Recently released in the latest Journal Citation Reports, the journal CHEST, the official publication of the American College of Chest Physicians, received a Journal Impact Factor of 9.410, up from 8.308 last year. The journal retained the Impact Factor rank of 4th out of 36 journals in the Critical Care category and is 6th out of 64 journals in the Respiratory System category. It has the highest readership of any journal in the fields of critical care and pulmonology.

A proprietary measure owned and issued by Clarivate Analytics, the Impact Factor is based on the number of article citations in the 2020 review period to CHEST journal articles that were published in 2018 and 2019.

“After a year unlike any other, I am proud to see such a substantial increase in this year’s Impact Factor,” says Peter J. Mazzone, MD, MPH, FCCP, editor in chief, in a release. “In 2020, our submissions doubled. This score is reflective of the tremendous amount of work that the editorial board, staff, our reviewers and authors consistently put in each month to provide the highest quality articles that resonate with our readers.”

To supplement the journal articles, in 2020, the journal CHEST began fully engaging in a variety of digital elements, including:

Podcasts
The journal produces informational podcasts with lead authors discussing their research and, each month, Mazzone creates a podcast highlighting key articles published in that month’s journal.

Multimedia elements
Where applicable, the journal creates infographic-style overviews of a research study that summarize and translate key messages from the manuscript in a visual way.

Journal-specific social media channels
CHEST recently created a YouTube page and a Twitter account dedicated to sharing journal articles, updates and visual elements.

In addition to these digital elements, a new content area called Humanities in CHEST Medicine was added to the journal in July 2020. A quick favorite of readers, the Humanities section includes commentaries, debates, educational pieces, and original research related to ethics, history, art, and the human experience of practicing medicine.

With an acceptance rate for original research below 10%, the journal publishes peer-reviewed original research in the multidisciplinary specialties of pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine and related disciplines.