Reviewer's report
Title:Annual pattern of peptic ulcer hospitalizations: a retrospective analysis of
hospital discharge data of the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy.
Version: 2Date:15 December 2009
Reviewer: Brian Smith
Reviewer's report:
Dr. Manfredini et al have submitted an impressively-powered work that will likely
be the definitive paper on seasonal varability of PUD. I commend him and his
colleagues on their work. I do have some revisions that I would like them to
address however.
Major Compulsory Revisions:
1) The discussion section lacks focus and adequate organization. It needs to be
significantly condensed. Specifically, the 5th paragraph can be combined with the
first, and the 3rd and 4th can be combined and all can be tightened up. There is
a disconnect between the cited referrences and their pertinence to this data set.
2) The authors need to increase their emphasis on explanations/etiologies of
seasonal admission variables ie what patterns of NSAID use may be leading to
some of the seasonal variations in admission, etc. They have shown seasonal
variation. Now the reader would like to know the authors' thoughts as to why
there is variability and what can be done with this knowledge.
3) The conclusion section needs to be concise and not introduce any new
material/concepts/referrences. This section should be re-written to reflect a true
summarization of the material.
Minor Essential Revisions:
1) Overall English is good. The paper just needs to be polished up as far as
misspellings/incorrect words/syntax, once all corrections have been made.
Discretionary Revisions:
The study may have slightly more impact if the authors spend a few lines
discussing the overall importance of seasonally-associated causal factors of PUD
ie NSAID use, alcohol consumption during certain times of the year, seasonal or
regional variability in H. pylori infection, etc.
Finally, given the association between low socioeconomic status with H. pylori
infection, perhaps the authors should consider commenting on the overall
incidence of H. pylori in their region. As the most important etiologic factor in
PUD development, the role of H. pylori in this patient population is particularly
relevant here.
Level of interest: An article whose findings are important to those with closely
related research interests
Quality of written English: Needs some language corrections before being
published
Statistical review: Yes, but I do not feel adequately qualified to assess the
statistics.
Declaration of competing interests:
No to all of the above. I declare that I have no competing interest.
Reviewer's report
Title:Annual pattern of peptic ulcer hospitalizations: a retrospective analysis of
hospital discharge data of the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy.
Version: 2Date:15 December 2009
Reviewer: Brian Smith
Reviewer's report:
Dr. Manfredini et al have submitted an impressively-powered work that will likely
be the definitive paper on seasonal varability of PUD. I commend him and his
colleagues on their work. I do have some revisions that I would like them to
address however.
Major Compulsory Revisions:
1) The discussion section lacks focus and adequate organization. It needs to be
significantly condensed. Specifically, the 5th paragraph can be combined with the
first, and the 3rd and 4th can be combined and all can be tightened up. There is
a disconnect between the cited referrences and their pertinence to this data set.
2) The authors need to increase their emphasis on explanations/etiologies of
seasonal admission variables ie what patterns of NSAID use may be leading to
some of the seasonal variations in admission, etc. They have shown seasonal
variation. Now the reader would like to know the authors' thoughts as to why
there is variability and what can be done with this knowledge.
3) The conclusion section needs to be concise and not introduce any new
material/concepts/referrences. This section should be re-written to reflect a true
summarization of the material.
Minor Essential Revisions:
1) Overall English is good. The paper just needs to be polished up as far as
misspellings/incorrect words/syntax, once all corrections have been made.
Discretionary Revisions:
The study may have slightly more impact if the authors spend a few lines
discussing the overall importance of seasonally-associated causal factors of PUD
ie NSAID use, alcohol consumption during certain times of the year, seasonal or
regional variability in H. pylori infection, etc.
Finally, given the association between low socioeconomic status with H. pylori
infection, perhaps the authors should consider commenting on the overall
incidence of H. pylori in their region. As the most important etiologic factor in
PUD development, the role of H. pylori in this patient population is particularly
relevant here.
Level of interest: An article whose findings are important to those with closely
related research interests
Quality of written English: Needs some language corrections before being
published
Statistical review: Yes, but I do not feel adequately qualified to assess the
statistics.
Declaration of competing interests:
No to all of the above. I declare that I have no competing interest.
Please review this paper.
user
Reviewer's report
Title:Annual pattern of peptic ulcer hospitalizations: a retrospective analysis of
hospital discharge data of the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy.
Version: 2Date:15 December 2009
Reviewer: Brian Smith
Reviewer's report:
Dr. Manfredini et al have submitted an impressively-powered work that will likely
be the definitive paper on seasonal varability of PUD. I commend him and his
colleagues on their work. I do have some revisions that I would like them to
address however.
Major Compulsory Revisions:
1) The discussion section lacks focus and adequate organization. It needs to be
significantly condensed. Specifically, the 5th paragraph can be combined with the
first, and the 3rd and 4th can be combined and all can be tightened up. There is
a disconnect between the cited referrences and their pertinence to this data set.
2) The authors need to increase their emphasis on explanations/etiologies of
seasonal admission variables ie what patterns of NSAID use may be leading to
some of the seasonal variations in admission, etc. They have shown seasonal
variation. Now the reader would like to know the authors' thoughts as to why
there is variability and what can be done with this knowledge.
3) The conclusion section needs to be concise and not introduce any new
material/concepts/referrences. This section should be re-written to reflect a true
summarization of the material.
Minor Essential Revisions:
1) Overall English is good. The paper just needs to be polished up as far as
misspellings/incorrect words/syntax, once all corrections have been made.
Discretionary Revisions:
The study may have slightly more impact if the authors spend a few lines
discussing the overall importance of seasonally-associated causal factors of PUD
ie NSAID use, alcohol consumption during certain times of the year, seasonal or
regional variability in H. pylori infection, etc.
Finally, given the association between low socioeconomic status with H. pylori
infection, perhaps the authors should consider commenting on the overall
incidence of H. pylori in their region. As the most important etiologic factor in
PUD development, the role of H. pylori in this patient population is particularly
relevant here.
Level of interest: An article whose findings are important to those with closely
related research interests
Quality of written English: Needs some language corrections before being
published
Statistical review: Yes, but I do not feel adequately qualified to assess the
statistics.
Declaration of competing interests:
No to all of the above. I declare that I have no competing interest.
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