Since its launch, more than a decade ago, Critical Care has been a dynamic force in the intensive care community. We aim to publish high-quality, peer-reviewed research, and submissions have swelled in recent years, allowing us to become increasingly selective in the articles we publish. Furthermore, all research published in the journal is open access and so freely available to all. A recent study (Eysenbach G, "Citation advantage of open-access articles," PLoS Biol. 4[5]: 692-8, e157, May 2006) has suggested that open-access articles are more immediately recognized and cited by peers. It is therefore satisfying but not wholly unexpected for Critical Care to become highly cited.

  How would you account for the increased citation rate of Critical Care?

“The rise of the Internet has been of great benefit to Critical Care.”

First, Critical Care was launched with the support of the best experts in the field of critical care medicine. Second, Critical Care's open access policy, as described in the BioMed Central Open Access Charter¹, greatly enhances the visibility, and therefore readership of our articles. All research articles are freely and universally accessible online, and so an author's work can be read by anyone at no cost. The authors retain copyright for their work and may grant anyone the right to reproduce the article, provided that it is correctly cited and no errors are introduced. A copy of the full text of each open-access article is immediately archived in online repositories separate from the journal, such as PubMed Central.

As well as providing free, immediate access to research, Critical Care publishes subscription content—timely and topical reviews and commentaries—relevant to any part of intensive care medicine. We believe our comprehensive reviews, from highly respected authorities within the intensive care community, have in turn helped to attract high-quality research in specific areas of critical care medicine.

  Was there a change in policy or editorial direction that might account for this?

Our policy of rapid, thorough peer review has been constant since the journal’s inception. But increasing submissions, particularly in the last two years, have invariably led us to be more selective in the articles we publish. Open access for research was introduced in 2000, which has clearly contributed the success of the journal.

The initial concept behind Critical Care was to make the most of the Internet, as a then-emerging resource. We have since remained keen to adapt and take advantage of all the Internet has to offer to maximize the visibility of our articles. In 2006 we became an online-only journal offering continuous publication, and more recently we have begun publishing research on acceptance. Accepted articles are published immediately online in provisional form and archived in PubMed within 48 hours—a service not currently offered by any of our competitors. When published, the full-text version offers a wide range of functionality, including links to related literature in PubMed, and reference downloads.

The rise of the Internet has been of great benefit to Critical Care. The website and journal were initially separate entities, with the website being a platform for discussion, education, and the sharing of ideas. The online version of the journal provided more content than print, so they have since merged to become a single resource.

Significant ground has also been made in the open access publishing movement in recent years, further contributing to our success as the only journal in the field committed to this publishing model. High-profile organizations, including the largest private fund for biomedical research, the Wellcome Trust, and the US National Institutes of Health, now endorse open access. Indeed, in 2005 the Wellcome Trust made archiving of articles in PubMed Central a requirement for funding—a policy we have had in place for several years.

Technological developments in critical care medicine, such as the growth of bedside ultrasound imaging techniques, are readily embraced by the format for Critical Care. Our online nature enables authors to upload various media including videos in support of their articles, all at no additional cost to the typical article processing charge (APC) levied. Authors increasingly expect to include a number of high-quality images, something that can often be restrictive in more traditional journals. Furthermore, we do not impose page limits on authors, allowing them to disseminate what is, in some cases, increasingly complex data.

The involvement of major leaders in the field of critical care medicine is the most important asset. Also, being open access allows Critical Care to span disciplines, reaching a wider audience.

As well as being an outlet for high-quality research, reviews, and commentaries, Critical Care maintains its position in the community as an online educational resource. Our content includes pro/con ethics debates in which two authors discuss their opposing opinions on handling a specific clinical scenario, along with statistical reviews and thematic review series. We also host the University of Pittsburgh’s evidence-based medicine journal club critiques.

Our online nature also allows us to respond quickly to current global issues. Our articles on Hurricane Katrina and the Madrid bombings are such examples.

Critical care medicine is one of the most rapidly expanding disciplines. The number of patients concerned by this discipline has increased considerably over the last years and will further increase dramatically in the future. The nature of critical care medicine means that the field’s professionals provide care for immediate life-threatening illness or injury. New technology is therefore key and advances should allow care to be increasingly administered outside the intensive care unit (ICU) and within a shorter time.

Global events—natural and man-made—have an influence on the field of critical care medicine, as highlighted in our disaster-management thematic series. How we respond to and learn from these events is likely to become increasingly important.

  What role do you see for your journal?

Critical Care has carved a unique niche as the online journal for intensivists. We are dedicated to rapid publication whilst maintaining thorough and fair peer-review for our authors. In addition, we continue to serve as a forum for discussion by, for example, enabling readers to ‘post a comment’ on any article featured if they would like to add their point of view. We hope to continue to evolve, exploiting the Internet to provide our audience with relevant literature and up-to-date services. By providing such additional features, we have found we can compete effectively with older, more established journals.

Critical Care
Professor Jean-Louis Vincent, Editor-in-Chief
Iain Hrynaszkiewicz, In-House Editor
BioMed Central, publishers