"based on a single patient" case report

What is a case report in psychology?

A case report is a descriptive study that documents an unusual clinical phenomenon in a single patient. It describes in details the patient’s history, signs, symptoms, test results, diagnosis, prognosis and treatment.

What should be included in a patient case report?

Summary: The format of a patient case report encompasses the following five sections: an abstract, an introduction and objective that contain a literature review, a description of the case report, a discussion that includes a detailed explanation of the literature review, a summary of the case, and a conclusion.

What is a clinical case report in nursing?

WHAT IS A CLINICAL CASE REPORT? A case report is a detailed report of the symptoms, signs, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of an individual patient. Case reports usually describe an unusual or novel occurrence and as such, remain one of the cornerstones of medical progress and provide many new ideas in medicine.

How to write a patient case study?

Writing Your Patient Case Study 1 Work on Your Introduction Select a case. You have to identify your focus and scope for the study. ... 2 Get to Know the Participants You can have one or multiple case participants. ... 3 Perform Data Analyses Method Your results will depend on your interpretation of the raw data. ... 4 Report the Case Study Results

What is a case report?

Case Report: A Beginner’s Guide with Examples. A case report is a descriptive study that documents an unusual clinical phenomenon in a single patient. It describes in details the patient’s history, signs, symptoms, test results, diagnosis, prognosis and treatment.

Why do we need case reports?

Case reports offer, in general a fast, easy and cheap way to report an unusual observation or a rare event in a clinical setting, as these have very small probability of being detected in an experimental study because of limitations on the number of patients that can be included.

Is a case report causal?

Observing a relationship between an exposure and a disease in a case report does not mean that it is causal in nature. The absence of a control group that provides a benchmark or a point of reference against which we compare our results. A control group is important to eliminate the role of external factors which can interfere with ...

Is a case report representative of the entire population?

So, results from a case report cannot be representative of the entire population.

What is a patient case study?

Writing Your Patient Case Study. Since patient case studies are generally descriptive, they are under the a phenomenological principle. This means that subjectivity is entertained and allowed in research design. The medical scenarios are open to the researcher’s interpretation and input of insights.

Why do medical practitioners use case studies?

Medical practitioners use case studies to examine a medical condition in the context of a research question. They perform research and analyses that adhere to the scientific method of investigation and abide by ethical research protocols. The following are case study samples and guides on case presentation.

What is a case study?

Case studies are a qualitative research method that offers a complete and in-depth look into some of the situations that baffled medical science. They document the cases that escape the ordinary in a hospital that has seen a manifold of plights. They serve as cautionary tales of the intricacy in dealing with human health.

How do case studies make a difference in the medical arena?

Patient case studies make a difference in the medical arena by reporting clinical interactions that can improve medical practices, suggest new health projects, as well as provide a new research direction. By looking at an event as it exists in the natural setting, case studies shed understanding on a complex medical phenomenon.

Can you generalize a population using one case study?

You cannot generalize a population using one case study. However, multiple case study contains two or more cases under the point of interest can give you a replicated result. When the findings remain true for several cases under this research method, your case study’s results become more reliable.

Should you look into all possible explanations for a medical condition?

You should look into all of the possible explanations for the medical condition at hand. If a plight can be explained by more than one reason , then you have to look into the less obvious but similarly compelling explanations. Make your case study as informative as possible.

Is a clinical interaction report valid for generalization?

Since it documents stand-out clinical interactions where a single person or a few number of people are a party of, the findings may not be valid for generalization for a wider population.

Why is reporting single cases important?

Additionally, reporting single cases and series of cases is an important aspect of clinical research, especially for medical students, who often have limited funds for research and eagerness to contribute to medical science.

What is a case report?

A case report is a detailed narrative that usually illustrates a diagnostic or therapeutic problem experienced by one or several patients. Case reports commonly serve as the first line of evidence for new interventions or they function as alarms that an issue exists with an already established therapy. Case reports are of minor importance in evidence-based medicine; however, they make meaningful contributions to both the knowledge and education of medical students, residents, and fellows. Case reports are written with the goal of sharing information for medical, scientific, or educational purposes. They often serve as medical or even undergraduate students’ first experience with medical writing and they provide a solid foundation for manuscript preparation and publication. In the last few decades, there has been an exponential increase in medical student research, specifically in the number of manuscripts published by medical students. It is important to foster this academic spirit among students by encouraging them to become involved in research. This editorial will focus on the value and educational benefits of writing case reports for medical students, university students, residents, and fellows.

Why do we need case reports?

Case reports may serve as a source for detecting rare adverse events, at times leading to the removal of drugs from the market. Going back to the example of psoriasis, the phenomenon of psoriasis exacerbation with the use of interferon alpha was first described in a case report [ 10 ]. There are abundant examples of severe side effects of drugs that were detected after the drugs were approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. Furthermore, case reports help to identify side effects due to interaction between drugs, as well as side effects due to drugs being given to patients with renal failure.

What do medical students learn from patient cases?

By offering to write up such a case, medical students will learn how to perform a literature review, communicate with various physicians in charge with the care of the patient, structure a manuscript, gain consent from the patient, collect data from various sources in the clinic, and how to submit and revise the manuscript. All of these skills are worth crafting early in the career of a medical student. Additionally, reporting single cases and series of cases is an important aspect of clinical research, especially for medical students, who often have limited funds for research and eagerness to contribute to medical science.

What is the purpose of writing a case report?

By writing a case report or case series, students gain experience in literature search and medical writing. Also, students execute the steps of evidence-based medicine, which consists of formulating a clinical question, finding the best evidence, critically appraising the evidence, and applying the evidence to the patient.

Why are case reports important?

Case reports are written with the goal of sharing information for medical, scientific, or educational purposes.

When encountering a rare pathology in the dermatologic clinic, one of the frequent procedures is to perform a

When encountering a rare pathology in the dermatologic clinic, one of the frequent procedures is to perform a search for similar cases in any of the search engines . A vigorous literature search in itself can be a valuable task assigned to a medical student.

What is a case report?

A case report is an unsystematic clinical observation that states the outcome or response of a single patient to a diagnostic strategy or treatment . Case reports serve to document and share novel cases amongst the medical community for educational purposes.

When case reports describe or discuss unique or rare circumstances, as they often do, it may be difficult or impossible to answer

When case reports describe or discuss unique or rare circumstances, as they often do, it may be difficult or impossible to de-identify those cases such that there is no reasonable expectation that the individuals included can be identified, so patient authorization generally would be required.

When safe harbor de-identification is not possible or the opportunity to identify the patient exists, even after de-ident

When safe harbor de-identification is not possible or the opportunity to identify the patient exists, even after de-identification, the expert determination method for de-identification can be considered. For purposes of de-identification, an expert is defined as: A person with appropriate knowledge of and experience with generally accepted statistical and scientific principles and methods for rendering information not individually identifiable:

Is PHI de-identified under HIPAA?

It is important to understand that determining whether data are de-identified under HIPAA is a more restrictive determination than determining whether private information is individually identifiable under the Common Rule. The HIPAA rule considers PHI as any information that may identify an individual; was created or received by a member of a HIPAA covered entity; and relates to the individual's past, present, or future physical/mental health or condition, health care, or payment for health care. HIPAA recognizes two methods for de-identification of data.

What is the introduction section of a case study?

Introduction: This section briefs the reader about the topic of the study. It includes the patient’s profile, medical plight, related literature review, as well as the background of the entire case.

Why are case studies not an instrument for generalizing findings?

Recommendation: Case studies are not an instrument for generalizing findings because the data is non-representative of a wider population.

Why are case studies useful?

Case studies are a versatile research method that is useful in multiple domains of research. Its naturalistic design enables researchers to view a subject in its ecosystem, with less disruption, unlike experimental research.

What is an abstract in a case study?

Some cases include an abstract in their study. Abstract, on the other hand, is a summary of the research. Method: This page presents the research design and the approach that the researchers took. The case study approach is often in the form of surveys, interviews, and questionnaires.

What is case study design?

Although a more common research methodology in social sciences, case studies isn’t just a scientific window into human experience in its real-life context. Researchers also use case studies in life sciences. As a matter of fact, this research strategy originated from the medical sciences as a retrospective investigation ...

Can you do case studies?

You can do case studies in an attempt to answer a lot of questions. However, it’s not always the appropriate approach to a problem. Maybe the query is better dealt with with an experimental research design. Do not mistake the versatility of the method as a cure-all alternative that you think will cost you less work.

Advantages of Case Reports

Limitations of Case Reports

Real-World Examples of Case Reports

• Example 1: Normal plasma cholesterol in an 88-year-old man who eats 25 eggs a day
  This is the case of an old man with Alzheimer’s disease who has been eating 20-30 eggs every day for almost 15 years. [Source] The man had an LDL-cholesterol level of only 142 mg/dL (3.68 mmol/L) and no significant clinical atherosclerosis (deposition of cholesterol in arterial walls)! H…
• Example 2: Recovery from the passage of an iron bar through the head
  This is an interesting case of a construction foreman named Phineas Gage. [Source] In 1848, due to an explosion at work, an iron bar passed through his head destroying a large portion of his brain’s frontal lobe. He survived the event and the injury only affected 1 thing: His personality! Af…

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References

Further Reading

Abstract

Format of The Patient Case Report

• Case reports should encompass the following five sections: an abstract, an introduction and objective with a literature review, a description of the case report, a discussion that includes a detailed explanation of the literature review, a summary of the case, and a conclusion.6,7 Supplementary parts such as tables, figures, graphs, and illustratio...

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Summary

Conclusion

Appendix A—Criteria For Publishable Case Reports