Fast-Tracking of Publication Times of Otolaryngology Papers During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract: Introduction The outbreak of COVID-19 has produced an unprecedented number of trials and articles. Objective To study the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on otolaryngology-head and neck surgery (ORL-HNS) journal processing times. Methods Original papers search of published in selected ORL-HNS journals in terms of times from submission-to-acceptance (S-A), acceptance-to-first online publication (A-P), and submission-to-online publication (S-P). Papers were divided into those published in the pre-COVID-19 era and those during the COVID-19 era. The latter were further divided into unrelated to COVID-19 and related to COVID-19. Results A total of 487 articles from 5 selected ORL-HNS journals were included, of which 236 (48.5%) were published during the pre-COVID-19 era and 251 (51.5%) were published during the COVID-19 era. Among them, 180 (37%) papers were not related to COVID-19, and 71 (14.5%) were related to COVID-19. The S-A duration of COVID-19-related articles was significantly shorter compared with that of papers submitted in the pre-COVID-19 era and to papers submitted in the COVID-19 era but unrelated to COVID-19 (median 6 to 34 days compared to 65 to 125 and 46 to 127, respectively) in all 5 journals. The most prominent reductions in S-A and S-P times were documented in the laryngology and otology/neurotology disciplines, respectively. Conclusions Processing times of the included papers were significantly shorter in most of the selected ORL-HNS journals during the COVID-19 era compared with the pre-COVID-19 era. COVID-19-related papers were processed more rapidly than non-COVID-19-related papers. These findings testify to the possibility of markedly expediting S-P times and hopefully set a precedent for postpandemic publishing schedules. Level Of Evidence: 5

Object Details

• Location: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt am Main
• Extent: Online-Ressource
• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Fast-Tracking of Publication Times of Otolaryngology Papers During the COVID-19 Pandemic ; volume:28 ; number:01 ; year:2024 ; pages:e141-e147 ; International archives of otorhinolaryngology ; 28, Heft 01 (2024), e141-e147

Contributors, Places and Time

• Contributor: Duek, Irit ; Muhanna, Nidal ; Oron, Yahav ; Shraga, Yohai ; Ungar, Omer J.

Further information

• DOI: 10.1055/s-0043-1767806
• URN: urn:nbn:de:101:1-2024032113035147014172
• Rights: Open Access; Der Zugriff auf das Objekt ist unbeschränkt möglich.
• Last update: 14.08.2025, 10:59 AM CEST