Exploration of Digestive Diseases in 2024: Review and Prospects

Exploration of Digestive Diseases (EDD) (eISSN 2833-6321), founded in August 2022, is a peer-reviewed, open-access online journal dedicated to publishing high-quality and significant research in all areas of digestive diseases. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, liver, biliary tract, gastrointestinal, and pancreatic diseases. To date, EDD has been indexed in several important databases, including Google Scholar, DOAJ, Dimensions, MyScienceWork, Portico, and CAS. Additionally, we are now aiming for the next goals of more databases indexing, such as Scopus and PubMed, aiming to establish EDD as an influential journal.

Here, we are pleased to share the notable achievements of EDD in 2024. Under the guidance of our distinguished Editorial Board Members and Guest Editors, and with the support of our authors, we received 65 submissions and published 28 high-quality articles. Total citations increased 65 times, bringing the mean citation to 0.79 per article. These metrics reflect the growing influence and recognition of EDD in the field of digestive diseases. With the implementation of a continuous publication model in 2025, we anticipate further accelerating the development of EDD and strengthening its influence in the academic community.

Submission and Publication Status

As the journal continues to grow over time, thanks to the efforts of all involved, it is steadily developing and expanding.

Submissions

In 2024, the journal received 65 submissions, the majority of which were Original Articles and Review Articles, accounting for approximately 76.92% of the total. The distribution of article types is illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Article Type of Submissions in 2024

Publications

EDD experienced a small increase in publication volume in 2024, and the H-index of corresponding authors also saw a significant rise, to 25.19. This indicates that the influence of the EDD journal is beginning to gain recognition from some outstanding experts. The publications in 2024 included 22 Review articles (78.57%), 2 Original Articles (7.14%), 1 Case Report, 1 Correction, 1 Editorial, and 1 Perspective (as shown in Figure 2).

Figure 2. Article Type of Publications in 2024

Manuscript Processing

Rejection Rate

Compared to 2023, the rejection rate of EDD increased significantly in 2024, as illustrated in Figure 3. This indicates that our Editor-in-Chief, academic editors, and peer reviewers are very serious about controlling the quality of submissions. The academic quality of the EDD journal has been ensured under their leadership.

  Figure 3. Rejection Rate Comparison between 2023 and 2024

Peer Review

In 2024, as the number of manuscripts entering peer review gradually increased, we expanded our reach in inviting reviewers. A total of 93 reviewers participated in the review process, with an average H-index of 31.93. Notably, these 93 reviewers hailed from 24 different countries, as shown in Figure 4. This not only demonstrates the internationalization of our reviewer pool but also reflects the broad scope of our disciplinary coverage.

 Figure 4. Country Distribution of EDD Reviewers in 2024

Manuscript Processing Time

In order to provide authors with faster publishing services, we have internally optimized the manuscript handling process. This adjustment has significantly reduced the initial review time to 13 days and online publication time, effectively shortening the waiting period for authors. For example, two recently published articles, took only slightly over two months from submission to online publication:

1)“Current efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors in microsatellite unstable colorectal cancer and potential biomarkers" (from submission to publication: 74 days)

2)"Hepatitis B virus induced cirrhosis and hepatocarcinoma: pathogenesis and therapeutics” (from submission to publication: 76 days)

This efficient handling process will enable authors’ research word get published more quickly and get more exposure. This is also what we have been dedicated to providing to authors, and in the new year, we will continue to optimize this process and improve the efficiency of manuscript processing and production.

Editorial Board 

In 2024, EDD added 4 new Editorial Board Members, whose average H-index is 41.5, significantly bolstering the overall academic influence of the editorial team (see Figure 5). Additionally worth mentioning is that these 4 experts, upon joining the journal, have shown a high level of recognition for the journal’s development and have made significant contributions to support its progress.

Among the new members:

1)Prof. Raquel Soares (University of Porto, Portugal) and Prof. Jian-Guo Chen (Qidong Liver Cancer Institute, China) have both organized new special issues respectively, which are online now and opening for submissions;

2)Prof. Pavel Strnad (University Hospital Aachen, Germany) has indicated that he will plan a new special issue in the first half of 2025;

3)Prof. Jochen Mattner (Universitätsklinikum Erlangen (UKER), Germany), with his profound research in the field of inflammatory bowel disease, will further enrich the journal’s disciplinary coverage with his addition.

  Figure 5. Four Newly Added Editorial Board Members in 2024

As of the end of 2024, the EDD Editorial Board consists of 51 members, including 21 Associate Editors (AEs) and 30 Editorial Board Members (EBMs), with an average H-index of 41.24. The Editorial Board spans 16 countries including Spain, Italy, China, the United States, and others (see Figure 6), reflecting the journal’s commitment to geographical diversity. By including top scholars from multiple countries, the Editorial Board has achieved a more balanced distribution of disciplinary fields, further enhancing the journal’s academic level and international influence.

Figure 6. Country Distribution of EDD Editorial Board

Special Issues

By the end of 2024, EDD journal had cumulatively organized 23 special issues, with 6 new ones added in 2024. The newly added special issues primarily focus on the two major directions of gut microbiota and metabolic diseases, as well as cutting-edge research in digestive system diseases. They not only further solidify the journal’s position in the field of gut microbiota but also expand the academic coverage of digestive disease research, providing strong support for the journal’s continuous attraction of high-quality manuscript submissions.

In 2024, we successfully completed 2 special issues that not only enriched the journal’s knowledge base but also garnered widespread attention and interest. The first special issue, “Drug-induced Liver Injury: From Bench to Clinical Application,” was co-planned and edited by our Editor-in-Chief, Prof. Jose C Fernandez-Checa and Prof. Wen-Xing Ding. This issue included 6 in-depth research papers on drug-induced liver injury, comprehensively exploring the mechanisms, diagnosis, and treatment strategies for drug-induced liver injury. The second special issue, “CHOLESTASIS,” was meticulously edited by Prof. Jose J. G. Marin and comprised 8 high-quality research articles on cholestasis, providing valuable information and insights for researchers and clinicians in the field.

Several articles within these special issues were particularly favored by readers and achieved significant academic influence. For instance, the article “Zebrafish as a model for drug induced liver injury: state of the art and beyond” by Dr. Gulcin Cakan-Akdogan and Dr. Ozlen Konu, published in April 2023, not only received 3,632 page views and 119 downloads but has also been cited more than 3 times. Similarly, the article “Drug-induced cholestasis: causative agents and challenges in diagnosis and management” by Raúl J. Andrade et al, published in September 2023, also achieved remarkable attention. The paper received 10,528 views and 188 downloads, demonstrating its significant value in guiding research and treatment for drug-induced cholestasis.

Citation and Influence

In 2024, EDD journal saw an increase of 65 new citations (bringing the total to 73), with the mean citation count rising to 0.79, a significant growth compared to 2023, as shown in Figure 7. The increase in citation numbers reflects the gradual enhancement of the journal’s visibility and influence, which will further boost the chances of articles being cited. Currently, EDD is indexed by databases such as DOAJ, CAS, Google Scholar, Dimensions, MyScienceWork and Portico. With the continuous promotion of the journal and the expansion of its academic influence, it is anticipated that the average citation count will experience even more significant growth in the future.

Figure 7. Mean Citation Comparison between 2023 and 2024

Publicity and Promotion

We have been continuously enhancing the influence of the journal through various means such as multimedia promotion, email marketing, and conference promotion. For instance, our journal has a dedicated LinkedIn account (https://www.linkedin.com/company/exploration-of-digestive-diseases/), where we regularly share the latest news about the journal, including newly published articles, special issue information, outstanding works indexed in PMC, as well as calls for papers, invitations to Editorial Board Members and Guest Editors, and more. 

Conference promotion is also an important way to enhance the influence of the journal. By promoting at academic conferences, we can directly reach the target audience, significantly increasing the journal’s visibility and recognition. Here, we would like to express special thanks to our Editor-in-Chief, Prof. Jose C Fernandez-Checa, who attended the 75th Annual Liver Meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD TLM2024) in San Diego, California, from November 15 to 19, 2024, as shown in Figure 8. During the conference, Prof. Jose C Fernandez-Checa introduced EDD journal to the attendees by distributing promotional flyers, effectively raising the journal’s profile in the field of liver disease research and gaining the attention and recognition of more outstanding experts.

 Figure 8. EDD Promoted in Academic Conference

We sincerely invite and encourage more scholars to join the effort to promote EDD. We will provide the necessary support to jointly advance the continuous development of the journal and expand its academic influence.

Future Prospects

In the future, EDD will continue to focus on enhancing academic quality and expanding international influence, with Scopus, PMC, and SCI indexing as our core objectives. To accelerate the achievement of these goals, the journal will maintain its policy of not charging any APC (Article Processing Charges) until August 2027, encouraging more authors to submit their work. We warmly invite researchers worldwide to participate in the journal's development as Editorial Board Members, Guest Editors, reviewers, or authors, working together to advance EDD toward becoming a high-level international journal.

EDD firmly believes that the diverse participation of the academic community is the core driving force behind the journal's growth. We look forward to collaborating with you to build a high-quality, high-impact international academic platform in the field of digestive diseases!

2024 Annual Report for EDD.pdf