Research ethics and consent

All research published in World Journal of Case Reports and Clinical Images journal must have been conducted according to international and local guidelines ensuring ethically conducted research.

Research involving humans

All research studies on humans (individuals, samples or data) must have been performed in accordance with the principles stated in the Declaration of Helsinki.

Prior to starting the study, ethical approval must have been obtained for all protocols from the local institutional review board (IRB) or other appropriate ethics committee to confirm the study meets national and international guidelines for research on humans.

A statement to confirm this ethical approval must be included within the manuscript, which must provide details of the name of the ethics committee and reference/permit numbers where available.

Ethical considerations for different human study designs

The policy on ethical considerations for different human study designs includes:

·        Prospective studies on humans

·        Clinical trials

·        Clinical Case reports

·        Organ or tissue transplants

·        Human embryos and human stem cells

·        Consent for research involving children, adolescents and vulnerable or incapacitated study participants

·        Retrospective studies

·        Survey studies

·        Covert observational research

·        Research on indigenous communities

·        Communication research

·        Social media research

Research involving animals, plants, and heritage sites

Studies involving vertebrates or regulated invertebrates (e.g. cephalopods), field studies and other non-experimental research on animals must have been carried out after obtaining approval from the relevant institutional ethics committee or the institutional animal use and care committee.

Research procedures must be carried out in accordance with applicable national or international guidelines. In field studies authors must have also obtained any necessary permits for access to lands.

Authors must include a statement within the manuscript to provide details of the name of the ethics committee(s) which approved the study and include the permit or animal license numbers where available.