how to write a patient case report for publication

A case report should be crisp, focused, and include few figures and references. A case report generally has a short unstructured or no abstract, a brief or no introduction, a description of the case, a discussion and a brief conclusion.

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How to write a report based on a case study?

• The title should contain a phrase like case study or case report, so that readers understand what type of study it is.
• An effective title might also say what condition the patient had, how it was treated, and whether the outcome was successful.
• Most titles are less than 10 words long.

Can I write my own case report?

You can write a report and ask the judge to consider it, and if the circumstances are complex, probably should — same if the damages are composed of more than a few items, and you can attach receipts, etc. Remember, whatever you submit to the judge you must submit an exact copy to the other side, so you will need a total of three copies (one for yourself).

How to actually get your patients to write a review?

Are you posting a comment because:

• You want to help others by providing genuine insights?
• You are furious and feel the need to vent?
• You are seeking revenge for a high bill or a canceled appointment?
• You are a serial poster who simply likes posting across all social platforms?

Where can I publish a case report?

Tools to Use When Deciding Where to Publish

• Jane (Journal / Author Name Estimator) Search for journals that might be interested in publishing your article. ...
• Journal Citation Reports Weighs and ranks journals by a number of criteria. ...
• Journal Citation Reports Quick Reference Cards Handout showing how to use JCR including definitions of various metrics and screenshots.

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How do you write a case report for publication?

Case Reports may contain a demographic profile of the patient but usually describes an unusual or novel occurrence.Step 1: Identify the Category of Your Case Report. ... Step 2: Select an Appropriate Journal. ... Step 3: Structure Your Case Report According to the Journal Format. ... Step 4: Start Writing.More items...•

How do you write a patient case report?

III. Patient case presentationDescribe the case in a narrative form.Provide patient demographics (age, sex, height, weight, race, occupation).Avoid patient identifiers (date of birth, initials).Describe the patient's complaint.List the patient's present illness.List the patient's medical history.More items...•

Do case reports count as publications?

Case reports have now been developed and accepted as a scholarly publication to disseminate knowledge to a wide medical audience.

What is a case report publication?

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.

What does a case report include?

An article that describes and interprets an individual case, often written in the form of a detailed story. Case reports often describe: Unique cases that cannot be explained by known diseases or syndromes. Cases that show an important variation of a disease or condition.

How do you write a good patient care report?

There are seven elements (at a minimum) that we have identified as essential components to documenting a well written and complete narrative.Dispatch & Response Summary. ... Scene Summary. ... HPI/Physical Exam. ... Interventions. ... Status Change. ... Safety Summary. ... Disposition.

Can case report as a original article?

A case report with a literature review cannot be considered as an original research article. You can maybe consider publishing the case report first and then build on the idea for a separate original research article.

How many words should a case report be?

While the guidelines and template contain much detail, your finished case study should be only 500 to 1,500 words in length. Therefore, you will need to write efficiently and avoid unnecessarily flowery language.

How much does it cost to publish a case report?

Case Report Author InstructionsTitleArticle Processing ChargeClinical Case Reports$1000Clinical Medicine Insights. Case Reports$1848Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism Case Reports$630Epilepsy & Behavior Reports$700-$2,20033 more rows

How do you write a case report PDF?

The sections of the case report are the title, abstract with keywords, introduction, case description, discussion with conclusions and references. The case report should be clear, concise, coherent, and must convey a crisp message. Common pitfalls and mistakes will be discussed.

What is required to submit a case report?

Journals often have specific requirements for publishing case reports, which could include a requirement for informed consent, a letter or statement from the IRB and other things.

Why is it important to write a case report?

the reason you would go to the trouble of writing one, is that the case is sufficiently unique, rare or interesting such that other medical professionals will learn something from it.

What is a case report?

What is a case report? A medical case report, also known as a case study, is a detailed description of a clinical encounter with a patient. The most important aspect of a case report, i.e. the reason you would go to the trouble of writing one, is that the case is sufficiently unique, rare or interesting such that other medical professionals will learn something from it.

Does CHM have funding for publication?

It is best practice to check the journal's Info for Authors section or Author Center to determine what the cost is to publish. CHM does NOT have funds to support publication costs, so this is an important step if you do not want to pay out of pocket for publishing.

Do you need informed consent for a case report?

Although not technically required, especially if the case report does not include any identifying information, some journals require informed consent for all case reports. The CARE guidelines recommend obtaining informed consent AND the patient's perspective on the treatment/outcome (if possible).

Do journals have informed consent?

Journals may have their own informed consent form that they would like you to use, so please look for this when selecting a journal. Once you've identified the case, selected an appropriate journal (s), and considered informed consent, you can collect the required information to write the case report.

Does HIPAA apply to case reports?

First, you will be collecting protected health information, thus HIPAA applies to case reports. Spectrum Health has created a very helpful guidance document for case reports, which you can see here: Case Report Guidance - Spectrum Health. While this guidance document was created by Spectrum Health, the rules and regulations outlined could apply ...

What is a 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. Some reports contain an extensive review of the relevant literature on the topic. The case report is a rapid short communication between busy clinicians who may not have time or resources to conduct large scale research.

Why do we publish cases?

The most common reasons for publishing a case are the following: 1) an unexpected association between diseases or symptoms; 2) an unexpected event in the course observing or treating a patient; 3) findings that shed new light on the possible pathogenesis of a disease or an adverse effect; 4) unique or rare features of a disease; 5) unique therapeutic approaches; variation of anatomical structures.

What is the conclusion of a case report?

A case report ends with a conclusion or with summary points, depending on the journal's specified format. This section should briefly give readers the key points covered in the case report. Here, the author can give suggestions and recommendations to clinicians, teachers, or researchers. Some journals do not want a separate section for the conclusion: it can then be the concluding paragraph of the Discussion section.

Do you need informed consent for a case report?

Informed consent in an ethical requirement for most studies involving humans, so before you start writing your case report, take a written consent from the patient as all journals require that you provide it at the time of manuscript submission. In case the patient is a minor, parental consent is required. For adults who are unable to consent to investigation or treatment, consent of closest family members is required.

How to write a case report introduction?

The introduction should provide background information on why the case is worth reading and publishing, and provides an explanation of the focus of the case report, for example: “We present/report a case of ….” Merit of the case report needs to be explained in light of the previous literature, thus, a focussed comprehensive literature review is required to corroborate the author's claim in this section. The author should bear in mind that a more detailed literature review belongs to the discussion, although critical evaluation of the literature is still required.5For some journals, such as BJR (case of the month), there is no Introduction section and the body of the case reports starts immediately with a description of the case.

Why is it important to write a case report?

For many doctors and other healthcare professionals, writing a case report represents the first effort at getting articles published in medical journals and it is considered a useful exercise in learning how to write scientifically due to similarity of the basic methodology.1Case reports aim to convey a clinical message.2,3Despite different types of case reports, they all aim to enhance the reader's knowledge on the clinical manifestations, the diagnostic approach (with a focus on imaging modalities for case reports published in medical imaging/radiology journals), or the therapeutic alternatives of a disease.2–4Thus, a case report worthy of reading should contain both useful practical messages and educational purpose.2–5

What are the sections of a case report?

Case reports should encompass the following five sections: an abstract, an introduction with a literature review, a description of the case report, a discussion that includes a detailed explanation of the literature review, and a brief summary of the case and a conclusion.21 ,22Tables, figures, graphs, and illustrations comprise the supplementary parts and will enhance the case report's flow and clarity. Unlike original articles, case reports do not follow the usual IMRAD (introduction, methods, results, and discussion) format of manuscript organization. As the format for case reports varies greatly among different journals, it is important for authors to read carefully and follow the target journal's instructions to authors.

What is the role of case reports in medical imaging?

Two main roles are recognized for case reports published in medical imaging and radiology journals: as sources of new knowledge and as important means for education and learning.

Why are case reports important?

Although case reports are regarded by some as the lowest (some even do not list the case reports at all) in the hierarchy of evidence in the medical literature, publishing case reports allow for anecdotal sharing of individual experiences , providing essential sources of information for the optimum care of patients.

What is case report?

Abstract. A case report is a description of important scientific observations that are missed or undetectable in clinical trials. This includes a rare or unusual clinical condition, a previously unreported or unrecognized disease, unusual side effects to therapy or response to treatment, and unique use of imaging modalities or diagnostic tests ...

Should the author's interpretation or inferences be avoided in the body of a case report?

The author's own interpretation or inferences should be avoided in the body of a case report. Tables/figures should be used to reveal chronological findings or to compare observations using different methods.

What is a clinical case report?

The clinical case report has been an integral part of medical literature throughout history. The oldest example of a preserved clinical case in medical literature is a text from an ancient Egyptian papyrus dating from the 16thto the 17thdynasty, 1600 BC, addressing the management of dislocated jawbone.[5] From Hippocratic case histories, “Epidemics” 400 BC, through Galenic case reports, in the second century AD, case reports were usually used to tell other doctors or colleagues about interesting cases they have encountered. Muslim scholars have reported case histories as well, particularly, Abu Bakr Mohamed Ibn Zakariya Al-Razi (865–929 AD), where he left a large collection of case reports in his 25-volume medical encyclopedia “Kitab Al-Hawi.”[5]

What is a case report?

The case report is a research design where an unexpected or novel occurrence is described in a detailed report of findings, clinical course, and prognosis of an individual patient, which might be, but not mandatory, accompanied by a review of the literature of other reported cases. Although case reports are considered the lowest in the hierarchy of evidence-based practice in the medical literature [Figure 1], it provides essential information for unfamiliar events and shared individual experiences, for better understanding and optimizing patient care. This approach might generate an idea or hypothesis, but it will not be confirmed unless we conduct further confirmatory quantitative experimental or observational study designs such as clinical trials or cohort studies. Despite that, case report provides the medical community with information which cannot be picked up by any other designs. Just to name a few, in 1819, James Parkinson published a case report entitled “An essay on the shaking palsy”[6] and lead to the discovery of Parkinson's disease. And in 1981, a case report was published in the literature as “Preliminary communication on extensively disseminated Kaposi sarcoma in a young homosexual man”[7] few years later, HIV from this case report was discovered. Furthermore, in 2012, Ali Zaki reported an article in New England Journal of Medicine titled “Isolation of a novel coronavirus from a man with pneumonia in Saudi Arabia” which ultimately, lead to the discovery of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus.[8] All those previous examples show how important is case report in the advancement of medical practice. The case report might be in the tail of the hierarchy of evidence-based medicine but if properly selected and appropriately reported it might stand a better chance of publication in high impact journals than even a clinical trial.

How to know if a case is appropriate for reporting?

Once you have a potential case, how would you know if this is an appropriate for reporting or not? Especially if you are a novice physician, once you encounter a possible case and you are suspecting if this patient fulfills one of those criteria which are described in Table 1. The first step is a high index of suspicion; keep your eyes open for every case, once you suspect a case then ask your colleagues either directly or in a group related to the same discipline, locally, to confirm that this could be a case report. The next step would be asking an expert from the national or international medical community about this case scenario, get their opinion and feedback, including the appropriateness of reporting this case. Once the feedback is positive, perform extensive literature search, through PubMed, Embase, Google Scholar, and databases for case reports to ensure that you retrieve all available information on this topic. Do not forget to look at popular case reports which are not indexed in PubMed and read through previously published case reports that will enhance your understanding of the subject and gives you a general scaffold to prepare your own report.

How many authors are allowed in a book?

2. Authors name: Should not exceed more than six authors

How many words should a case report be?

The word count for case report may vary from one journal to another, but generally should not exceed 1500 words, therefore, your final version of the report should be clear, concise, and focused, including only relevant information with enough details.[3] If a shorter version is required by the journal, then you can always edit or trim off the discussion section of your article. The general format adopted for most case reports is detailed in the following subsection and summarized as a checklist in Table 2.

How long to wait to write a case report?

Give the case an appropriate time frame in the course of the disease to observe the development over time. Wait for 6 months during multiple visits, before you start writing a case report to allow adequate time to complete the clinical course.

Why is case report important?

Case report, as a research design, describes important scientific observations that are encountered in a clinical setting to expand our knowledge base. Preparing a case report is far easier than conducting any other elaborative research design. Case report, with its main components, should be focused and delivers a clear message. In this article, the key components of a case report were described with the aim of providing guidance to novice authors to improve the quality of their reporting.

What is a case report?

A simple online search shows the following definition from “thefreedictionary.com” [8]: “Case Report A report of a single case of a disease, usually with an unexpected presentation, which typically describes the findings, clinical course, and prognosis of the case, often accompanied by a review of other cases previously reported in the biomedical literature to put the reported case in context.” Wikipedia [9] has this to say: “In medicine, a case report is a detailed report of the symptoms, signs, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of an individual patient. Case reports may contain a demographic profile of the patient, but usually describe an unusual or novel occurrence. Some case reports also contain a literature review of other reported cases.” Whether one uses the above definitional references or older more classic ones [10], all are in agreement.

Why are case reports important?

to 370 B.C.), and even arguably further back since the papyrus records of ancient Egyptian medicine (c. 1600 B.C.) to modern day, physicians of all specialties have described interesting cases involving all specialties [1,2]. Published case reports provide essential information for optimal patient care because they can describe important scientific observations that are missed or undetected in clinical trials, and provide individual clinical insights thus expanding our knowledge base [3].

What is the BMC case database?

To further strengthen this commitment, BMC in conjunction with Michael Kidd have developed the invaluable new resource of Cases Database, a continually updated, freely accessible database of thousands of medical case reports from multiple other publishers, including Springer, British Medical Journal, and PubMed Central. By aggregating case reports and facilitating comparison, Cases Database provides a simple resource to clinicians, researchers, regulators and patients to explore content and identify emerging trends [20].

How many BMC journals are there?

The BMC series is a group of open access, peer-reviewed journals that spans most areas of biological and clinical research. There are currently 65 journals in the series, including (alphabetically) BMC Anesthesiology to BMC Women’s Health. Some of these publish case reports within their respective disciplines, and some do not [17].

What is the introduction of a manuscript?

The Introduction or Background serves as the sales pitch for the rest of the manuscript. It should be concise and salient [3] and immediately attract the reader’s attention to entice him or her to read on.

What should be included in a case presentation?

The Case presentation section should contain a description of the patient’s relevant demographic information (with out adding any details that could lead to the identification of the patient); any relevant medical history of the patient; the patient's symptoms and signs; any tests that were carried out and a description of any treatment or intervention. If it is a case series, then details must be included for all patients. This section may be broken into subsections with appropriate subheadings.

What is the introduction section of a case report?

The Introduction (JMCR) or Background (BMCRN) section should explain the background of the case, including the disorder, usual presentation and progression, and an explanation of the presentation if it is a new disease. If it is a case discussing an adverse drug interaction the Introduction should give details of the drug’s common use and any previously reported side effects. It should also include a brief literature review. This should give an introduction to the case report from the standpoint of those without specialist knowledge in the area, clearly explaining the background of the topic. It should end with a very brief statement of what is being reported in the article.

Abstract

Format of The Patient Case Report

Summary

Conclusion

Appendix A—Criteria For Publishable Case Reports

• Publishable patient case reports include cases that: 1. Advance medical science and spawn research; 2. Describe rare, perplexing, or novel diagnostic features of a disease state; 3. Report therapeutic challenges, controversies, or dilemmas; 4. Describe a new surgical procedure; 5. Report how a drug can enhance a surgical procedure; 6. Teach humanis...

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