Abstract
As Ear, Nose and Throat Journal begins its hundredth year of publication, it is time to reflect on its storied history and look towards its promising future. The journal was founded in February of 1922 as the Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat Monthly. Its early history is nicely chronicled by former Editor-in-Chief Dr. Robert T. Sataloff (1), who now continues to serve as Associate Editor for laryngology and voice. As he notes, at the time of its origin, the journal was one of only five that covered diseases of the head and neck. In 1976, when the Academies of Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology split, the title was changed to Ear, Nose and Throat Journal or ENT Journal. Th journal has long been known for its publication of intriguing case reports and noteworthy clinical imagery, including endoscopy, radiography, and histopathology. This has been complemented by case series and studies largely focusing on clinical relevance. That legacy continues today and is why practicing otolaryngologist - head and neck surgeons feel a deep sense of connection to its content. For decades, many of us have seen the print version arrive each month and have eagerly flipped through to see what intriguing cases are highlighted.
The coming of the millennium brought with it the continuing proliferation of how knowledge is shared. The journal has continued to adapt to the changing times, with enhanced online content and the thoughtful and ethical transition to a peer-reviewed open access format, all while still retaining the print format that we have long associated with the journal. Advancements in endoscopic and imaging technology, as well as digital and video photography, have also enhanced engagement with our content. When the journal was first launched in 1922, the subscription fee was $3.00 per year. The current era allows anyone to interface with ENT Journal’s contact for free from any device – all you need is an connection to the internet. What else in life got less expensive than it was a century ago? Despite print circulation of over 13,500, online access is even more robust. This is seen through novel metrics of engagement with the journal, including an average of 50,000 full text downloads per month and an h-index of 45, which ranks 40th out of 111 journals in the otolaryngology space internationally (2). We now offer accepted articles in an OnlineFirst queue prior to publication in an issue. Following production, these articles are fully citable using the date of the manuscript’s first online posting and the DOI. Thus, new information is not only easily available, but also rapidly available. We have also seen continued growth in submissions, averaging 70 per month in 2019 and 95 per month in 2020.
This past year brought with it one of the most substantial global catastrophes since World War II. Coincidentally, the COVID-19 pandemic has had distinct relevance to our very specialty, as the virus is transmitted through droplets and possibly aerosols that emanate from the very organ systems that we call our domain. This has refocused clinical and scientific attention to the upper aerodigestive tract (3), including patterns of disease-related anosmia (4,5). We have been forced to step back and reconsider how we deliver not only clinical care, but also residency training (6,7). The pandemic has also emphasized the need for practitioners in this space to consider appropriate personal protective equipment, as well as methods to reduce viral shedding (8) and dispersal (9) during the procedures we perform, as well as the importance for all medical specialties and the media to rapidly share ideas and observations.
As we enter the next hundred years of publication, the ENT Journal will continue to evolve and serve as a platform to share our clinical and scientific observations, ideas, and innovations. We look forward to you joining us on our journey and to all of the growth and changes that the next century will bring.