Journal profile · Medicine-Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine
BJA Open
ISSN 2772-6096 · Elsevier · United Kingdom
BJA Open: impact factor 3.5 (journal website); fully open access; APC charged, amount not published; median 95 days to acceptance (100 articles, last 24 months); 131 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
BJA Open is published by Elsevier. By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Cardiac, Anesthesia and Surgical Outcomes, Enhanced Recovery After Surgery and Anesthesia and Pain Management, together about 34.3% of its articles. Its main subfields are Surgery. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
BJA Open is an open access journal that publishes high-impact original work in all branches of anaesthesia, critical care, pain medicine and perioperative medicine including fundamental, translational and clinical sciences, clinical practice, technology, education and training and case reports. The journal is proudly affiliated with the Royal College of Anaesthetists, the College of Anaesthesiologists of Ireland, and the Hong Kong College of Anaesthesiologists.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Medicine-Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine
Editor-in-chief Susan GoobiePublisher website
Editorial board by country: 4 in mainland China (about 5%); most named United States 24, United Kingdom 22, Mainland China 4, Italy 4, Switzerland 4 (81 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Cardiac, Anesthesia and Surgical OutcomesMedicine17.4%
- Enhanced Recovery After SurgeryMedicine9.2%
- Anesthesia and Pain ManagementMedicine7.8%
- Anesthesia and Sedative AgentsMedicine7.7%
- Hemodynamic Monitoring and TherapyMedicine5.5%
- Intensive Care Unit Cognitive DisordersMedicine5%
- Anesthesia and Neurotoxicity ResearchNeuroscience4.9%
- Airway Management and Intubation TechniquesMedicine3.3%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
ESCIScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 3.5Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 3.4LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 3.4Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.96LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.27LetPub ·
- h-index
- 17OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 47OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 2.05OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 5.7%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 99.43%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 70LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 590 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 134 | 134 | 28 |
| 2025 | 131 | 131 | 244 |
| 2024 | 101 | 101 | 479 |
| 2023 | 113 | 113 | 530 |
| 2022 | 111 | 111 | 339 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with PubMed · to
95 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 60 days – 138 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 45 days (100 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 141 days
- Sample
- 100 articles with submission and acceptance dates (170 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 11 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 6 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 33 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 96 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 11 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Single anonymous peer reviewDOAJ
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Fully open accessDOAJ
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DOAJ | GBP 1,500 | Yes | CC BY, CC BY-NC-ND | |
| OpenAlex | USD 1,870 / EUR 1,750 / GBP 1,500 / JPY 231,940 | — | — | |
| LetPub | GBP 1,500 | Yes | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 2,500 | — | — |
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare3 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 250 words
- Keywords
- 5–8
- Cover letter
- Required
Article types accepted7, with length limits
- case reportSummary of requirementsTypeMaximum wordsMaximum referencesMaximum tables and figures combinedAbstract or summaryClinical investigations3000406Structured abstrac…Length not stated
- commentarySummary of requirementsTypeMaximum wordsMaximum referencesMaximum tables and figures combinedAbstract or summaryClinical investigations3000406Structured abstrac…main text ≤ 1,000 words · references ≤ 15
- correspondenceSummary of requirementsTypeMaximum wordsMaximum referencesMaximum tables and figures combinedAbstract or summaryClinical investigations3000406Structured abstrac…Length not stated
- editorialSummary of requirementsTypeMaximum wordsMaximum referencesMaximum tables and figures combinedAbstract or summaryClinical investigations3000406Structured abstrac…main text ≤ 2,500 words · references ≤ 25
- letterSummary of requirementsTypeMaximum wordsMaximum referencesMaximum tables and figures combinedAbstract or summaryClinical investigations3000406Structured abstrac…Length not stated
- reviewSummary of requirementsTypeMaximum wordsMaximum referencesMaximum tables and figures combinedAbstract or summaryClinical investigations3000406Structured abstrac…Length not stated
- systematic reviewSummary of requirementsTypeMaximum wordsMaximum referencesMaximum tables and figures combinedAbstract or summaryClinical investigations3000406Structured abstrac…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Preprints, Trial registration / reporting guidelines
- Authorship Authorship
Criteria for authorshipThe BJAO follows the ICMJE criteria for authorship (see this link). All authors should have made substantial contributions to all of the following: (1) the conception and design of the study, or acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data; (2) drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content; (3) final approval of the version …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics Misconduct/Retractions
All manuscripts submitted to the BJAO undergo plagiarism check using commercial software. Based on the findings of the check, Editors may ask authors to address any minor duplication, or similarity, that the contents of their manuscript may have to any previously published work (even though it may be author's own previously published work). However, severe cases of plagiarism amount to 'misconduct…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright
For gold open access articles, upon acceptance of an article, authors will be asked to complete an 'Exclusive License Agreement ' (more information). Permitted third party reuse of gold open access articles is determined by the author's choice of user license.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Gold open access
Articles are freely available to both subscribers and the wider public with permitted reuse.A gold open access publication fee is payable by authors or on their behalf, e.g. by their research funder or institution. For gold open access articles, permitted third party (re)use is defined by the following Creative Commons user licenses:
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints
Please note that preprints can be shared anywhere at any time, in line with Elsevier's sharing policy. Sharing of preprints (e.g. on a preprint server) will not count as prior publication (see 'Multiple, redundant or concurrent publication' for more information). The BJAO requests that submitting authors update their preprint with a footnote to confirm that their paper is under review at the BJAO …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Trial registration / reporting guidelines Manuscript Reporting Guidelines
BJA Open subscribes to the principles of the EQUATOR (Enhancing the QUAlity and Transparency Of health Research) Network (https://www.equator-network.org). The Enhancing the Quality of and Transparency of Health Research (EQUATOR) Network was created to monitor and to propagate the proper use of guidelines to improve the quality of scientific publications by promoting transparent and accurate repo…
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Elsevier
- Country or region
- United Kingdom
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2772-6096
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗LetPub
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about BJA Open
What is the impact factor of BJA Open?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 3.5; this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 3.4, h-index 17.
How long does peer review take at BJA Open?
Based on the dates recorded on 100 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 95 days (interquartile range 60–138 days); authors report an average review time of about 11 weeks. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of BJA Open?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 250 words; Keywords: 5–8; Cover letter: Required. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of BJA Open based?
Of the 81 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 4 (about 5%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (24), United Kingdom (22) and Mainland China (4). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index BJA Open?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, BJA Open is indexed in ESCI, Scopus and DOAJ.
Is BJA Open open access, and what is the APC?
BJA Open is a fully open-access journal. APC charged, amount not published.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex, DOAJ; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .