1. MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION

RPIA accepts submissions in Portuguese from Portugal in accordance with the New Orthographic Agreement, in Brazilian Portuguese or in English. If written in English, a signed statement from a professional editor/translator or one of the authors must be submitted, taking responsibility for the quality of writing in the English language.

Submissions are only accepted online at https://rpia.spaic.pt/submeter-artigo/login and must include the following elements:

1.1 Authors' declaration

The authors' declaration must be signed by all authors and addressed to the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal, including the following information:

• The article is not published or submitted to be published in another journal;
• The article will not be submitted elsewhere until the final decision on this submission is taken;
• All authors read and agreed with the submitted version;
• The contribution of each author to the submitted work should be clearly stated;
• Upon acceptance of the manuscript for publication, the authors retain copyright and agree that the manuscript will be published under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/. This license allows third parties to share the publication, provided they attribute proper authorship to the authors and do not use the work for commercial purposes.

According to the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals, authorship implies a substantial contribution to the manuscript (see point 4).

1.2 Cover page

This document should only contain information about the authors and the title of the manuscript. Author information should be provided only in this independent document, and not included in the manuscript document, to ensure authors' anonymity during the peer review process.

1.2.1 Title

The title of the manuscript must be short (maximum of 15 words) and clearly define the subject in question. It must be presented in Portuguese and English.

1.2.2 Authors

The name (first name, surname) and affiliation (University, Faculty, Research Unit) of each author must be written in the same way and in order (e.g., João P. António1, Pedro Silva2, Nuno Pereira1 - 1University of Lisbon, Faculty of Medicine, Lisbon, Portugal; 2University of Porto, Faculty of Medicine, Porto, Portugal). The e-mail and ORCID of all authors are mandatory. For the corresponding author, the address and telephone number must also be included. All correspondence between the Journal and the authors will be made exclusively through the platform or exceptionally by email.

1.2.3 Conflicts of interest

The journal requires that all authors disclose any potential sources of conflict of interest. At the time of article submission, authors must report any financial or personal relationships they have had or may have with people or institutions that could generate a conflict of interest in relation to the article submitted for publication. The potential conflict of interest exists regardless of whether the interested parties consider that these relationships may or may not have influenced their scientific judgment. This information will not influence the editorial decision, but before submitting the manuscript, authors must secure all necessary authorizations for the publication of the submitted material. If authors have questions about what constitutes a relevant financial or personal interest, they should contact the Editor.

1.2.4 Financing (if indicated)

If indicated, all financial support for the implementation of the article must be included.

1.2.5 Acknowledgments (if indicated)

Acknowledgments must only appear on the document's cover page, to guarantee the authors' anonymity. Persons and/or institutions that allowed the execution or provided contributions to the work must be recognized.

1.2.6 Award (if indicated)

Mention whether the work received a SPAIC award and which one, including for presenting at a congress.

1.3 Text of the article in PDF

1.3.1 Summary and Keywords

This section applies only to original, review, clinical case, and educational articles. The title of the manuscript in Portuguese and in English must be repeated. Abstracts must be submitted in Portuguese and English, with a word limit that depends on the type of article (see section 2). For the review articles, the abstract should point out the main points of review/discussion, with or without a brief introduction. In clinical cases, the abstract should be structured in an introduction, case description and discussion/conclusions. Abstracts of original articles and systematic reviews must be structured as follows:

• Background: What issue(s) prompted the study to be carried out?
• Aims: What was the purpose of the study?
• Methods: How was the study carried out?
• Results: What results were found, relevant to the study?
• Conclusions: What is the most important conclusion of the study? If possible, try to summarize, in a single sentence, the most significant key concepts or diagnostic or therapeutic implications of the study.

The keywords (3-6) must be presented in Portuguese and English, in alphabetical order, to allow the article to be indexed according to the terminology used in the Medical Index “Medical Subject Headings”.

1.3.2 Manuscript

This document should not refer the identity of the authors, in order to avoid their identification during the review process.

All lines should be numbered in the left margin, starting at number 1. All text, including body of the article, references, figure captions and tables with captions, must be in Arial font, size 12, double spaced and justified. Margins should be 2.5 cm throughout the document.

1.3.3 References

References must be listed after the main text, numbered sequentially in order of citation in the text, where they must be presented in curved parentheses before commas or periods. It must be ensured that each reference cited in the text is present in the list of references (and vice versa). Authors must verify that all references are in accordance with the original documents, as well as that they comply with the Uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals (www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/uniform_requirements.html) and that use the abbreviated publications’ names adopted by Index Medicus (www.nlm.nih.gov).

References must follow the Vancouver style and it is mandatory to include the Digital Object Identifier (DOI) whenever available for this publication. See more information at: https://rpia.spaic.pt/normas-referencias

The list of references must not include citations of unpublished material. References to articles or books accepted for publication but not yet published must include the name of the journal and the mention “in press”.

1.3.4 Tables

Each table must be numbered sequentially, in the same order as mentioned in the text, and each one presented on an individual page at the end of the article and accompanied by a title and explanatory caption, when necessary. All abbreviations or symbols need a caption. Vertical lines must not be used.

1.4 Figures

Manuscript figures should not be placed inside the body of the article. All figures/illustrations must be submitted in separate documents in digital format, with good quality. Figures must be recorded in TIFF or JPEG with a minimum resolution of 300 dpi; figures containing lines (eg immunoelectrophoresis) or a set of dots (eg immunoblotting) must be recorded with a minimum resolution of 800 dpi. Whenever letters, numbers and symbols are used, their size and proportion must be clear enough to be legible.

All figures must be cited in the text and numbered in order. All figures must be accompanied by a title and an explanatory caption that must appear at the end of the manuscript.

Photographs or complementary examinations of patients must prevent their identification and must be accompanied by the authorization for their publication issued by the patient or their legal guardian.

If a figure has been previously published, the original source must be identified and included in the reference list. To comply with copyright regulations, the reproduction of photos, figures or graphics from other publications must have prior permission from the copyright holders, author/publisher. The signed authorization must be submitted in the submission process. Permission is required regardless of ownership, except for public documents.

1.5 Supplementary material (attachments)

In certain cases, very large materials or attachments may be placed on the Journal's website for consultation, being referred to as supplementary materials (these documents should have no reference to the author's identity in order to avoid their identification during the review process).

2. MANUSCRIPT CATEGORIES AND REQUIREMENTS

2.1. Editorials

Prepared by the Editor or at his invitation, with a maximum of 750 words.

2.2 Review Article

Review articles on immunoallergic topics of particular practical or current interest may be requested by the Editor or submitted without prior request. Systematic reviews and author reviews are accepted for evaluation. The text must be logically organized and easy to read and must respect all of the following limits:

• Abstract in Portuguese and English with a maximum of 150 words;
• Main text with a maximum of 7000 words (excluding title, abstract, figures, tables and references);
• Maximum of 10 tables and/or figures;
• Maximum of 60 references.

2.3 Original Articles

They must contain the result of original experimental, epidemiological or clinical-laboratory investigation. When indicated, obtaining informed consent from patients must be explicitly mentioned, as well as obtaining approval from the Ethics Committee. The text must be organized into sections: Introduction, Material and methods, Results, Discussion and Conclusions and must respect all the following limits:

• Abstract in Portuguese and English with a maximum of 300 words;
• Main text with a maximum of 4000 words (excluding title, abstract, figures, tables and references);
• Maximum of 6 tables and/or figures;
• Maximum of 35 references.

2.4. Case Reports

They must be exemplary clinical cases, properly studied and discussed, and contain a brief introduction, a description of the case(s) and a succinct discussion that will include a summary conclusion, respecting the following limits:

• Abstract in Portuguese and English with a maximum of 150 words;
• Main text with a maximum of 1500 words (excluding title, abstract, figures, tables and references);
• Maximum of 2 tables and/or figures;
• Maximum of 10 references.

2.5. Commented Articles

Requested by the Editorial Board, they must comment on articles published in specialized journals in the previous 6 months, summarizing the work and discussing their conclusions according to the commentator's point of view. They must have a maximum of 500 words (excluding title, journal name and authors).

2.6. Letters to the Editor

Brief comments on articles published in RPIA or reporting in a very brief and objective way results of clinical observation or original investigation that do not justify more extensive publication. Must not exceed 1000 words, 1 table and/or figure and 5 references.

2.7. AllergYmage

Immunoallergic image, clinical or complementary exam, that deserves attention due to its characteristics. The image must have high resolution and must be recorded in TIFF (Tagged-Image File Format) or JPEG with at least 300 dpi to allow printing on half a page and accompanied by a brief descriptive comment in Portuguese and English (maximum 200 words each) and a maximum of 3 references.

2.8. Educational Page

This section is intended to include a variety of educational articles, such as clinical performance protocols or research project protocols/methodologies, articles from the perspective of experts or answers to questions on specific topics. Translations of international protocols/guidelines duly authorized by the respective international organizations will be accepted. If the content of the document is very extensive, it may be published as part 1 and part 2 in sequential journals or possibly published as a supplement.

2.8.1 Regulation for publication of protocols

RPIA accepts for publication research protocols and clinical protocols, which must follow specific standards.

2.8.1.1 Research Protocols

Research protocols must report planned or newly initiated research studies. If data collection is already complete, we do not consider the manuscript in this modality. We encourage submission of protocols at an early stage of the study. Protocols close to completion of data collection will be handled on a case-by-case basis and the Editor will make the final decision on considering a protocol for publication.

The publication of research protocols allows researchers and funding bodies to stay up-to-date, exposing research activities that otherwise would not be widely publicized. This can help to avoid unnecessary duplication of work and hopefully enable collaboration. Publishing full protocols also provides more information than is currently required by registries and increases transparency by making it easier for others (editors, reviewers and readers) to see and understand any deviations from the protocol that occur during the conduct of the study.

RPIA will consider for publication research protocols for any study design, including observational studies and systematic reviews.

We encourage researchers to adhere to the recommendations of the Equator network (www.equator-network.org) when developing their protocols and including a comprehensive checklist appropriate to the type of study. Examples of these recommendations and respective checklists are: SPIRIT (Standard Protocol Items for Randomized Trials) in the case of randomized clinical trials or PRISMA -P for systematic review and/or meta-analysis protocols.

The general RPIA publication policies apply, namely on manuscript formatting, editorial policies, informed consent (when applicable to study designs).

Protocols must include at least the following items:

• Study dates must be included in the manuscript and cover letter.
• Protocols for studies that will require ethical approval, such as trials, will not be considered until they have received that approval.
• Title: must include the specific type of study, e.g. randomized clinical trial.
• Abstract: must be structured with the following sections: Introduction; Aims; Methods and Analysis; Ethics and disclosure. Registration details should be included as a final section if appropriate.
• “Strengths and potential limitations of this study”, containing up to five short points, with a maximum of one sentence each, specifically related to the methods.
• Introduction: explains the reasons for the study and what evidence gaps it can fill. Appropriate prior literature should be referenced, including relevant systematic reviews.
• Aims: The aim(s) of the study must be completely and clearly defined, including the main outcome and any secondary outcomes.
• Methods and analysis: provide a complete description of the study design, including a classification of the study (study design), how the sample will be selected (sampling method and, where applicable, recruitment period and locations); interventions to be measured and respective comparators; calculating the sample size (based on previous literature) with an estimate of how many participants will be needed for the primary outcome to be statistically, clinically and/or politically significant; what results will be measured, when, how and by whom; a data analysis plan (including definition of variables, statistical analysis methods, any subgroup analyzes and respective justifications. Depending on the type (design) of study, include specific aspects, for example in the case of a randomized study, indicate the attribution methods randomization of the intervention.
• Expected results and possible limitations: the authors should discuss what results will be expected, as well as limitations and biases that may arise from the study methodology, as well as any measures the authors intend to use to overcome these limitations or lessen their impact.
• Ethics and disclosure: ethical and safety considerations and any plan for dissemination of results (publications, conferences, etc.).
• Author contributions: indicate how each author was involved in drafting the protocol.
• Financing statement.
• Conflict of Interest Statement.
• Limits: Maximum of 4000 words (excluding title, abstract, figures, tables and references); Maximum of 6 tables and/or figures; Maximum of 35 references.

2.8.1.2 Clinical Protocols / Publication of recommendations ("Guidelines") / Diagnosis or treatment algorithms

National clinical protocols / guidelines should preferably be issued through or reviewed by SPAIC interest groups or submitted by groups with recognized experience in the field. The final review and approval of these documents will also involve SPAIC´s Board.

2.9 ASBAI Section (Brazilian Association of Allergy and Immunology)

Due to the specific collaboration between the two countries, a space is reserved for articles submitted from Brazil, in the original, review, clinical case and letter to the editor formats.

2.10 Other Sections

Under the guidance of the Editorial Board, the RPIA may also publish other sections, namely News, Calendar of Events, Scientific Activity of SPAIC (which may include extended summaries of lectures, conferences or works presented at national or international meetings), etc.

3. EDITORIAL PROCESSING OF ARTICLES

The corresponding author will receive notification of receipt of the manuscript and editorial decisions by email. All submitted manuscripts are initially reviewed by the RPIA editor for a first assessment, in order to verify whether the submission criteria are met, the article was not published, in full or in part, nor submitted for publication elsewhere, and whether the submitted article falls within the scope of the journal. Subsequently, they will be sent to two reviewers, who within 3-4 weeks will send their appreciation to the Editor.

Manuscripts are evaluated according to the following criteria: originality, timeliness, clarity of writing, appropriate study method, valid data, adequate conclusions supported by data, and importance, with significance and scientific contribution to the knowledge of the area.

After receiving the comments from the experts/reviewers, the corresponding author will receive one of the following decisions of the Editorial Board:

1. accepted without changes;
2. accepted after modifications proposed by scientific reviewers;
3. rejected

When changes are proposed, the author must, within the stipulated deadline, submit 3 documents in PDF:

1. Revised article with marked changes in track changes format;
2. Revised article without the track changes (clean);
3. Reply to editor/reviewers: brief and structured response, point by point, to each question posed by the reviewers and/or Editor, locating it in the revised text – example “Spelling has been corrected … to …. – see line 12 and 13 in the revised document”.

4. AUTHORSHIP CRITERIA

The journal follows the authorship criteria of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). All designated authors must have participated significantly in the work to take public responsibility for its content and contribution to authorship.

Authors are all those who: 1. Have a substantial, direct intellectual contribution to the design and elaboration of the article; 2. Participate in data analysis and interpretation; 3. Participate in the drafting and review of the manuscript. Authorship requires a substantial contribution to the manuscript, and it is therefore necessary to add each author's contribution to the work in the authors' declaration. All contributors to the article but who do not fit the authorship criteria should be listed in the acknowledgments.

5. ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS

Protection of humans and animals. In the description of research carried out on human beings, it should be mentioned that the procedures followed are in accordance with the ethical guidelines of the commission responsible for research on human beings (institutional or regional) and with the World Medical Association and the Declaration of Helsinki. When it comes to research with animals, the text should mention whether the rules of an international research institution or board or a national regulatory law on the care and use of laboratory animals have been followed.

Confidentiality of Data. The authors are responsible ​​for following the protocols established by their respective hospital centers for accessing the patients' medical records in order to write an article for research / dissemination purposes to the community and, therefore, must declare compliance with this requirement.

Right to privacy and informed consent. The author must ensure that the requirement to inform all patients enrolled in the study has been met and that they hold a document signed by the patients after receiving sufficient information, where written informed consent has been given to participate in the study. Authors should mention, in the “Methods” section, that the procedures used in patients and controls were performed after obtaining the informed consent form.

The author is also responsible for guaranteeing the patients' right to privacy, protecting their identity, both in the text of the article and in the images. No names, initials or numbers from hospital records (or any other type of data irrelevant to research that could identify the patient) may be used in the text or photographs, unless this information is essential for scientific purposes, which if applicable, may be included in the article, provided that the patient, or their parents or guardians, have given written informed consent for its publication. Authors are responsible ​​for obtaining written informed consent from patients, authorizing the publication, reproduction and circulation of their information in paper format and on the publicly accessible Internet.

Obtaining permissions
The authors' declaration must state that the content of the article is original and has not been previously published or submitted for consideration by any other publication, in whole or in part. Authors should be aware that not disclosing that the submitted material has been published in whole or in part is a serious violation of scientific ethics. Likewise, the authors who reproduce previously published material in their article (text, tables or figures) are responsible for obtaining the necessary permissions to reproduce this material in RPIA. Authors must obtain written authorization from the author and publisher who published this material and send a copy of it along with the article to the Journal.

Redundant or duplicate publication
The Journal does not accept previously published material and will not consider for publication manuscripts submitted simultaneously to other journals or redundant or duplicate publications, that is, articles that substantially overlap with another article already published, printed or available electronically. In the Cover Letter, authors should mention any previous submissions or publications of the same work, in whole or in part, that could be considered a redundant or duplicate publication. Bibliographic references of these previous publications must be cited and included in the new manuscript. These restrictions do not apply to abstracts presented at national or international scientific meetings.

Artificial intelligence positioning
The recommendations stipulated by the Committee on Publication Ethics regarding the use of artificial intelligence in scientific research writing, will be strictly followed. Authors at the time of submission, must declare whether artificial intelligence (AI)– assisted technologies (such as Large Language Models [LLMs], chatbots, or image creators) in the production of submitted work and describe, in both the cover letter and the submitted work, how they used it. Chatbots (such as ChatGPT) should not be listed as authors because they cannot be responsible for the accuracy, integrity, and originality of the work, and these responsibilities are required for authorship. Therefore, humans are responsible for any submitted material that included the use of AI-assisted technologies. Authors should not list AI and AI assisted technologies as an author or co-author, nor cite AI as an author. Humans must ensure there is appropriate attribution of all quoted material, including full citations. Reviewers who choose to use AI-assisted technologies to support the review process must declare their use to the editorial team and are responsible for ensuring that any AI-generated content incorporated into the review is accurate and unbiased.

Revisions and Adjustments
Whenever the acceptance of an article is pending due to the need for adjustments by the authors, the requested revisions must be sent within 15 days for minor changes or 30 days for major changes.

In the absence of a reply after the stipulated deadline, the article will no longer be considered for publication and will have to be re-submitted.

After linguistic revision and graphic production of the article, the final proof will be sent to the corresponding author by email for approval. The necessary adjustments must be communicated within the stipulated period, as established by the editorial board in order to comply with the Journal's schedule. Failure to respond within the stipulated period to the linguistic and graphic production revisions of the article will be understood as acceptance of the final version presented.

Checklist of documents to be submitted Authors' declaration (mandatory) Cover page (required) Text of the article / Manuscript (required) Figures Supplementary material (attachments) Consent to publish data (authorization of copyright co‐holders, author / editor of photos, figures or graphics of other publications used in the submitted manuscript) Declaration signed by the entity / author responsible for the quality of the English language