The Annals of Thoracic Surgery: review time and acceptance speed

ISSN 0003-4975 · ISSN 1552-6259 · Elsevier BV · Medicine

Half of the articles The Annals of Thoracic Surgery accepted in 2025 were accepted within 128 days of submission (n = 348); the middle half took 13–173 days.

Submission → acceptance (2025)
128 days median
middle half 13–173 · n = 348
Acceptance → online
21 days median
middle half 14–27 · n = 361
Change since 2023
Faster than 2023: the median fell from 146 to 128 days (90% CI -33 to -3 days).
Open access · fees
OA status not determined · ≈$3,200

Accepted articles only · dates deposited by the publisher in PubMed · data as of Sep 15, 2026

Plan submissions to a deadline — free

How long does The Annals of Thoracic Surgery take to accept a paper?

days0601201802402020: middle half 62–180 days1232020n=8862021: middle half 50–169 days1082021n=7142022: middle half 82–185 days1322022n=3792023: middle half 91–186 days1462023n=2212024: middle half 97–191 days1482024n=2552025: middle half 13–173 days1282025n=348
Line = median; shaded box = middle half of articles (25th–75th percentile). Year of acceptance.
Days from submission to acceptance, by year of acceptance
YearArticles (n)25th pctMedian75th pct90th pctAccepted <14 daysHave a revised date
20253481312817322325.9%70%
2024255971481912496.7%92%
2023221911461862508.6%91%
2022379821321852415.0%94%
2021714501081692365.7%89%
2020886621231802568.8%89%

Distribution in 2025

0–29 days: 30% (105 articles)030–59 days: 2% (7 articles)3060–89 days: 7% (26 articles)6090–119 days: 8% (28 articles)90120–149 days: 14% (50 articles)120150–179 days: 15% (51 articles)150180–209 days: 10% (36 articles)180210–239 days: 5% (19 articles)210240–269 days: 3% (11 articles)240270–299 days: 2% (6 articles)270300–329 days: 1% (3 articles)300330–359 days: 0% (0 articles)330360+ days: 2% (6 articles)360+days from submission to acceptance (30-day bins)
Show as a table
DaysArticlesShare
0–2910530.2%
30–5972.0%
60–89267.5%
90–119288.0%
120–1495014.4%
150–1795114.7%
180–2093610.3%
210–239195.5%
240–269113.2%
270–29961.7%
300–32930.9%
330–35900.0%
360+61.7%

From acceptance to online publication

After acceptance, half of the 2025 articles appeared online within 21 days (middle half 14–27 days, n = 361).

From submission to online publication, the median was 146 days (middle half 41–199 days, n = 347).

Read these numbers carefully

  • These times describe articles the journal accepted. Rejected manuscripts never appear in public data, so they cannot tell you how long a rejection takes.
  • Dates are the ones the publisher deposited with PubMed. Some publishers record the date a revised manuscript arrived as the submission date, which makes review look faster.
  • Invited articles and special issues can move faster than regular submissions.

Open access status and publishing fees

Subscription or hybrid (not determined). Listed APC: about $3,200 (as reported by OpenAlex).

No institutional payments for this journal are recorded in OpenAPC.

Many journals waive or reduce fees for authors from eligible countries or institutions with publishing agreements — check with the journal and your library.

Integrity and indexing signals

Facts from public records, shown without judgement. See the methodology for why each can be worth a closer look.

Listed in DOAJNo
Articles indexed for MEDLINE in 2025Yes
Retractions0 retracted articles among 2,001 added to PubMed in 2021–2025 (0.00 per 1,000), per the Retraction Watch Database.
Accepted within 14 days of submission25.9% of 2025 articles
Publication volume350 articles added to PubMed in 2025 (+34% vs 2024).

Topics and scope

Medicine journalsSurgery journalsPulmonary and Respiratory Medicine journals

Similar journals — faster or cheaper, side by side

Journals publishing on the most similar topics (OpenAlex), ordered by similarity. Only 2025 figures are compared with the 2025 median of The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, 128 days.

Paid APC medianDOAJMEDLINE
European Journal of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery114 (2025, n = 391)≈$3,699NoYes
Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery106 (2025, n = 212)≈$4,500NoYes
Indian Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery85 (2025, n = 232)≈$3,890NoNo
Journal of Cardiothoracic Surgery207 (2025, n = 459)$2,990$2,686 (7 payments)YesYes
JTCVS Techniques63 (2025, n = 316)$2,553YesNo
Interdisciplinary CardioVascular and Thoracic Surgery105 (2025, n = 300)≈$2,305$2,443 (12 payments)YesYes
JTCVS Open106 (2025, n = 294)$2,315YesNo
General Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery75 (2025, n = 119)≈$2,490NoYes

Frequently asked questions

How long does The Annals of Thoracic Surgery take to accept a paper?

Half of the articles The Annals of Thoracic Surgery accepted in 2025 were accepted within 128 days of submission (n = 348); the middle half took 13–173 days. Based on dates in PubMed for accepted articles only.

How long after acceptance are The Annals of Thoracic Surgery articles published online?

Half of the articles accepted in 2025 appeared online within 21 days of acceptance (n = 361).

Does The Annals of Thoracic Surgery charge an article processing charge (APC)?

Listed APC: about $3,200 (as reported by OpenAlex).

Sources and method

Journal identity: ISSN-L 0003-4975; NLM ID 15030100R; OpenAlex record. Speed figures use 348 articles accepted in 2025 with valid dates; excluded records for that year: same day non research 12, no received date 2.

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Data sources. Submission, acceptance and publication dates: Courtesy of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (PubMed, entries through Sep 15, 2026). NLM does not endorse Journal Clock, and these figures may not reflect the most current PubMed data. Journal fees and open-access listing: DOAJ (CC0, retrieved Sep 16, 2026). Fees paid by institutions: OpenAPC (Open Database License, retrieved Sep 16, 2026). Retractions: Retraction Watch Database via Crossref (retrieved Sep 16, 2026). Journal identifiers and topics: OpenAlex (CC0). Currency conversion: ECB reference rates (Sep 15, 2026). How these numbers are calculated · For organisations.