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| Thorax (journal) | |
|---|---|
| Title | Thorax |
| Discipline | Respiratory medicine |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | BMJ Group |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| History | 1946–present |
| Frequency | Monthly |
| Impact | 13.756 |
| Impact-year | 2023 |
| Issn | 0040-6376 |
| Eissn | 1468-3296 |
Thorax (journal) is a peer-reviewed medical journal focused on respiratory medicine, publishing clinical research, translational studies, and reviews. The journal is published monthly by the BMJ Group and serves clinicians, researchers, and policy-makers in pulmonology and related specialties. Thorax features original research, editorials, and guidelines that influence practice across institutions, societies, and regulatory bodies.
Thorax was established in 1946 in the aftermath of World War II, during a period of expansion in medical publishing that included titles such as The Lancet, British Medical Journal, and New England Journal of Medicine. The journal evolved alongside landmark developments including the discovery of penicillin, the emergence of tuberculosis control programs, and the creation of the National Health Service in 1948. Over decades Thorax paralleled advances associated with the identification of Haemophilus influenzae, the development of bronchodilators, and the introduction of inhaled corticosteroids.
Editorial stewardship has included figures affiliated with institutions such as Royal Brompton Hospital, Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, and Imperial College London. Thorax has published work from investigators at universities like University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, University College London, Harvard Medical School, and Johns Hopkins University. The journal’s timeline intersects with regulatory and scientific milestones such as reports from the World Health Organization, guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, and task forces convened by the European Respiratory Society.
Thorax covers clinical and experimental research in areas including respiratory infections, obstructive lung diseases, interstitial lung disease, sleep-disordered breathing, and pulmonary vascular disease. Article types encompass randomized controlled trials conducted at sites like Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic, cohort studies using registries such as the UK Biobank and Framingham Heart Study, translational work involving laboratories at Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, and systematic reviews aligned with methods from the Cochrane Collaboration.
The journal addresses cross-cutting topics linking pulmonology to critical care units at Addenbrooke's Hospital, oncology programs at Royal Marsden Hospital, public health responses informed by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and genetic insights from consortia such as the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease. Thorax frequently features practice-informing guidelines developed in collaboration with professional bodies like the British Thoracic Society and the American Thoracic Society.
Thorax operates under editorial leadership accountable to the BMJ Group and an international editorial board including clinicians and scientists from institutions such as Karolinska Institutet, University of Toronto, and University of Sydney. Manuscripts undergo initial triage by editors with expertise comparable to panels convened by the National Institutes of Health, followed by external peer review from reviewers affiliated with universities and hospitals like Massachusetts General Hospital and Royal Free Hospital.
The peer review process typically involves blinded external reviewers and statistical evaluation akin to methods used by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. Editorial decisions consider methodological rigor, clinical relevance to services such as intensive care units at St Thomas' Hospital, and ethical approvals referring to standards from bodies like the Health Research Authority.
Thorax is indexed in major bibliographic databases including Index Medicus, MEDLINE, PubMed Central, Scopus, and Web of Science. Coverage in citation indexes enables inclusion in metrics compiled by organizations such as Clarivate Analytics and bibliometric analyses used by universities like University of Edinburgh and University of Manchester. Abstracting services used by librarians at institutions such as the British Library include specialist respiratory databases and systematic review repositories maintained by the Cochrane Library.
Thorax has an influential impact factor reported by Clarivate and is cited across clinical guidelines from entities like National Institute for Health and Care Excellence and position statements from the European Respiratory Society. The journal’s publications have informed health policy debates in forums associated with World Health Assembly and regulatory decisions by agencies such as the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and the Food and Drug Administration.
Academic reception includes citations in textbooks published by presses such as Oxford University Press and lecture series delivered at conferences including the European Respiratory Society International Congress, the American Thoracic Society International Conference, and the British Thoracic Society Winter Meeting.
Thorax has published seminal randomized trials and observational studies addressing asthma management innovations, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease therapeutics, and post-infectious sequelae following outbreaks like SARS and COVID-19 pandemic. Special issues and supplements have focused on topics such as tuberculosis control strategies linked to Stop TB Partnership, occupational lung disease discussed at meetings involving International Labour Organization, and air pollution effects intersecting with reports from United Nations Environment Programme.
Noteworthy contributions have included multicenter trials involving collaborative networks such as the International Severe Acute Respiratory and emerging Infection Consortium and genetic association studies leveraging cohorts coordinated by the European Genome-phenome Archive.
Thorax follows a hybrid open-access model under the BMJ Group, offering subscription access alongside options for open-access publication under Creative Commons licenses used by publishers like Springer Nature and Elsevier for comparison. Article processing charges are disclosed by the publisher and align with funding mandates from agencies such as the Wellcome Trust and the European Research Council. The journal supports data-sharing policies compatible with repositories like Dryad and Zenodo and participates in initiatives encouraging preprint deposition to servers like medRxiv.
Category:Medical journals