Scientific publications are important for specialists in the field of medicine. They not only contribute to the development of the field but also have a positive impact on a medical professional’s professional and career development. There are different types of medical scientific publications, including the case report. What is it? How can you prepare a high-quality case report in medicine? What recommendations should be taken into account? We will discuss this in today’s article.
What is a case report?
Case report is a type of scientific publication in medicine that is used for the detailed analysis of the clinical case of an individual patient.
In this type of scientific work, researchers describe the symptoms or clinical cases of a disease, the diagnostic process, the treatment strategy, as well as the results of monitoring the patient’s condition.
It is worth adding that the basis for writing a case report should be a unique case that is unique in medical practice. There are several key criteria indicating that a patient’s history meets the requirements of this type of work, including the following:
- uncommon or unique types of diseases
- identification of unexpected links between diseases or symptoms
- non-standard methods of treating the patient or an unusual event that occurred during the diagnosis of the patient
- conclusions that highlight new aspects of the onset and development of the disease or its side effects
What types of case reports are there?
Depending on the case, case reports are divided into the following types:
| Descriptive case report | A detailed description of a specific case or phenomenon that does not include an in-depth analysis of cause-and-effect relationships. |
| Explanatory case report | Explanation of the causes and mechanisms of phenomena, and the establishment of cause-and-effect relationships. |
| Exploratory case report | The initial stage of a study, which includes formulating hypotheses and identifying directions for further investigation. |
| Internal case report | Analysis of a unique case that is of interest without excessive generalisation. |
| Instrumental case report | The use of a specific case as an “instrument” for a more detailed understanding of a problem or phenomenon. |
| Collective case report | Simultaneous analysis of several cases to draw more comprehensive conclusions through comparison. |
Recommendations for writing a case report in medicine
Preparing a case report requires not only a careful description of the clinical case but also an understanding of its scientific value, ethical requirements and the logic of presenting the material. For such work to be useful to the medical community and to have a greater chance of successful publication, it is important to follow a clear structure, work correctly with clinical data, and so on. That is why, when writing a medical case report, several key aspects should be taken into account, including the following:
1. Choose a clinical case that has scientific value
Not every medical case is suitable for publication. A good case report should answer the question: why will this case be useful to other doctors or researchers? It may be a rare disease, an unusual combination of symptoms, a complication after treatment, a new diagnostic approach or a clinical situation that helps to better understand the course of the disease.
2. Follow the recommended structure
- Title – should indicate the main diagnosis, intervention or clinical problem and contain the designation “case report”.
- Abstract – briefly explain the uniqueness of the case, the main clinical data, diagnosis, treatment and generalised results.
- Introduction – the relevance of the topic should be described and it should be explained why this case is worthy of attention.
- Description of the clinical case – should contain information about the patient, symptoms, examination, diagnosis, treatment, dynamics of the condition, and so on.
- Discussion – the case should be compared with the existing literature, and its significance and clinical conclusions should be explained.
- Conclusions – briefly formulate the main practical generalisation for doctors and other researchers, obtained on the basis of the conducted study.
3. Follow ethical requirements
For the publication of a clinical case, written informed consent from the patient is usually required. As the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) notes, such consent must be written and archived by the journal, the authors or both parties in accordance with the legislation and the journal’s policy. The patient should also be informed if potentially identifiable materials may be available online or in print.
In addition, it is necessary to ensure the anonymity of the participant in the experiment. Data by which the patient can be identified must not be published unless this is necessary for the scientific purpose and agreed with the patient. The name, initials, exact dates, address, contact details, medical record numbers, overly detailed biographical information and other identifiers should be removed.
4. Provide logical conclusions
The final part of the work should be the conclusions. The most important results obtained during the conducted study should be summarised. The conclusion should be clearly outlined and contain information about the practical significance of the work, its impact on the prevention or treatment of diseases, and so on.
The importance of case reports for the development of medicine is difficult to overestimate. This type of research plays an important role in disseminating information in the scientific environment, as well as in the professional development of a medical professional. For successful implementation, a case report must follow the recommended structure, contain unique results and not violate ethical recommendations.
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