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Avoid the use of abbreviations in the title and subtitle, unless space considerations require an exception (see the first example below) or unless the title or subtitle includes the name of a group that is best known by its acronym (see the second example below). In both cases, the abbreviation should be expanded in the abstract and at first appearance in the text. (See also , Capitalization, Acronyms and Initialisms, and , Abbreviations.)Prevalence of HIV-1 in Blood Donations Following Implementation of a Structured Blood Safety Policy in South Africa Reporting of Noninferiority and Equivalence Randomized Trials: An Extension of the Less

Capitalize the first letter of each major word in titles and subtitles. Do not capitalize articles (eg, a, an, the), prepositions of 3 or fewer letters, coordinating conjunctions (and, or, for, nor, but), or the to in infinitives. Do capitalize a 2-letter verb, such as Is or Be. Exceptions are made for some expressions, such as compound terms from languages other than English and phrasal verbs: Ethical Questions Surrounding In Vitro Fertilization Permanent Duplex Surveillance of In Situ Saphenous Vein Bypasses Choice of Stents and End Points for Treatment of De Novo Coronary Artery Lesions Weighing In on Bariatric Surgery Less

If drug names appear in the title or subtitle, (1) use the approved generic or nonproprietary name, (2) omit the nonbase moiety unless it is required (see , Nomenclature, Drugs), and (3) avoid the use of proprietary names unless (a) several products are being compared, (b) the article is specific to a particular formulation of a drug (eg, the vehicle, not the active substance, caused adverse reactions), or (c) the number of ingredients is so large that the resulting title would be clumsy and a generic term, such as “multivitamin tablet,” would not do. Less

Genus and species should be expanded and italicized in the title or subtitle and an initial capital letter should be used for the genus but not the species name, just as in the text. (See also , Nomenclature, Organisms and Pathogens, Biological Nomenclature.)Elimination of a Community-Acquired Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Infection in a Nurse With Atopic Dermatitis Less

Include cities, states, counties, provinces, or countries in titles only when essential, especially for results that may not be generalizable to other locations (eg, unique to that site).Epidemic of Gang-Related Homicides in Los Angeles County From 1999 Through 2004 Equity of Use of Home-Based or Facility-Based Skilled Obstetric Care in Rural Bangladesh Identification of a New Neisseria meningitidis Serogroup Clone From Anhui Province, China Comparison of Stage at Diagnosis of Melanoma Among Hispanic, Black, and White Patients in Miami Dade County, Florida Gender Disadvantage and Reproductive Health Risk Factors for Common Mental Disorders in Women: A Community Survey in India Less

Follow the style for numbers included in titles as described in , Numbers and Percentages.Educational Programs in US Medical Schools, 2004 2005 Comparison of 2 Methods to Detect Publication Bias in Meta-analyses Skin Reactions in a Subset of Patients With Stage IV Melanoma Treated With T-Lymphocyte Antigen 4 Monoclonal Antibody as a Single Agent If numbers appear at the beginning of a title or subtitle, they and any unit of measure associated with them should be spelled out. Exceptions may be made for years (see also , Numbers and Percentages, Spelling Out Numbers, Beginning a Sentence, Title, Subtitle, or Heading).Primary Less

If quotation marks are required in the title or subtitle, they should be double, not single (see , Punctuation, Quotation Marks, Titles).Above All “Do No Harm”: How Can Errors Be Avoided in Medicine?

Titles should be concise, specific, and informative and should contain the key points of the work. For scientific manuscripts, overly general titles are not desirable (but see also , Names of Cities, Counties, States, Provinces, and Countries). (Note: The shorter, more general title might be appropriate for an editorial or an opinion piece.) Similarly, although the subtitle is frequently useful in expanding on the title, it should not contain key elements of the study as a supplement to an overly general title. However, too much detail also should be avoided. Subtitles should complement the title by providing supplementary information that Less