Withdrawal Policy

Anesthesiology (AOJ) recognizes that authors may occasionally need to withdraw a manuscript from consideration. This policy outlines the process and conditions for doing so, consistent with the journal's broader Editorial Process.

Withdrawal Before Peer Review

Authors may withdraw a manuscript at any point prior to the completion of peer review by submitting a formal written request to the editorial office, stating the reason for withdrawal. Requests received during the initial editorial screening stage are typically processed promptly.

Withdrawal During Peer Review

Authors wishing to withdraw a manuscript that is currently undergoing peer review should notify the editorial office as soon as possible. Because reviewers may have already invested time and effort in evaluating the manuscript per the journal's Peer Review Process, authors are asked to provide a clear explanation for the withdrawal request.

Withdrawal After Acceptance

Withdrawal of a manuscript after it has been formally accepted for publication is strongly discouraged, as significant editorial and production resources have typically already been invested. Requests for withdrawal at this stage will be considered by the Editor-in-Chief on a case-by-case basis and require a substantive justification.

Withdrawal After Publication

Once an article has been formally published, it cannot be "withdrawn" in the traditional sense. Concerns identified after publication are instead addressed through the journal's Corrections & Retractions process, which provides a transparent, permanent record of any changes to the published scientific literature, consistent with COPE's retraction guidelines.

Improper Withdrawal

Withdrawing a manuscript for the purpose of resubmitting substantially the same work to another journal without disclosure, or withdrawing to circumvent an unfavorable editorial decision, is considered inconsistent with responsible publication practice and may be treated as a breach of the journal's Publication Ethics standards.

Fees

Where article processing charges have already been incurred prior to a withdrawal request, the applicability of any refund is addressed separately under the Article Processing Charges policy.