Review papers are essential in a world where the expansion of information and scientific knowledge have become astronomical in most domains [1–3]. As secondary research publications, review papers exist to both summarise and synthesise previously published work in a field, and in the process offer appraisal and critique. Accordingly, a review paper is considered to be of good quality if it is analytical, critical, comprehensive, selective, relevant, synthetic and fully referenced. A well written review provides the framework for highlighting new perspectives, insights and deficiencies on which further research endeavour can be based [1–3].

The European Respiratory Review (ERR) provides an unique portal for the publication and dissemination of high quality reviews in the field of respiratory medicine: be they focussed on translational, clinical, technical or epidemiological work. Like every journal which grows organically with time and evolves, I am pleased to report that we have made some important strides in the past 2.5 years (2022–2024) and it has been a privilege and a pleasure to be appointed as the first female Chief Editor. Curating knowledge in any scientific and medical field is a tremendous responsibility and I have been pleased to see the high standard of submissions over the past couple of years. During this period, with the assistance of an outstanding editorial board and the many reviewers who have given freely of their time and expertise, we have maintained the impact factor of 9, ranking the ERR in eighth place in the respiratory system journals. This achievement also bears testament to previous chief editors, authors and editorial boards engaged with the journal who have contributed to its success; from its inception over 25 years ago and its first impact factor in 2018 of 4.929. During this period, the journal citation indicator has also grown to 1.86. The scope and breadth of submissions over the past 2 years has continued to rise, including some excellent papers in the fields of physiology, rehabilitation medicine, physiotherapy, paediatrics, sleep and cystic fibrosis. Between 2022 and 2024, a number of commissioned series have been published, some coinciding with the themes of the European Respiratory Society (ERS) Congress (specifically environmental issues and lung health), and we have continued to support the Respiratory Failure and Mechanical Ventilation conference as well as the Lung Science Conference, inter alia, with important reviews arising from their proceedings. A greater number of meta-analyses and scoping reviews are now being submitted with the criteria for both narrative and meta-analytic reviews published in our author guidelines section being strictly enforced. We hope thereby, to open a new chapter for the journal that avoids the publication of potentially biassed narrative reviews that fail to disclose the limitations of their literature searches, paradigms or scope. The “summaries” included with each review allow the reader to quickly assess the impact of each manuscript with regards to “known knowns” and what still requires further exploration and expansion when it comes to deepening our understanding and knowledge in a particular area.

Submissions to the journal remain reasonably high at just under 300 annual submissions, with an acceptance rate of just over 30%. The ERR has a worldwide audience ranging from readers in the USA, to India, China and Australia; I am finally proud to say that European colleagues are engaging with the ERR more than ever, occupying five of the first 12 spots in respect of readership.

The ERR has continued to participate in and support the ERS Early Career Editorial Team mentoring programme for early career researchers who wish to gain editorial experience and introduced peer reviewers’ awards for the most the most thorough and valued reviews. Despite difficulties in attracting reviewers at times, particularly in niche areas – a matter which plagues all journals [4] – I remain indebted to those who generously made time to share their expertise, thus upholding the standards of the ERR. Finally, without the incredible professionalism and aptitude of the ERS publications team, none of this would be possible. My thanks to the team for their patience, guidance and support.

On passing the baton on to the next Chief Editor, my sincerest wish is for the ERR to continue to grow in excellence, and by embracing greater scope and diversity remain relevant to all readers, practitioners and researchers in the field of respiratory medicine for many decades to come.