Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more.

The first issue of the World Journal of Critical Care Medicine (WJCCM), whose preparatory work was initiated on December 16, 2010, will be published on February 4, 2012. The WJCCM Editorial Board has now been established and consists of 105 distinguished experts from 27 countries. Our purpose of launching the WJCCM is to publish peer-reviewed, high-quality articles via an open-access online publishing model, thereby acting as a platform for communication between peers and the wider public, and maximizing the benefits to editorial board members, authors and readers.