Rheumatology (Bulgaria) is a peer-reviewed, Gold Open Access scientific journal owned and published by the Bulgarian Society for Rheumatology. The journal provides a platform for the dissemination of high-quality scientific, clinical, translational, and interdisciplinary research across the broad field of rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases.

The journal aims to support the advancement of rheumatology by publishing scientifically sound and clinically relevant work that contributes to improved understanding, diagnosis, treatment, and long-term management of rheumatic and musculoskeletal conditions. Its scope encompasses inflammatory arthritis, connective tissue diseases, vasculitides, crystal-induced arthropathies, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis and metabolic bone diseases, musculoskeletal pain disorders, and other conditions relevant to contemporary rheumatological practice.

Rheumatology (Bulgaria) also welcomes research addressing immunological mechanisms, biomarkers, genetics, epidemiology, pharmacotherapy, rehabilitation, musculoskeletal imaging, ultrasonography, laboratory diagnostics, health-related quality of life, patient-reported outcomes, and healthcare delivery. Interdisciplinary submissions involving related fields such as internal medicine, clinical immunology, dermatology, orthopaedics, radiology, physical and rehabilitation medicine, endocrinology, pulmonology, nephrology, cardiology, and clinical pharmacology may be considered when they have clear relevance to rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases.

The journal publishes the following types of manuscripts:

• Original Articles;

• Editorials;

• Invited Reviews;

• Clinical Rheumatology Cases;

• Case-Based Reviews;

• Society Recommendations/Guidelines/Consensus Statements;

• Letters to the Editor.

Particular emphasis is placed on research, clinical practice, recommendations, and educational content relevant to Bulgarian and Balkan rheumatology. National and regional guidelines, consensus statements, and recommendations developed by professional societies or expert groups are considered for publication provided that they follow a transparent methodology and comply with internationally accepted scientific, editorial, and ethical standards.

The journal serves rheumatologists, physicians in related medical specialties, clinical researchers, healthcare professionals, trainees, and other readers with an interest in rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases. Through the publication of original research, expert reviews, clinical cases, and professional recommendations, the journal seeks to facilitate the exchange of scientific knowledge and promote evidence-based clinical practice.

All manuscripts are subject to editorial assessment and, where appropriate, independent peer review. Editorial decisions are based on scientific quality, originality, methodological validity, clarity, ethical compliance, and relevance to the journal’s scope. The journal is committed to editorial independence, transparency, research integrity, and internationally recognized standards of publication ethics.

Open Access Policy

Rheumatology (Bulgaria) is a fully open access journal. All journal content is freely and immediately available online without charge to the user or their institution, without embargo and without any requirement for registration or subscription.

Users are permitted to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, link to the full texts of the articles, crawl them for indexing, pass them as data to software, and use them for any other lawful purpose, subject to the terms of the applicable open license.

All scholarly articles published in Rheumatology (Bulgaria) are distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). This license permits sharing and adaptation of the published material for any lawful purpose, including commercial use, provided that appropriate credit is given to the original author(s) and source, a link to the license is provided, and any changes made are indicated.

Authors retain copyright in their published work. No embargo period applies to published articles, and access to the full text does not require payment, subscription, or user registration.

Article Processing Charge

Manuscripts submitted after August 1, 2026, that are accepted for publication are subject to an Article Processing Charge of EUR 100 (exclusive of VAT). The APC is applied only after the manuscript has successfully completed the editorial and peer-review process and has received an official acceptance decision. Payment of the APC does not influence editorial evaluation, peer review, or the decision to accept or reject a manuscript.

Digital Object Identifiers

A Digital Object Identifier (DOI) is assigned to all peer-reviewed articles published in the journal since 2018. DOI registration supports the permanent identification, discoverability, citation, and long-term accessibility of published content.

Indexing and Abstracting

Rheumatology (Bulgaria) is indexed or represented in the following services and databases:

• Scopus;

• EMBASE — Excerpta Medica;

• Google Scholar;

• Crossref;

• Open Ukrainian Citation Index (OUCI);

• Central Medical Library – Bulgaria;

• Bulgarian Medical Literature Database.

Archiving and Digital Preservation

Rheumatology (Bulgaria) participates in the PKP Preservation Network (PKP PN), which provides long-term preservation and continued access to the journal’s published content through a distributed preservation infrastructure.

Issues of Rheumatology (Bulgaria) published from 2022 onwards are preserved through the PKP Preservation Network (PKP PN). Issues published before 2022 remain accessible through the journal’s legacy archive.

Earlier issues

Issues published before 2022 are available in the journal’s legacy archive. Issues from 2022 onwards are available on this platform. Both platforms provide access to the publication history of Rheumatology (Bulgaria).

Journal Identification

Online ISSN: 2738-831X
Print ISSN: 1310-0505