[The percentage of articles which were accepted or rejected for publication in the Dutch Journal of Medicine in 1997].

Objective: To determine the acceptance and rejection percentages of articles submitted to the editors of the Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Geneeskunde (NTvG) in 1997.

Design: Retrospective.

Method: The data on all articles reviewed by the editors of the NTvG in 1997 were extracted from the registration system in April 1998. These included the outcome of the review process (rejection or acceptance for publication or no definite decision yet), the article category (e.g., original article, review article), and whether the article had been solicited by the editors or was a spontaneous submission.

Results: In 1997, 845 articles were received. Of these 28% (240) were rejected and 59% (497) were accepted for publication. On 13% (108) no decision had been made (in April 1998). Of the articles decided upon 36% were rejected (extrapolated). 705/845 (83%) articles were unsolicited: of these 33% (235) were rejected and 54% (382) accepted; on 13% (88) the decision was pending. The solicited articles numbered 140 (17%); of these 4% (5) were rejected and 82% (115) were accepted; on 14% (20) no decision had been made yet.

Conclusion: The rejection of articles submitted to NTvG in 1997 was 36% (in 1990 38%). Solicited articles were rejected less frequently than unsolicited ones. The yearly number of articles submitted and the rejection percentage have not changed drastically during the last eight years.