Sudden cardiac death has always been at the apex of ’serious’ sports medicine conditions. We all agree that one death is one too many. Sports physicians with expertise in cardiac issues — Jon Drezner and Babette Pluim — will guest edit a 2009 Themed Issue that will include, but not be limited to, original data and commentary on the use of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in the athletic setting, emergency preparedness for sudden cardiac arrest, and the secondary prevention of sudden cardiac death in young athletes.

We look forward to the opportunity to work with authors, groups convening to provide consensus statements, and partner journals to contribute to minimizing sudden cardiac death in the sporting setting.

This special issue will form the June 2009 Issue of BJSM. More details will follow and the deadline for submissions is 11:00 pm, Dec 31. 2008.

Right now BJSM has double blind review — we ask authors to anonymize their papers, reviewers’ names are shrouded in secrecy. BJSM is the only BMJ publication that has this policy.

Is it time to adopt BMJ approach and have open review? Do you believe the evidence that ‘big name’ authors have papers accepted more readily? Do you believe that there are personal and corporate pressures that influence reviewers? Fiona Godlee, editor of BMJ commented on this in 2002.

Let us know on the blog as we reconsider this policy at BJSM.