Publishers’ manuscript submission systems

This reference system is considered to be more useful than the conventional superscript number method since it enables the reader to see immediately in which year and in which journal (at least for the more common journals whose letter codes soon become familiar) the work cited was published. The reader is thus able to go directly to the original literature reference without having to consult a bibliography. It also provides the author and editor with the considerable advantage of being able to add or delete references up to the final submission of the manuscript without altering the numbering system. 

After the submission of the manuscript three interesting papers [1-3] dealing with the management of hepatic encephalopathy have been published. A Cochrane systematic review [1] evaluating 30 randomized controlled trials did conclude that antibiotics appear to be superior to nonabsorbable disaccharides in improving symptoms of portal systemic encephalopathy. The authors also emphasized that there is insufficient high-quality evidence to support the use of lactulose or lactitol. A combination of a disaccharide and an antibiotic has been suggested, but not consistently demonstrated to be beneficial [2]. Finally, the use of probiotics has been proposed [3], whose administration could actually follow that of antibiotics. 

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