A case report is one of the most common types of medical research. Publishing a case report in a Scopus journal requires not only an interesting and unique medical example, but also a clear presentation of information and compliance with a number of requirements. Even truly valuable material may be rejected if the authors provide data without an analytical component, novelty or practical significance. What may be the reasons for the rejection of a case report in Scopus? Let us consider this in our article.
What is a case report?
Case report is a scientific article in the field of medicine in which a specific situation from practice is described in detail. This may include the patient’s condition, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, course of the disease and its outcome, etc. Its purpose is to demonstrate the scientific or practical value of the case.
Case report may include:
- a rare disease
- an atypical course of disease
- complex diagnosis
- an unusual response to treatment
- complications after treatment or surgery
- new approaches to treatment
Formatting standards for a case report
For successful publication in a Scopus journal, a case report must comply with international standards and the requirements of a specific publication. When preparing their work, researchers most often rely on the CARE Guidelines – the standard for formatting case reports. It provides for the following elements:
- a title indicating “case report”
- keywords
- abstract
- introduction
- patient information
- clinical data
- diagnostic assessment
- therapeutic intervention
- outcomes
- discussion
- conclusions
Common reasons for the rejection of a case report in Scopus
Lack of scientific novelty
One of the most common reasons for editorial rejection is insufficient novelty of the case report. It is important for the journal that the described case demonstrates something atypical, rare or significant for clinical practice. This may be an unusual course of disease, complex diagnosis, a non-standard response to treatment, a rare complication or a new approach to therapy. If the case is ordinary for clinical practice and does not provide new knowledge for doctors or researchers, the editorial board may consider it insufficiently valuable for an international audience.
Insufficient justification of relevance
A case report should not begin immediately with a description of the patient. The authors must explain why this particular case deserves attention. In the introduction, it is necessary to briefly show the relevance of the problem, the level of its study and the gap that the specific clinical example helps to highlight.
If the authors do not explain why the case is important for science or practical medicine, the editorial board may conclude that the work does not have sufficient publication value.
Incorrect article structure
International medical journals usually expect a case report to be presented according to a clear logic: introduction, patient information, clinical manifestations, diagnostic methods, treatment, outcomes, discussion and conclusions.
Rejection of publication is possible if the material is presented chaotically, without consistency, without a clear distinction between clinical data, diagnosis, treatment and the authors’ analysis. An excessively short or, conversely, overloaded description without emphasis on the main clinical question is also a problem.
Weak discussion
Discussion is one of the key parts of a case report. It is here that the authors must explain how their case differs from those already described in other publications or literature sources. It is also possible to add what clinical conclusions can be drawn and what practical benefit this material has.
If the discussion is reduced only to repeating the patient description or contains general phrases without comparison with scientific sources, the editorial board may reject the work due to an insufficient level of analysis.
Insufficient literature review
A case report must be connected with the modern scientific context. The authors must show that similar cases have already been described or, conversely, occur very rarely. For this, it is necessary to use up-to-date and reliable sources from verified resources.
Editorial rejection is possible if the reference list is outdated, too short, contains irrelevant sources or does not confirm the uniqueness and significance of the case.
Violation of ethical requirements
For the publication of a case report, it is important to comply with ethical standards. Informed consent from the patient for publication is usually required, especially if the article contains images, examination results or other data by which the patient can be identified.
The reason for rejection may be the absence of a mention of informed consent, disclosure of personal data, the use of photographs without proper permission or insufficient anonymisation of clinical information.
Non-compliance with the journal’s subject area
Even a high-quality case report may be rejected if it does not correspond to the profile of a specific journal. For example, a narrowly specialised cardiology publication may not accept a case that relates more to general therapy or interdisciplinary practice without a clear emphasis on the cardiological aspect.
Before submission, it is important to check the aims and subject area of the journal, the types of articles it accepts, as well as the requirements for formatting a case report.
Insufficient quality of academic translation
For publications in Scopus, not only content quality is important, but also the academic style of presentation. If the text contains many grammatical, stylistic or terminological errors, the editorial board may reject the article even before the peer review stage. Inaccuracies in medical terminology, incorrect translation of diagnoses, unclear formulation of clinical outcomes and non-compliance with the academic style of the English language are especially critical.
Lack of clear conclusions
A case report should end not with general phrases, but with a specific practical conclusion. The authors must show what lesson can be learned from this case: what doctors should pay attention to, what diagnostic difficulties are possible, what approach to treatment may be useful or what mistakes should be avoided.
If the conclusions are not connected with the described case or have no practical significance, the article may look unfinished.
Editorial rejection of a case report in a Scopus journal is most often connected not only with the topic of the article, but with how convincingly the authors were able to show its scientific and practical value. To increase the chances of publication, a case report must be relevant, structured, ethically correct, well written and meet modern requirements.
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