32:1\u0026ndash;1.\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eChopra, A, Shapiro, LM, Klifto, KM, Anakwenze, O, Ruch, DS, Klifto, CS: Time to publication for orthopaedic surgery peer-reviewed journals: A cross-sectional bibliometric analysis. \u003cem\u003eJ Clin Orthop Trauma\u003c/em\u003e 2022;35:\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eHasenboehler, EA, Choudhry, IK, Newman, JT, Smith, WR, Ziran, BH, Stahel, PF: Bias towards publishing positive results in orthopedic and general surgery: a patient safety issue? \u003cem\u003ePatient Saf Surg\u003c/em\u003e 2007;1:4.\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eNational Resident Matching Program, Charting Outcomes in the Match: Senior Students of U.S. Medical Schools, 2022. National Resident Matching Program, Washington, DC 2022.\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eNational Resident Matching Program, Charting Outcomes in the Match, 2011. National Resident Matching Program, Washington, DC 2011.\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eFreshman, RD, Cortez, XC, Kim, HT, Feeley, BT, Zhang, AL, Lansdown, DA: The Outcomes of \u0026ldquo;Submitted\u0026rdquo; Publications From Applicants to Orthopaedic Surgery Residency Programs: A Retrospective Review of 1303 Residency Applications. \u003cem\u003eJAAOS Glob Res Rev\u003c/em\u003e 2020;4:e20.00112.\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eMohanty, CR, Bellapukonda, S, Mund, M, Behera, BK, Sahoo, SS: Analysis of publication speed of anesthesiology journals: a cross-sectional study. \u003cem\u003eBraz J Anesthesiol Elsevier\u003c/em\u003e 2021;71:110\u0026ndash;115.\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eJain, M, Mohnaty, CR, Sahoo, J, Radhakrishnan, RV, Biswas, M: A bibliometric analysis of the spine journals. \u003cem\u003eJ Clin Orthop Trauma\u003c/em\u003e 2021;16:219\u0026ndash;225.\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eChen, H, Chen, CH, Jhanji, V: Publication times, impact factors, and advance online publication in ophthalmology journals. \u003cem\u003eOphthalmology\u003c/em\u003e 2013;120:1697\u0026ndash;1701.\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eRaynaud, M, Goutaudier, V, Louis, K, Al-Awadhi, S, Dubourg, Q, Truchot, A, Brousse, R, Saleh, N, Giarraputo, A, Debiais, C, \u003cem\u003eet al.\u003c/em\u003e: Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on publication dynamics and non-COVID-19 research production. \u003cem\u003eBMC Med Res Methodol\u003c/em\u003e 2021;21:255.\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eHe, J, Liu, X, Lu, X, Zhong, M, Jia, C, Lucero-Prisno, DE, Ma, ZF, Li, H: The impact of COVID-19 on global health journals: an analysis of impact factor and publication trends. \u003cem\u003eBMJ Glob Health\u003c/em\u003e 2023;8:e011514.\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eLiu, IZ, Wang, KY, Robin, JX, McGeary, I, Hemal, K, Boyd, CJ: Chronicling the effect of COVID-19 on orthopedic literature. \u003cem\u003eJ Orthop\u003c/em\u003e 2021;26:107\u0026ndash;110.\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003ePhysician Specialty Data Report Executive Summary. \u003cem\u003eAAMC\u003c/em\u003e at \u0026lt;https://www.aamc.org/data-reports/data/2022-physician-specialty-data-report-executive-summary\u0026gt;.\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eNew AAMC Data on Diversity in Medical School Enrollment in 2023. \u003cem\u003eAAMC\u003c/em\u003e 2023;at \u0026lt;https://www.aamc.org/news/press-releases/new-aamc-data-diversity-medical-school-enrollment-2023\u0026gt;.\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eChambers, CC, Ihnow, SB, Monroe, EJ, Suleiman, LI: Women in Orthopaedic Surgery: Population Trends in Trainees and Practicing Surgeons. \u003cem\u003eJ Bone Joint Surg Am\u003c/em\u003e 2018;100:e116.\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eMisra, V, Safi, F, Brewerton, KA, Wu, W, Mason, R, Chan, A-W, Rochon, PA, Lega, IC, Abdel-Qadir, H: Gender disparity between authors in leading medical journals during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional review. \u003cem\u003eBMJ Open\u003c/em\u003e 2021;11:e051224.\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eJohnson, MA, Weber, KL, Parambath, A, Shah, N, Dardas, AZ, Ronen, S, Shah, AS: A Glass Ceiling in Orthopedic Surgery: Publication Trends by Gender. \u003cem\u003eOrthopedics\u003c/em\u003e 2023;46:e118\u0026ndash;e124.\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eAgaronnik, N, Xiong, GX, Uzosike, A, Crawford, AM, Lightsey, HM, Simpson, AK, Schoenfeld, AJ: The role of gender in academic productivity, impact, and leadership among academic spine surgeons. \u003cem\u003eSpine J\u003c/em\u003e 2022;22:716\u0026ndash;722.\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eBalas, EA, Boren, SA: Managing Clinical Knowledge for Health Care Improvement. \u003cem\u003eYearb Med Inform\u003c/em\u003e 2000;65\u0026ndash;70.\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eNational Resident Matching Program. Data Release and Research Committee: Results of the 2021 NRMP Program Director Survey. Washington, DC: National Resident Matching Program; 2021.\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eDonley, C, McCrosson, M, Prahad, S, Campbell, C, Zhao, F, Amireddy, N, Johnson, M: High Research Productivity During Orthopaedic Surgery Residency May Be Predicted by Number of Publications as a Medical Student. \u003cem\u003eJB JS Open Access\u003c/em\u003e 2024;9:e23.00105.\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eBastian, S, Ippolito, JA, Lopez, SA, Eloy, JA, Beebe, KS: The Use of the h-Index in Academic Orthopaedic Surgery. \u003cem\u003eJ Bone Joint Surg Am\u003c/em\u003e 2017;99:e14.\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003ePradhan, T, Bhatia, C, Kumar, P, Pal, S: A deep neural architecture based meta-review generation and final decision prediction of a scholarly article. \u003cem\u003eNeurocomputing\u003c/em\u003e 2021;428:218\u0026ndash;238.\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eMacri, C, Bacchi, S, Teoh, SC, Lim, WY, Lam, L, Patel, S, Slee, M, Casson, R, Chan, W: Evaluating the Ability of Open-Source Artificial Intelligence to Predict Accepting-Journal Impact Factor and Eigenfactor Score Using Academic Article Abstracts: Cross-sectional Machine Learning Analysis. \u003cem\u003eJ Med Internet Res\u003c/em\u003e 2023;25:e42789.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"
[email protected]","identity":"european-journal-of-orthopaedic-surgery-and-traumatology","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"ejos","sideBox":"Learn more about [European Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery \u0026 Traumatology](http://link.springer.com/journal/590)","snPcode":"590","submissionUrl":"https://submission.springernature.com/new-submission/590/3","title":"European Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery \u0026 Traumatology","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5300633/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5300633/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ePurpose\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (JAAOS) is a high-impact journal that publishes crucial research to inform surgeons’ clinical decision-making. The purpose of this study was to determine the median time from submission to acceptance for articles published by the JAAOS and to evaluate factors which may influence time to acceptance.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eMethods\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAll studies published in JAAOS from 2020-2022 were obtained. Abstracts were screened for submission and acceptance dates, and time to acceptance was calculated. Studies were excluded if dates were unavailable. Data extracted included article type, main topic, and sex of the first author. Simple linear regression, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and independent samples t-test were utilized for univariate analysis. For multivariate analyses, a standard least squares regression was applied.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eResults\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe analyzed 754 articles. Over the past 3 years, time to acceptance has not significantly changed (p = 0.894). Regarding article type, letters had the shortest time to acceptance (median 5 days, IQR 2-10, p\u0026lt;0.0001), while interventional studies had the longest time to acceptance (median 171.5 days, IQR 106-309.5).. Articles pertaining to COVID-19 (median 62 days, IQR 2-121) and diversity (median 90 days, IQR 24-156) had the shortest times to acceptance. Articles pertaining to radiology (median 189.5 days, IQR 100-309.5) and trauma (median 183 days, IQR 126.5-269.5) had the longest times to acceptance (p\u0026lt;.0008). Time to acceptance was not significantly different between male and female first authors.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eConclusion\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis study provides a tool for authors to estimate their mean time from submission to acceptance based on the characteristics of their study. With literature submissions constantly increasing each year with unknown times to acceptance, authors may make a more informed decision with journal selection based on the qualities of their study.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Factors for Predicting Time to Acceptance in the Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons ","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2024-10-25 10:40:07","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5300633/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2024-12-31T19:35:53+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"197026377562957612598475459639294653502","date":"2024-12-26T23:32:13+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2024-12-26T22:35:23+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"54990134061665377346868969545807946815","date":"2024-12-26T16:35:40+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"112110798266140694822470501657570038511","date":"2024-12-26T15:24:03+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2024-12-26T12:37:59+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"88566566349704942221650641393984263972","date":"2024-12-26T08:57:43+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2024-11-01T16:00:45+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2024-10-23T09:31:03+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2024-10-23T09:29:14+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"European Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery \u0026 Traumatology","date":"2024-10-21T02:38:20+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"
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