Robert C. Tasker
We reinstated Research Letters in Pediatric Critical Care Medicine (PCCM) in April 2021, which came after a period of stopping this type of publication because of a surge in journal content during COVID-19 (1). The idea in 2021 was to return to publishing peer-reviewed, short format reports up to 600 words, with six references, and a single table or figure. Quite a few top-ranked journals in the Science Citation Index Expanded categories for “Critical Care” and “Pediatrics” currently also publish this abbreviated format, but at PCCM the numbers are dwindling. For example, in 2024 and 2025, out of 1,561 articles submitted to the journal, only 15 (1%) were primarily submitted as research letters. Over this same period (bearing in mind that the timelines between submissions in 2024/2025 and publications in 2024/2025 are offset by approximately 3-months) PCCM published only 12 research letters. Therefore, we would like more authors to consider using the research letter format, either at first submission to PCCM or as an option if their long-format clinical research article (2) is rejected after review. RESEARCH AREAS SUITED TO WRITING-UP AS A RESEARCH LETTER What is the type of work that could be a research letter? We are not looking for reports of single cases or small cases series. Rather, there are four research areas that have been of interest to our letter writers, as well as engaging for our readers, and this is what we want to publish. First, there is material about clinical practices and implementation. Typically, these are single-center research projects in aspects of PICU care such as supporting patients with moderate-to-severe bronchiolitis outside of the PICU (April 2025 issue of PCCM); or translating and implementing assessment tools for delirium in other languages (February 2024 issue of PCCM); or using the secondary stressor scoring system in evaluating parent beside presence in the PICU (February 2025 issue of PCCM); or developing and implementing a firearm safety program in the PICU (September 2024 issue of PCCM). A good example of writing in this area is the report of translating to Brazilian Portuguese a withdrawal and delirium assessment tool (3). Second, there are research letters about epidemiology, or the landscape of illness requiring PICU-management. Some single-center work has covered severity scoring, biomarkers, and shock states in sepsis (February, June, and October 2025 issues of PCCM). One other epidemiology report came from Japan and provided national numbers for moderate severity traumatic brain injury (October 2025 issue of PCCM). As an example of writing, consider looking at the research letter about external validation of the Phoenix Sepsis Score in a single pediatric cardiac ICU (4). The third area for research letters is fellowship education. One report illustrates the writing for this type of letter (5). The authors described a 2022 survey of 81 PICU fellows at 15 fellowship programs and detailed the extent of diversity engagement in the critical care curriculum (June 2025 issue of PCCM). The last research area is bench-testing techniques or devices that we use in the PICU: there was a research letter on the effects of ethanol locks on burst pressure in small caliber intravenous catheters (November 2024 issue of PCCM); and another research letter on energy conservation after powering-down electrical devices when not in use (August 2025 issue of PCCM). The “burst pressure” letter is a helpful example of writing since the research setting or question arose from the authors prior material in the journal and a stimulating comment they had received from a reviewer of their work (6). Also, it is one of the few letters that uses a figure rather than a table. RESEARCH LETTER WRITING REQUIREMENTS Each of the projects presented by our authors of research letters has been written in six paragraphs or less. That means that for a 600-word letter, 100 words per paragraph—although, we will now permit up to 800 words (and eight paragraphs). You will not need an abstract when you compose a research letter. The title should follow the same format as the long-format report (1); for example, in a clinical study, state the area or field of study, followed by a colon, followed by the research methodology, and the period of the study cohort. Use the first paragraph for the setting or introduction, grounding readers on the question that is relevant to contemporary practice and the hypothesis being tested. The second paragraph is used to describe ethics committee approval. The third paragraph is used to state what was done, with inclusion criteria and definitions or details of terminology. Paragraphs four and five (or four to six if using eight paragraphs) are used to present the results. At this point, words can be saved with a well-constructed table or figure. In fact, most of our writers have chosen to include a table. The final one or two paragraphs are used to compare the new results or findings with the literature, and to summarize the meaning of the work. Finally, authors usually cite between three and six references, but we would permit up to eight if an 800-word letter is submitted. However, one key issue in a research letter is the immediacy or newness of the content, and the preliminary nature of the ideas or data; hence, references do not need to be older than 5 years (7). In summary, we welcome the submission of research letters to PCCM, and we want this type of report to be more widely used and appreciated, particularly for smaller, discrete, or preliminary research projects. The format is now updated from the previous 2021 requirements (1), and authors should base their writing on published examples in the journal and, when relevant, on our requirements for single-center retrospective studies (8), or clinical database studies (9), or surveys and questionnaires (10).