Peer Review in a General Medical Research Journal Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Key Points

Question  How did peer review change from before to during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic at a large open-access general medical journal?

Findings  In this cohort study of 5013 manuscripts reviewed and peer reviews invited by an open-access general medical journal, peer review turnaround time was slightly shorter and editor-reported review quality was modestly increased during the first year of the pandemic.

Meaning  This study found that peer review at a large, open-access general medical journal remained resilient during the first 15 months of the pandemic despite shifts in in the dynamics of the review process.