Farewell From the Outgoing Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology Board of Editors

At the start of my term as the editor-in-chief of Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology (CGH), I wrote a piece called “Making a great journal even better.”1Kanwal F. Making a great journal even better.Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2017; 15: 966-968Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (2) Google Scholar CGH had already achieved several landmarks in its first 15 years, including more than 12,000 subscribers, with 875,000 page views and 322,000 unique users each year, and an impact factor of 7.683. Building on this early success, we set out on our journey as the new board of editors (BOE) to make CGH one of the leading clinical journals in the field of gastroenterology and hepatology. It is impossible to capture what turned out to be a remarkable journey in this short piece, but I will share a few guiding principles and directions we took to get us to where we are. As the CGH BOE, we continued the tradition of publishing original, novel, and impactful research. We maintained the diversity of manuscripts by the organ system they cover and published across the spectrum of clinical, translational, epidemiologic, and health services research. We attracted impactful research and solicited clinically relevant content. As the senior associate editor, Jonathan Buscaglia supported (and tirelessly advocated for) endoscopy-related content, managed a bulk of images of the month, and closely mentored our editorial fellows. Ashwin Ananthakrishnan, Siddharth Singh, and Laurent Peyrin-Biroulet shepherded inflammatory bowel disease papers. Vincent Wong, Amit Singal, and Michael Manns managed liver-related content. Lin Chang and Evan Dellon brought their expertise to cover papers related to disorders of esophagus, stomach, and gut-brain interaction. Charles Kahi fielded papers related to gastrointestinal cancers. Jane Onken, Ziad Gellad, and Charles Kahi launched new special sections (discussed later). Aaron Thrift and Jagpreet Chhatwal brought their expertise in biostatistics and cost-effectiveness analyses to the CGH BOE. Each associate and special section editor served as an ambassador for CGH, continuously working toward our shared mission of enhancing the influence, reach, and visibility of the journal (Figure 1). As a team, we knew we needed to change often to continue to improve. We began by broadening the scope of the Practice Management: The Road Ahead section to cover the components in the value-based medicine equation (see the accompanying farewell article by Ziad Gellad in this issue of CGH for more details2Gellad Z.F. Practice management: the road taken and the road ahead.Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2022; 20: 1205-1208Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF Scopus (1) Google Scholar). We enhanced the Narrative Reviews section by soliciting high-yield reviews. We later strengthened this section by publishing a series of American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Clinical Practice Updates. In the last year alone, we published on a range of topics including chemoprevention for colorectal neoplasia, endoscopic management of perforations in gastrointestinal tract, and management of early complications after bariatric surgery.3Lee J.H. Kedia P. Stavropoulos S.N. et al.AGA clinical practice update on endoscopic management of perforations in gastrointestinal tract: expert review.Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2021; 19: 2252-2261Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (11) Google Scholar, 4Ahmed O. Lee J.H. Thompson C.C. et al.AGA clinical practice update on the optimal management of the malignant alimentary tract obstruction: expert review.Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2021; 19: 1780-1788Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (13) Google Scholar, 5Kumbhari V. Cummings D.E. Kalloo A.N. et al.AGA clinical practice update on evaluation and management of early complications after bariatric/metabolic surgery: expert review.Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2021; 19: 1531-1537Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (8) Google Scholar, 6Liang P.S. Shaukat A. Crockett S.D. AGA clinical practice update on chemoprevention for colorectal neoplasia: expert review.Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2021; 19: 1327-1336Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (11) Google Scholar In 2018, we introduced a new section called Here and Now: Clinical Practice. Charles Kahi masterfully launched ahd shepherded this section to become a go-to resource for practicing clinicians. This section covered topics ranging from optimizing the endoscopic examination in eosinophilic esophagitis, management of side effects of immune checkpoint inhibitors, recent advances in hepatocellular cancer treatment, and updates in esophageal motility disorders.7Dellon E.S. Optimizing the endoscopic examination in eosinophilic esophagitis.Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2021; 19: 2489-2492Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (7) Google Scholar, 8Lui R.N. Chan S.L. Management of gastrointestinal side effects of immune checkpoint inhibitors.Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2021; 19: 2262-2265Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (2) Google Scholar, 9Parikh N.D. Pillai A. Recent advances in hepatocellular carcinoma treatment.Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2021; 19: 2020-2024Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (5) Google Scholar, 10DeLay K. Krause A. Yadlapati R. Clinical updates in esophageal motility disorders beyond achalasia.Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2021; 19: 1789-1792Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (2) Google Scholar More recently, Jane Onken led the new Educator and Trainee Perspectives section that provided the venue to hear trainee perspectives and the voice of the educator. We began a conversation around unconscious bias in peer review11Onken J. Chang L. Kanwal F. Unconscious bias in peer review.Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2021; 19: 419-420Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (9) Google Scholar and published 2 special issues: one on the role of gut microbiome in digestive diseases and health, and the second covering the major advancements in the management of inflammatory bowel diseases (Figure 2). The pandemic highlighted the critical need for rapid dissemination of emerging information. As editors, we also had the responsibility of ensuring data are valid and transparent. To meet this demand, we pivoted and offered expedited reviews (with a turnaround time of ∼2–3 days) where the BOE served as internal reviewers for COVID-19-related content. This process allowed us to maintain a rigorous peer-review process while ensuring time-sensitive information reached our audience in an expedited manner. We published transformative research on the clinical features of COVID-19-related liver function abnormalities and pancreatic injury; the pathogenesis, prevention, and management of diarrhea during COVID-19 infection; and digestive manifestations of patients hospitalized with COVID-19, among other landmark papers.12Fan Z. Chen L. Li J. et al.Clinical features of COVID-19-related liver functional abnormality.Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2020; 18: 1561-1566Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (435) Google Scholar, 13D'Amico F. Baumgart D.C. Danese S. et al.Diarrhea during COVID-19 infection: pathogenesis, epidemiology, prevention, and management.Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2020; 18: 1663-1672Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (309) Google Scholar, 14El-Huneidi W. Hamad M. Taneera J. Expression of SARS-CoV-2 receptor "ACE2" in human pancreatic β cells: to be or not to be.Islets. 2021; 13: 106-114Crossref PubMed Scopus (6) Google Scholar, 15lmunzer B.J. Spitzer R.L. Foster L.D. et al.Digestive manifestations in patients hospitalized with coronavirus disease 2019.Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2021; 19: 1355-1365Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (31) Google Scholar, 16Park S.K. Lee C.W. Park D.I. et al.Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in fecal samples from patients with asymptomatic and mild COVID-19 in Korea.Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2021; 19: 1387-1394Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (84) Google Scholar, 17Ricciardiello L. Ferrari C. Cameletti M. et al.Impact of SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on colorectal cancer screening delay: effect on stage shift and increased mortality.Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2021; 19: 1410-1417Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (43) Google Scholar We launched the “What you need to know” boxes to provide succinct snippets of the key take-aways from our original research papers. Recently, we also introduced graphical abstracts for original research. We improved the visibility of endoscopy content by creating a new journal section. We modified the appearance of research correspondence papers (now called research letters) in PubMed so that more of the content is visible in search results. We worked to make our special sections open access to increase their reach. All through the term, the associate and special section editors used their networks to enhance CGH’s standing as an international journal. During our term, the total number of original research submissions to CGH rose to a record high of 2800 in 2020; this represented a 41% increase compared with previous years (Figure 2). Despite this sharp increase in volume, we continued to deliver on our promise of ensuring high-quality and timely reviews. We shortened our turnaround time between submission and final decision to an average of 10 days. We maintained transparency during the review process and transmitted the rationale underlying our decisions for all manuscripts that underwent external peer review. We streamlined our relationship with Gastroenterology by establishing an internal expedited review before offering an opportunity to transfer the manuscripts between the 2 journals. This process led to an increase in the final acceptance rate of the transferred articles to more than 90%. In 2021, the impact factor for CGH rose from 7.683 at the start of our term to 11.382, landing it among top-tier clinical journals in the field. Although impact factor is an imperfect measure, the exceptional performance of CGH is a testimonial to the journal publishing relevant, rigorous, and readily applicable research and innovation. I have many people to thank. I heavily relied on the associate and special section editors’ expertise and deep knowledge of the rapidly changing disciplines. All editors contributed significantly to the success of our journal. Each ensured rapid reviews, provided explicit and tailored feedback to the authors, and passionately advocated for the authors during our weekly BOE calls. In addition to our weekly calls, we held bi-annual strategy meetings where we reviewed data, conducted analyses, and discussed broader strategy and initiatives for CGH. The successes discussed here are the direct result of the ideas generated during these meetings. I am very grateful to the AGA journals’ editorial staff. They brought their unshakeable commitment, highest level of dedication, and unparalleled professionalism to ensure we stay on track. My sincerest gratitude to the AGA for providing us with the opportunity to serve as the editors of CGH. I also want to extend a warm and most heartfelt thanks to our authors, reviewers, and readers! We would not have been able to achieve the milestones discussed here without their support, contributions, and the faith that they placed in us. With this issue of CGH, I pass the baton to my dear colleague, Charles Kahi, with whom I have served for more than 7 years under the banner of CGH. I have no doubt that CGH will continue to grow and soar to new heights with Charles and his team at the helm.