1 What Is the Purpose of a Letter to the Editor?

Most journals have a section called ‘Letters to the Editor’, the purpose of which is to obtain feedback from the readers on an article regarding whether they have a different interpretation of the results, wish to provide constructive comments or clarify any missing links in the piece [1, 2]. This is usually in the form of a short communication and written in response to original articles, case reports or reviews. The editors prefer this type of communication to be sent online initially as it is quicker and for the person who writes such a letter it is an additional publication when it is printed.

figure a

2 How Is a Letter to the Editor Published?

Generally, all articles published in reputed journals have been carefully peer-reviewed. However, occasionally, confusing data are still published which have been overlooked by the editors. In this situation, a reader sends a letter to the editor indicating his opinion about the manuscript. Once the editorial office decides that the letter is relevant it sends this to the corresponding author of the article. Both the letter and the author’s reply are then published in a subsequent edition of the journal. The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors recommends that the letter and its answer should be published together [3]. Besides, some MEDLINE-indexed journals print these letters with their responses under the title of original articles to avoid them escaping the attention of their readers.

3 What Are the Types of Letters to the Editor?

There are two types: [1]

  1. 1.

    The common variety—a commentary on previously published material in the journal. The comment can be positive or negative. It may also give suggestions, feedback on any data which has been missed or is lacking in the manuscript.

  2. 2.

    Uncommon variant—this piece of information is new for the journal and may include general comments on health care, patient-related policies or the quality of the journal.

4 What Are the Practical Tips for Writing a Letter to the Editor?

The letter should be short and should have a clear purpose [4]. Table 27.1 provides an overview.

Table 27.1 Overview of letter to the editor
Full size table

5 Conclusions

  • Letters to the editor are of two types, in response to scientific information published in the journal or to provide new information.

  • The larger number of letters received the greater is the popularity of the journal.

  • After journal clubs students should be encouraged to write letters to the editors about any information in an article they find that is missing or unclear.