From the first medical journal specializing in liver diseases, Liver and spleen (Higado y Bazo), first published in 1949 [1] to the publication of the initial number of Annals of Hepatology in 2002, unforeseen advances and discoveries were made in what we know today as Hepatology. When you look at those first articles about jaundice, ascites, cirrhosis in Liver and Spleen and then check out recent articles in Annals of Hepatology about hepatitis and antiviral therapy, cancer, metabolic diseases, consequences related to COVID-19 infection, liver transplantation, genomic medicine, and so many new problems in hepatology, you find there is such a large Corpus hepatiarius no one could have imagined 74 years ago. Nevertheless, there is one thing in common between Liver and Spleen and Annals of hepatology, the true scientific interest, the commitment of a group of dedicated medical doctors and the support of a major medical institution which made possible those milestones then and now to come true. Those two major institutions, then and now, were the Hospital General de México and the Fundación Clínica Medica Sur; the latter was created in 1995 by a group of doctors from the Hospital Médica Sur, recognized as the best hospital in Mexico under the 2021 Newsweek Ranking.
Annals of Hepatology was born in 2002 from the interest of a group of hepatologists both Mexican and abroad led by Dr. Misael Uribe, starting like many other local journals with a small core group of specialists and lots of hope. The difference with many other aborted projects was that there was a solid background in Mexico and in other Latin American countries to carry on this project.
As it was recently announced, Annals of Hepatology reached an impact factor (IF) of 2.4, which is a landmark for both local and international standards. That is an important achievement since its IF had decreased from 2.193 in 2013 to 1.576 in 2017. For that and other reasons starting in April 2018, Annals of Hepatology was committed to a significant re-organization and review of the editorial policies to improve the journal's quality, increase its readership, and raise the impact factor [2]. The arrival of Dr. Arturo Panduro, a recognized scholar and researcher, as editor-in-chief of our journal, heralded significant changes. Salient among them has been the renovation of our editorial board, comprised of 29 distinguished hepatology specialists from 12 countries, who continually meet online to define the scientific and strategic course of our publication. In addition, there was a renewal of the peer reviewers, resulting in a shorter but no less strict peer review process of all submitted articles. Other changes included broadening the journal's scope to include more basic science articles, translational research, genomic medicine, and regional clinical practice guidelines for common liver problems. The journal also renewed its partnerships with different organizations starting with the Mexican Society of Hepatology, the Latin American Association for the Study of the Liver (ALEH), the Canadian Association for the Study of the Liver (CASL) and the Czech Society of Hepatology (CSH).
Those changes soon started to give results, and the IF began growing again. Since then, the number of received articles has continued to increase, and the proportion rate of acceptance has decreased to about 17 %. This is not the achievement of only one person or a group but the result of teamwork, firm leadership, and continuous institutional support.
Finally, since it established a partnership with Elsevier in 2019, the world leader in medical and scientific publications, it has been a win-win situation that has benefited the journal and its authors who enjoy worldwide visibility, easy access, and longer citation time. It has also benefited our readers who have access online to most of the articles, with an optimal digital presentation, digital references, and links to other sources and authors, among other benefits.
In summary, thanks to the enthusiasm and hard work of a large group of hepatologists and supporting members of the journal, we have improved Annals of Hepatology in many ways starting with the quality of the articles which meet the universal standards for scientific rigor, originality and relevance serving an everyday growing global audience. This is not the end of the story but a new beginning. New challenges lay ahead, new viruses, epidemics, migrant populations, and others not yet described. We will continue to plan and hope we will be ready for it.
