Introduction

The Journal of Clinical Intensive Care and Medicine (JCICM) recognizes that authors may occasionally need to withdraw their manuscripts. This Withdrawal Policy defines acceptable practices, circumstances under which withdrawals are permitted, and consequences for unethical withdrawal after submission or acceptance.

Withdrawal Before Review

Authors may withdraw their manuscript freely before the peer review process begins. A formal written request from the corresponding author to the editorial office is required. No penalties are applied at this stage.

Withdrawal During Peer Review

If authors wish to withdraw during peer review, they must provide a valid justification in writing. Frequent withdrawals without reasonable grounds may affect future submissions to JCICM.

Withdrawal After Acceptance

Manuscript withdrawal after formal acceptance is strongly discouraged and may only be permitted under exceptional circumstances (e.g., major ethical concerns, duplication discovered by the authors). At this stage:

Authors must submit a signed withdrawal request with clear justification.
Withdrawal without valid reasons is considered a breach of publication ethics.
Authors may be blacklisted from submitting to JCICM for a period of time.

Withdrawal After Online Publication

Once published, articles become part of the scholarly record. Withdrawal at this stage is not possible. Instead, issues must be addressed through:

Erratum: For minor factual errors.
Corrigendum: For significant author corrections.
Retraction: For major ethical breaches or invalid data.

Unethical Withdrawal

Unethical withdrawal—such as submitting to multiple journals simultaneously and withdrawing upon acceptance elsewhere—violates COPE and ICMJE standards. Such actions may lead to:

Institutional notification of misconduct.
Blacklisting of authors within JCICM.
Reporting to funding agencies where applicable.

Formal Request Process

To request withdrawal, the corresponding author must email the editorial office at [email protected], providing manuscript ID, title, and reason for withdrawal. The editorial office will confirm receipt and process the request in accordance with this policy.

FAQs

Can I withdraw without giving a reason? No, a clear justification is mandatory.

Is there a withdrawal fee? JCICM does not impose a fee, but withdrawal after acceptance may carry sanctions.

What if plagiarism is discovered by authors post-submission? Immediate withdrawal with explanation is permitted, but authors must cooperate with editorial review.