Journal profile · Medicine-Surgery
North American Spine Society Journal
ISSN 2666-5484 · Elsevier · United States
North American Spine Society Journal: CAS Zone 3 · Medicine (2026 Xinrui edition); impact factor 3.2 (journal website); fully open access; APC about USD 2,240; median 58 days to acceptance (98 articles, last 24 months); 247 articles in 2025; indexed in ESCI and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
North American Spine Society Journal is published by Elsevier and is classed under Medicine in the CAS Journal Ranking. By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Spine and Intervertebral Disc Pathology, Cervical and Thoracic Myelopathy and Spinal Fractures and Fixation Techniques, together about 52.7% of its articles. Its main subfields are Surgery. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The North American Spine Society Open Access Journal (NASSJ) is an open access companion title to North American Spine Society’s (NASS’s) scientific publication, The Spine Journal. The journal offers an increase in choice for authors and NASS members, so spine research is openly accessible and rapidly available.The NASSJ mission is to promote knowledge and advance spine care. The journal aims to facilitate the dissemination of knowledge about clinical care, research, and education more effectively and efficiently by leveraging the open access platform and electronic media interfaces. The journal has been established as a multidisciplinary, peer-reviewed, international, open access, electronic journal that publishes peer-reviewed research, critical reviews, editorials, and exchanges related to spine surgery and spine care.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Medicine-Surgery
Editor-in-chief Jonathan N. GrauerPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named United States 13, Japan 3, India 3, Portugal 2 (21 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Spine and Intervertebral Disc PathologyMedicine25.2%
- Cervical and Thoracic MyelopathyMedicine14.5%
- Spinal Fractures and Fixation TechniquesMedicine13.1%
- Scoliosis diagnosis and treatmentMedicine11.1%
- Medical Imaging and AnalysisEngineering6.5%
- Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitationMedicine4.4%
- Management of metastatic bone diseaseMedicine2.6%
- Spinal Hematomas and ComplicationsMedicine2.3%
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)Medicine Zone 3
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Medicine | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Clinical Neurology | Zone 3 |
| Minor | Orthopedics | Zone 3 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
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)
- 3.2Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 4.1LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 4.1Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.04LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 1.38LetPub ·
- h-index
- 22OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 85OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.92OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 3.1%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 100%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 108LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 876 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 102 | 102 | 5 |
| 2025 | 247 | 247 | 193 |
| 2024 | 251 | 251 | 356 |
| 2023 | 98 | 98 | 734 |
| 2022 | 87 | 87 | 698 |
| 2021 | 47 | 47 | 489 |
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
58 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 37 days – 79 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 4 days (98 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 63 days
- Sample
- 98 articles with submission and acceptance dates (239 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 4 weeksLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 2 daysPublisher website ·
- First decision after review
- 24 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance
- 61 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication
- 4 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to publication (journal-reported)
- about 14 weeksDOAJ ·
- Peer review
- Double 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 | USD 2,240 | Yes | CC BY, CC BY-NC-ND | |
| OpenAlex | USD 1,950 / EUR 1,820 / GBP 1,560 / JPY 241,860 | — | — | |
| LetPub | USD 2,100 | Yes | — | |
| Publisher website | USD 2,240 | — | — |
Other charges and waivers (author guidelines)
- Submission fee
- USD 100
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 prepare5 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 250 words
- Keywords
- ≥ 6
- Manuscript length
- ≤ 4,500 words
- Reference style
- Numbered, in order of citation
- Highlights
- Required
Article types accepted14, with length limits
- basic science studiesTranslational/basic science studies focus on the science underlying spine care.Length not stated
- case reportNASSJ welcomes original clinical studies & clinical case reports/studies, basic science studies, spine surgery education studies, systemic reviews/meta-analyses…Length not stated
- clinical case reports/studiesClinical case reports and case series present unique cases based on presentation, course, and/or complication with clear learning points and review of related l…Length not stated
- clinical studiesClinical studies include clinical investigations, clinical observations, and clinically relevant trials. These can range from clinical outcomes/techniques to ca…Length not stated
- commentariesCommentaries may be considered/solicited on NASSJ content. Such commentaries typically summarize the work/topic and offer perspective on findings.Length not stated
- commentaryCommentaries may be considered/solicited on NASSJ content. Such commentaries typically summarize the work/topic and offer perspective on findings. Target text l…main text ≤ 1,500 words
- editorialsEditorials may be offered or solicited by the NASSJ editorial board on current spine care topics and/or issues.Length not stated
- errata / corrigendaErrata delineate production mistakes and author-submitted corrections for published texts. Corrigenda correct substantive errors like misreported data.Length not stated
- letters to the editorLetters to the editor are encouraged to foster open dialogue between readers, authors and editors. Letters should be kept to 500 words. Such letters may be foll…main text ≤ 500 words
- letters to the editor / replies to letters to the editorLetters to the editor are encouraged to foster open dialogue between readers, authors and editors.Length not stated
- meta-analysisNASSJ welcomes original clinical studies & clinical case reports/studies, basic science studies, spine surgery education studies, systemic reviews/meta-analyses…Length not stated
- reviewNASSJ welcomes original clinical studies & clinical case reports/studies, basic science studies, spine surgery education studies, systemic reviews/meta-analyses…Length not stated
- spine surgery education studiesSpine surgery education studies focus on the educational practices related to spine care.Length not stated
- systematic reviews / meta-analysesSystematic reviews and meta-analyses require a standard methodology.Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review, Preprints
- AI use Declaration of generative AI use
Authors must declare the use of generative AI tools in the manuscript preparation process upon submission of the paper.Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies (“AI tools”) have been rapidly adopted in research and scholarly publishing, offering significant benefits while requiring clear standards for responsible and transparent use.Authors preparing a manuscript for this journal may use AI tool…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Group authorship
Group authorship refers to the attribution of an article to a defined and named group of authors whose members have contributed to the work. Examples include research consortia, clinical trial groups, collaborative networks, task forces or working groups, expert panels or consensus groups, and participatory research groups. Group authorship must be declared on the title page at submission. When av…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Declaration of competing interests
All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence or bias their work. Examples of potential competing interests include:EmploymentConsultanciesStock ownershipHonorariaPaid expert testimonyPatent applications or registrationsGrants or any other fundingAffiliation with the journal as an Editor or Advisory Board …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics
Publishing ethics policy Model summary
Authors must follow ethical guidelines stated in Elsevier's Publishing Ethics Policy.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright License options
Authors will be offered open access user license options which will determine how you, and third parties, can reuse your open access article. We advise that you review these options and any funding body license requirements before selecting a license option.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access
Open access Model summary
We refer you to our open access information page to learn about open access options for this journal.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer review
Double anonymized peer review Model summary
This journal follows a double anonymized review process. Your submission will initially be assessed by our editors. If your submission is deemed suitable, it will typically be sent to be reviewed by a minimum of two reviewers for an independent expert assessment of the scientific quality. The decision as to whether your article is accepted or rejected for publication will be made by our editors.Re…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprints
Preprint sharing allowed Model summary
Preprint sharingAuthors may share preprints in line with Elsevier's article sharing policy. Sharing preprints, such as on a preprint server, will not count as prior publication.We advise you to read our policy on multiple, redundant or concurrent publication. Note that this journal follows a double anonymized peer review process, and therefore submissions should not be published as a preprint befo…
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 States
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 2666-5484
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗DOAJ
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗DOAJ
- Aims & Scope ↗DOAJ
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
- APC information ↗DOAJ
- Fee waivers ↗DOAJ
- Open access statement ↗DOAJ
- License & copyright ↗DOAJ
- Peer review process ↗DOAJ
- Editorial board ↗DOAJ
- Plagiarism policy ↗DOAJ
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about North American Spine Society Journal
What CAS zone is North American Spine Society Journal in?
In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 3 of Medicine. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of North American Spine Society Journal?
The journal's website gives an impact factor of 3.2; this is the journal's own figure, as LetPub lists none for it; CiteScore 4.1, h-index 22.
How long does peer review take at North American Spine Society Journal?
Based on the dates recorded on 98 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 58 days (interquartile range 37–79 days); authors report an average review time of about 4 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 North American Spine Society Journal?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 250 words; Keywords: ≥ 6; Manuscript length: ≤ 4,500 words; Reference style: Numbered, in order of citation; Highlights: 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 North American Spine Society Journal based?
Of the 21 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are United States (13), Japan (3) and India (3). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index North American Spine Society Journal?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, North American Spine Society Journal is indexed in ESCI, Scopus and DOAJ.
Is North American Spine Society Journal open access, and what is the APC?
North American Spine Society Journal is a fully open-access journal. APC about USD 2,240.
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 2026-08-26). Last updated: .