A Midterm Analysis of Kidney360.

Three years ago, ASN launched Kidney360, a monthly open access, online-only, nephrology journal that features both clinical and basic science papers. Kidney360 joined the two more established ASN journals, JASN and CJASN, which were inaugurated in 1990 and 2006, respectively. I was honored to be selected as the first Editor-in-Chief of Kidney360 for a 6-year term. Herein, I provide a midterm analysis of what we have achieved to date. My guiding principles as Editor-in-Chief of Kidney360 were threefold. First, we wanted to develop a journal with scientific content that readers would look forward to pursuing. Second, we endeavored to provide a rigorous and timely review process that would encourage authors to submit manuscripts to our nascent journal. Finally, we strived to provide unique features that would differentiate us from other nephrology journals in an ever more crowded field of competitors. These unique categories of publications have included Global Perspectives, Debates in Nephrology, Clinical Images in Nephrology and Dialysis, and Basic Science for the Clinician. What follows is an elaboration of our accomplishments to date regarding each of these themes. We have been averaging 50–60 submissions per month. These were comprised of approximately 80% original investigations and 20% invited material, including reviews, perspectives, debates, and editorials. The submissions to Kidney360 have come from six continents, with 44% being from North America, 30% from Asia, 14% from Europe, 7% from Latin America, 3% from Oceania, and 2% from Africa. To date, we have received papers from 73 countries, with the most common sources being the United States, Japan, India, China, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Australia, and Canada. An initial decision on original research submissions has typically been obtained at a median time of 1 month or less during the first 3 years of our existence. Once a paper was accepted for publication, it was usually posted in its unformatted version on the Kidney360 website within 2 days. Subsequently, these papers were copy edited and the formatted versions appeared in a monthly issue at a median time of about 2 months. About 45% of original investigations received in 2020 and 2021 were triaged without being sent out for external review. An additional 15% were rejected after external review, and 40% accepted for publication (typically after one or more revisions). Of interest, 126 manuscripts rejected by Kidney360 after external review, have been published subsequently in a variety of other nephrology journals, with 50 of them, or 40%, published by three other open access journals (Kidney Medicine, BMC Nephrology, and KI Reports). We are hopeful that the reviewers' and editors' comments regarding manuscripts rejected by Kidney360 are helpful to the authors in substantially revising their paper to make them more competitive for another nephrology journal. A summary of the contents of our first three years of publication is provided in Table 1. The total number of papers featured in Kidney360 has increased over time, with a monthly average of 20 papers in 2020, 24 in 2021, and 28 in 2022. The mean number of monthly original investigations increased by 44%, from 7.3 in 2020 to 10.6 in 2022. The mean number of monthly editorials increased more than threefold from 0.9 to 3.5, and the average number of debates doubled over this time. We have also included two to three Clinical Images in Nephrology and Dialysis papers in each monthly issue over the past 3 years. These images cases with questions (and eventually answers) are posted on the Kidney360 website and available to the readership to test their knowledge. To increase our appeal to an international audience, we have featured a series of Global Perspectives, which have focused on the clinical management and financing of dialysis, kidney transplantation, and AKI in individual countries. To date, we have published Global Perspectives from 40 countries, with many more to come. Our Debates in Nephrology have addressed controversial issues in various aspects related to the diagnosis and treatment of kidney diseases. Each debate consists of three companion pieces, one addressing the PRO position, a second arguing the CON position, and a third moderator commentary providing a balanced and nuanced overview of the debate. Table 1 - Summary of content publication in Kidney360 by year Article Type Number Published 2020 Number Published 2021 Number Published 2022 Original Investigation 88 116 127 Brief Communication 11 15 18 Innovative Technology and Methodology 2 4 5 Clinical Images in Nephrology and Dialysis 32 31 24 Editorial 11 21 42 Basic Science for Clinician 5 11 7 Review Article 22 29 19 Perspective 16 21 24 Debates in Nephrology a 18 18 36 Global Perspective 25 13 21 Patient Perspective 5 3 5 Clinical Research Methods NA 4 3 Reflections NA NA 1 Special Article NA NA 1 Totals 235 286 333 aEach Debate in Nephrology includes a PRO manuscript, CON manuscript, and a Moderator Commentary in the total number published. There has been a gratifying growth in our readership over the past three years, as assessed by visits to the Kidney360 website and engagement with social media. The number of unique monthly visitors to the Kidney360 website was 12,536 in 2020. It more than doubled to 28,183 in 2021 and more than tripled to 38,922 in 2022. There has been a corresponding increase in the number of visits and page views. The top 20 original investigations published in Kidney360 were viewed from 5670 to 17,657 times. Not surprisingly, many of the highest viewed manuscripts were related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our readership is global (Figure 1). The highest number of visitors to the Kidney360 website has been from North America, Brazil, West Europe, India, Australia, South Africa, and the Middle East, with fewer readers from most of Latin America, Africa, and East Europe. There has also been a steady growth of twitter followers of Kidney360. This number was 2698 in 2020. It almost doubled to 5002 in 2021 and almost tripled to 7338 in 2022. We have also provided a steady number of podcasts covering a broad range of topics, including original investigations, global perspectives, debates, and patient perspectives. Individual podcasts featured in 2021 and 2022 have been downloaded from 406 to 906 times.Figure 1: Readership of Kidney360 across the world.Despite being a newcomer to nephrology publishing, we are beginning to see papers from Kidney360 being cited in other scientific publications, particularly those papers related to different aspects of COVID-19. In fact, an early publication on AKI in COVID patients in New Orleans published in the May 2020 issue has been cited 129 times to date. These citations are gratifying, given that our journal's contents were not available in publication databases during the first 2 years of our publication. I am gratified to report that in April 2022, the entire contents of Kidney360 were approved for deposit in PubMed Central and for indexing in Medline. This milestone will make manuscripts appearing in Kidney360 more accessible to authors and readers. I am hopeful that it will also produce a rise in citations of Kidney360 papers in medical journals, as well as increasing interest by authors in submitting their papers to our journal. We launched our Editorial Training Program in 2022, which is targeted to junior faculty with a research interest, who want to acquire greater understanding of the editorial process. From a pool of about 50 applicants, we selected our inaugural cohort of trainees: Denisha Spires from Augusta, Georgia; Molly Fisher from Bronx, New York; and Miguel Vieira from Lisbon, Portugal. Our editorial trainees have worked closely with our Associate Editors to acquire a first-hand understanding of the editorial process. Our existing editorial trainees have set a high bar for their performance, leading us to solicit invitations for the second class of trainees starting in 2023. Successful publication of a medical journal requires the contribution and collaboration by many highly motivated individuals. I am greatly indebted to our two Deputy Editors, Luis Juncos and Mark Perazella. We are also fortunate to have 13 outstanding Associate Editors with expertise in diverse fields of nephrology, both clinical and basic science. They include Nisha Bansal, Arlene Chapman, Kerri Cavanaugh, Steven Coca, Steven Crowley, Arjang Djamali, Jennifer Flythe, Reiko Inagi, Shuta Ishibe, Timmy Lee, Samir Parikh, Michael Romero, and Prabhleen Singh. Each of these individuals is a highly successful academic scientist, with major commitments to research, patient care, education, and leadership positions. Despite their myriad responsibilities, they have remained committed to obtaining timely and rigorous reviews of manuscripts submitted to Kidney360. I am gratified that in the 3 years of our publication, only one of these 15 individuals has stepped down from their editorial position, a true testament to their commitment to the success of Kidney360. In fact, the only Associate Editor who stepped down from this role, Deidra Crews, did so to become ASN Councilor. Our two Statistical Editors are Heather Philbrook and Rebecca Scherzer, and our Patient Voice Ambassador is Patrick Gee. We have also benefitted from the contributions of a highly talented international team of Visual Abstract Editors, under the able leadership of Joel Topf. We are also grateful to our Editorial Board members, who regularly provide us with feedback, suggestions for papers, and reviews of manuscripts; and to our numerous reviewers, who have selflessly provided extremely helpful critiques of manuscripts submitted to Kidney360. Last, but not least, I want to acknowledge the superb efforts of our Managing Editor, Virginia Ramsey, who has tirelessly managed every aspect of our publication, allowing the rest of the editorial team to focus on the science. Virginia has been fortunate to have the expert assistance of Shari Leventhal, Executive Editor and Kim Stuart, Editorial Associate. I look forward to further increasing the footprint of Kidney360 in the coming 3 years!