Journal profile · Medicine-Transplantation
Clinical Kidney Journal
ISSN 2048-8505 · eISSN 2048-8513 · Oxford University Press · United Kingdom
Clinical Kidney Journal: CAS Zone 3 · Medicine (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 5.16; fully open access; APC about USD 3,335; median 91 days to acceptance (102 articles, last 24 months); 414 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Clinical Kidney Journal is published by Oxford University Press and is in Zone 3 of Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Dialysis and Renal Disease Management, Chronic Kidney Disease and Diabetes and Renal Diseases and Glomerulopathies, together about 39.7% of its articles. Its main subfields are Nephrology and Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Clinical Kidney Journal: Clinical and Translational Nephrology (CKJ), an official journal of the ERA (European Renal Association), is a fully Open Access, online only journal publishing monthly. The journal is an essential educational and training resource integrating clinical, translational and educational research into clinical practice. CKJ aims to contribute to a translational research culture among nephrologists and kidney pathologists that helps close the gap between basic researchers and practicing clinicians and promote sorely needed innovation in the nephrology field. All research articles in this journal have undergone peer review. CKJ publishes the following types of article: Original articles CKJ reviews Editorial comments Exceptional cases Letter to the editor CKJ only accepts online submission at Manuscript Central. From January 1 2020 your submitted article will be subject to an Article Processing Charge (APC) if it is accepted for publication. ERA members will receive a 33% discount on all APCs for accepted articles published in Clinical Kidney Journal. All accepted articles will be freely available to everybody online, upon publication, to read, download, and share. Full details on APCs, including the ERA member discounts, licensing and other Open Access information are provided in the ‘Publishing agreement and charges’ section of the instructions to authors. Journal metrics Citation metrics Clarivate 2025 Impact Factor 5.3 2025 5 Year Impact Factor 5.3 Urology & Nephrology (Rank by Impact Factor) 16/134 2025 Cited Half-Life 4 years 2025 Immediacy Index 1.1 2025 Eigenfactor Score 0.01474 2025 Article Influence Score 1.558 Scopus 2025 CiteScore 7.3 Nephrology (Rank by CiteScore) 10/88 Transplantation (Rank by CiteScore) 8/55 2025 Source Normalized Impact per Paper (SNIP) 1.693 Altmetric 2025 Total Altmetric Attention Score 4066 2025 Median Altmetric Attention Score 5 Readership 2025 Full Text Usage 1,670,756 Peer Review and Production 2025 Median days from acceptance to publication 21 days About metrics Gender Equality CKJ is committed to gender equality and reducing disparity in care which results from inequality. The journal is working to improve equity in the following ways: Diversifying the editorial board to includewomen and other underrepresented groups. From now (2024), asking all authors to providesex stratified analyses, where appropriate and to acknowledge if a study isunderpowered to identify sex differences. This will become man
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Medicine-Transplantation
Editor-in-chief Jürgen Floege GermanyPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 2 in mainland China (about 2%); most named United Kingdom 12, Italy 11, Germany 8, Spain 7, Belgium 6 (81 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Dialysis and Renal Disease ManagementMedicine16.8%
- Chronic Kidney Disease and DiabetesMedicine12.4%
- Renal Diseases and GlomerulopathiesMedicine10.6%
- Acute Kidney Injury ResearchMedicine7.1%
- Parathyroid Disorders and TreatmentsMedicine6.2%
- Renal Transplantation Outcomes and TreatmentsMedicine5.4%
- Vasculitis and related conditionsMedicine4.3%
- Central Venous Catheters and HemodialysisHealth Professions2.7%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Urology & Nephrology | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Medicine Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Urology & Nephrology | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Medicine Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Urology & Nephrology | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusDOAJLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
Journal Citation ReportsPublisher website
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
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
- 5.16LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 5.3Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 5.3Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 7.3LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 7.3Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.67LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.69LetPub ·
- h-index
- 91OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,814OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 4.11OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 5.7%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 99.89%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 362LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 1,670,756Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 4,572 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 329 | 329 | 119 |
| 2025 | 414 | 414 | 1,399 |
| 2024 | 429 | 429 | 3,298 |
| 2023 | 306 | 306 | 4,491 |
| 2022 | 274 | 274 | 4,267 |
| 2021 | 296 | 296 | 7,176 |
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
91 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 53 days – 138 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 23 days (102 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 118 days
- Sample
- 102 articles with submission and acceptance dates (842 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 8 weeksLetPub ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 21 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Anonymous peer reviewLetPub
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 accessOpenAlex
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | EUR 2,951 | — | — | |
| LetPub | EUR 2,809 | Yes | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 3,625 | — | — |
Other charges and waivers (author guidelines)
- Page charges
- USD 3,625
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 prepare4 items from the author guidelines
- Reference style
- Numbered, in order of citation
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
- Graphical abstract
- Optional
- Cover letter
- Optional
Article types accepted12, with length limits
- ckj reviewArticle types Editorial comment Letter to the editor CKJ Review Original article Exceptional case Pro/Con debate E-letter to the editor (comment)Length not stated
- correspondenceArticle type Abstract required? Limits Additional requirements and guidance Original article Yes Word count: maximum 3000, excluding abstract (up to 250 words) …Length not stated
- e-letter to the editor (comment)Article types Editorial comment Letter to the editor CKJ Review Original article Exceptional case Pro/Con debate E-letter to the editor (comment)Length not stated
- editorialArticle type Abstract required? Limits Additional requirements and guidance Original article Yes Word count: maximum 3000, excluding abstract (up to 250 words) …main text ≤ 1,500 words · figures and tables ≤ 1 · references ≤ 10
- editorial commentArticle types Editorial comment Letter to the editor CKJ Review Original article Exceptional case Pro/Con debate E-letter to the editor (comment)Length not stated
- exceptional caseArticle types Editorial comment Letter to the editor CKJ Review Original article Exceptional case Pro/Con debate E-letter to the editor (comment)Length not stated
- letterArticle type Abstract required? Limits Additional requirements and guidance Original article Yes Word count: maximum 3000, excluding abstract (up to 250 words) …Length not stated
- letter to the editorArticle type Abstract required? Limits Additional requirements and guidance Original article Yes Word count: maximum 3000, excluding abstract (up to 250 words) …main text ≤ 600 words · abstract ≤ 600 words · figures and tables ≤ 1 · references ≤ 5
- letters to the editorArticle type Abstract required? Limits Additional requirements and guidance Original article Yes Word count: maximum 3000, excluding abstract (up to 250 words) …Length not stated
- original articleArticle type Abstract required? Limits Additional requirements and guidance Original article Yes Word count: maximum 3000, excluding abstract (up to 250 words) …main text ≤ 250 words · abstract ≤ 250 words · references ≤ 5
- pro/con debateArticle types Editorial comment Letter to the editor CKJ Review Original article Exceptional case Pro/Con debate E-letter to the editor (comment)Length not stated
- reviewArticle type Abstract required? Limits Additional requirements and guidance Original article Yes Word count: maximum 3000, excluding abstract (up to 250 words) …Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, Publication ethics, Open access, Peer review, Preprints, Self-archiving
- Authorship Authorship
Authorship is limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the design and execution of the work described. Any contributors whose participation does not meet the criteria for authorship should be acknowledged but not listed as an author. For a detailed definition of authorship, please see the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) definitions of authors and cont…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest
Authors The Journal requires all authors to disclose any potential conflict of interest at the point of submission. It is the responsibility of the corresponding author to ensure that conflicts of interest of all authors are declared to the Journal. A conflict of interest exists when the position, activities, or relationships of an individual, whether direct or indirect, financial or non-financial…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Availability of data and materials
Data availability statement required Model summary
Where ethically feasible, the Journal strongly encourages authors to make all data and software code on which the conclusions of the paper rely available to readers. Authors are required to include a data availability statement in their paper. When data and software underlying the research article are available in an online source, authors should include a full citation in their reference list. Fo…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics Screening for misconduct
Manuscripts will be screened using iThenticate to help detect publication misconduct including plagiarism and redundant publication. Manuscripts may also be screened, including with services provided by third parties, to help detect integrity issues such as inappropriate image alteration and papermill activity.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access charges
Please see the details of open access licences and charges. As the Journal is fully open access, you must pay the open access charge or request to use an institutional agreement to pay the open access charge through our licencing and payment portal, SciPris. Please note that prices are subject to change. All stated charges are exclusive of any applicable value added tax, goods and services tax and…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review process
Single-anonymized peer review Model summary
The Journal operates single-anonymized peer review, meaning that the identity of the authors is known to the editors and to the reviewers, but that the reviewers’ identities are known only to the editors and are hidden from the authors. During peer review, reviewers communicate directly with the editors but not the authors or other reviewers. Once a submitted manuscript passes initial assessment b…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints
Preprints allowed Model summary
As an author, you retain the right to make an Author’s Original Version (preprint) available through various channels and this does not prevent submission to the Journal. If accepted, you are required to update the status of any preprint, including adding your published paper’s DOI. For full details on allowed channels and updating your preprint, please see our Author self-archiving policy.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Self-archiving Self-archiving
Self-archiving refers to posting a copy of your work on a publicly accessible website or repository. Under certain circumstances, you may self-archive versions of your work on your own webpages, on institutional webpages, and in other repositories. For information about the Journal's policy, and to learn which version(s) of your paper are acceptable for self-archiving, please see our Author self-a…
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
- Oxford University Press
- Country or region
- United Kingdom
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2048-8505
- Electronic ISSN
- 2048-8513
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Clinical Kidney Journal
What CAS zone is Clinical Kidney Journal in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Clinical Kidney Journal is in Zone 3 of Medicine, and in Zone 3 of the minor category Urology & Nephrology. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Clinical Kidney Journal?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 5.16; CiteScore 7.3, h-index 91.
How long does peer review take at Clinical Kidney Journal?
Based on the dates recorded on 102 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 91 days (interquartile range 53–138 days); authors report an average review time of about 8 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 Clinical Kidney Journal?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Reference style: Numbered, in order of citation; Suggested reviewers: Optional; Graphical abstract: Optional; Cover letter: Optional. 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 Clinical Kidney Journal based?
Of the 81 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 2 (about 2%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United Kingdom (12), Italy (11) and Germany (8). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Clinical Kidney Journal?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Clinical Kidney Journal is indexed in SCIE, Scopus and DOAJ.
Is Clinical Kidney Journal open access, and what is the APC?
Clinical Kidney Journal is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 3,335.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; 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: .