Tips for writing a case report for the novice author

A Quick Guide to Writing a Teaching Case Study

Case studies published in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology are brief chronologic or logical descriptions of a clinical experience that aim to share a technical outcome associated with an instrumentation or patient care scenario or demonstrate a unique finding associated with a nuclear medicine procedure. Although brief by necessity, case studies provide enough relevant detail to educate the reader about a clinical condition coupled with a diagnostic or therapeutic procedure. Case studies do not have to be about bizarre clinical conditions. Case studies can be about quality issues that directly impact the imaging or therapeutic procedure, protocol modifications when a clinical scenario requires out-of-the-box decisions, new techniques developed to address unique or difficult situations, or something as simple as an artifact that resulted in an unusual image finding. The sections of a case study, including the introduction, case report, discussion, and conclusion, are explained. The goal of this article is to teach new authors how to write a teaching case study.

Revitalizing case reports: Standardized guidelines and mentorship

Despite a decrease in publication, case reports remain essential in medical literature as they offer detailed descriptions of individual patient cases and valuable insights for future management. These reports adhere to a standardized structure comprising sections such as abstract, introduction, case report, discussion, and conclusion. Obtaining informed consent and adhering to guidelines is essential. Case reports contribute to evidence-based medicine by detecting new therapies and adverse events. They also facilitate clear reporting, guideline adherence, and mentorship programs. These reports are vital for documenting rare occurrences, assisting clinicians in timely management, and communicating novel information to busy medical professionals. Following case report guidelines ensures comprehensive and standardized reporting, enhancing the acceptance and quality of case reports, and advancing medical knowledge.

How to write case reports in medicine

Medical research has become an important part of providing care to patients. Case reports published in medical journals can communicate information to the medical community about rare or unreported features, conditions, complications, or interventions. Case reports are generally short, focusing on key components such as a summary and introduction, case presentation, and discussion. Authors now have access to free, continuously updated case reports of different types from multiple journals. This review introduces the process and mechanisms for how and when to prepare a case report. We briefly review the editorial process of each of these complementary journals, along with author anecdotes, hoping to inspire authors to write and continue writing case reports; and discusses the essentials of a case report, aiming to provide guidelines for improving medical writing skills.

Writing a Case Report in Pediatric Surgery: A Comprehensive Guideline

An effective case report delivers clear and valuable clinical or surgical information to the medical community. Case reports dealing with pediatric surgical issues raise the medical community's awareness of rare diseases, unusual presentations of common disorders, or novel surgical or nonsurgical treatment approaches. Thus, case reports contribute substantially to medical advance by sharing remarkable or unexpected findings. For this reason, case reports should be prepared with vigilance, and current conventions on good medial writing practice should be observed. This guideline aims to assist clinicians and surgeons in the successful publishing of a compelling case report in pediatric surgery that is read and understood by the intended audience.

An international consultation on case reports in addiction medicine

BACKGROUND

A Case Report (CR) is a scientific documentation of a single clinical observation which serves to inform but also to educate the reader. Case reports help to compliment clinical critical thinking in Addiction Medicine (AM) when there is limited evidence base. Aim: This study aims to analyze how international clinical and research leaders in Addiction Medicine view Case Reports and their relevance to bridge the gap between evidence and practice. Methods: A semi-structured, audio-recorded interviews were conducted with 12 international Addiction Medicine scholars. Thematic content analysis was used to code the transcribed interview data. Results: Interviewees showed a positive view toward publishing Case Reports in Addiction Medicine. They found that medical students and clinicians working in the field of Addiction Medicine should be encouraged to share and record cases of clinical interaction. To aid this process (1) formal supervised training in case reporting within an academic environment must be facilitated. And (2) journals should also offer a place to publish Case Reports. Conclusion: The international scholars agree that Case Reports are important for the development of Addiction Medicine and that they can contribute to a better understanding of patients with substance use disorder.

Writing scientific case reports for top-line journals

The venerable clinical case report has been largely reduced to the status of commodity in the present age of dedicated case report journals. Top-line clinical journals may discourage or even refuse to accept clinical case reports due to their potential adverse effect on the impact factor of the journal. But while the traditional clinical case report, that presents a case history and attempts to extrapolate a lesson from it, may have fallen out of favor, there remains a need for astute clinical observations that serve to stimulate the generation of hypotheses and may lead, ultimately, to medical breakthroughs. Clinicians are very much capable of employing scientific reasoning when approaching an unusual clinical situation. By remaining up to date with the literature, and determining, at the outset of the case, what lessons may be learned from it, they can formulate a scientific approach, using clinical methods, to result in meaningful contributions to the literature in top-line journals.

Case reports and narrative fallacies: the enigma of black swans in dermatology

Narrative fallacy is a problematic heuristic that leads us to make inaccurate cause-effect relationships. They are a particular issue in case reports because of the limited scope of these papers, the perpetuated biases they proffer and the misperception of 'black swan' events. This article highlights the negative effects of these fallacies in dermatological practice through three case studies: the use of epinephrine with lignocaine at distal sites, the difference between once-daily and twice-daily application of topical steroids, and the effect of sterile gloves for skin surgery on infection rates. Awareness of the biases in case reports and the employment of metacognition may help us to avoid falling victim to narrative fallacies. Given the potential problems with this heuristic, Clinical and Experimental Dermatology (CED) utilizes case reports to further medical education and offer different clinical perspectives, rather than as a driver of medical knowledge.

Who? What? Where? A snapshot of Nuclear Medicine Research Presentations from recent ANZSNM conferences in Australia and New Zealand

OBJECTIVES

The aims of this study were to: 1) discover location (by city) of contributors to poster and oral presentations at recent ANZSNM conferences; 2) determine the nuclear medicine themes most commonly explored; 3) establish institutions producing the highest number of oral and poster abstracts and 4) determine publication rates of conference abstracts to full papers from recent ANZSNM conferences.

METHODS

Retrospective analysis of abstracts published in the Internal Medicine Journal Special Issues 2014-2019 identified 614 abstracts. Invited plenary speaker abstracts were excluded. Descriptive statistics were used in data analysis. Conference abstracts were analysed using the following criteria: poster or oral presentation, author/s, city location, hospital and subject matter. Themes defined by the ANZSNM conference committee for abstract submission were: cardiology, oncology, neurology, therapy, renal/urology, gastrointestinal, paediatrics, musculoskeletal, infection/inflammation, technology, physics, radiation safety, radiopharmacy/radiochemistry, education, or general. Retrospective analysis of 555 conference abstracts (excluding New Zealand and International, 59 abstracts) using Google Scholar, Pubmed and Google databases was undertaken. Abstract titles, key words, institutions and/or authors' names were used to find peer-reviewed papers. Identified papers were authenticated through either open access, publicly available author information or Monash University's library access. Published paper citations were also recorded (up to 1st July 2019).

RESULTS

Analysis of 614 abstracts 2014 - 2019 was performed. Over five years, the average number of poster abstracts was 67.8 and oral 55.0. Sydney submitted the highest number of poster abstracts, while Melbourne the highest number of oral abstracts. Most popular abstract theme was oncology for both poster and oral abstracts. Publications found had in excess of 1250 citations.One hundred and one publications from one hundred and seven conference presentations were identified, distributed across sixty journals. Conference presentation to full publication rate was 18.2%; excluding 2019 conference abstracts the rate was 21.5%.

CONCLUSION

Publishing research findings is a challenging process. A retrospective analysis of research presented at recent ANZSNM conferences by abstract content was undertaken, with conference presentation to full publication rate found to be at the lower end of reported literature findings.

Overview and Principles of Scientific Writing

Scientific writing in English started in the 14th century. Human beings have been able to communicate for thousands of years. Yet scientific communication as it is today is relatively new. It was only 300 years ago that the first journals were published. Writing is the most vital means for communicating scientific work. It helps document and communicate ideas, activities and findings to others. Good writing can be beneficial to scientists in a number of ways. In this article we have discussed the basic overview and principles of scientific writing.

A Medical Article Publishing Club for Junior Doctors: A Quantitative and Qualitative Analysis

Introduction There is an increasing expectation for junior doctors to have a publication. However, there is not much help provided to bridge the gap between project completion or case reporting and getting published. Our previous study demonstrated that junior doctors felt that involvement in medical article publishing contributes to learning and that it is an effective teaching method. Junior doctors also agreed that it is difficult to get published. Based on this study we started a medical article publishing (MAP) club. The aim of this study was to assess user satisfaction with the MAP club. Materials and methods Questionnaires were sent to 12 doctors who obtained advice from the MAP club since its inception in December 2017. The questionnaire contained two questions: (1) how useful they found the advice and guidance received and (2) how likely they were to recommend the MAP club to their colleagues. The 10-point Likert scale responses were analyzed quantitatively. Written comments and suggestions were analyzed qualitatively by thematic analysis. Results Respondents gave scores of either 9 or 10 to both questions indicating that they found the advice and guidance received very useful and that they were very likely to recommend the MAP club to their colleagues (weighted scores 9.75 and 9.92, respectively). The thematic analysis revealed three main themes: (1) positive features of the MAP club, (2) what participants gained from the MAP club and (3) recommendations for the future. The majority of respondents commented that the club was useful, helpful, supportive, and informative. More than a third commented that the club provided encouragement, confidence, practical tips, learning experience, and the opportunity to publish. A similar proportion asked that we keep the club going and provide dedicated teaching sessions. Conclusions Junior doctors feel that the MAP club has positive features and has contributed to their learning, education, and publishing skills. A proportion of them would also like to receive formal teaching sessions concerning medical article publishing. This study has highlighted the benefits and importance of establishing a medical article publishing club for junior doctors.

Protecting Patient Privacy in Narratives: The Lifespan-Brown Checklist for Appropriate Use of Patient Narratives

How can we support narratives written by clinicians in a way that promotes reflection without breaching the confidentiality inherent within the patient‐provider relationship? This narrative provides some guidance, with the Brown‐Lifespan Checklist for Narratives.

Involving junior doctors in medical article publishing: is it an effective method of teaching?

BACKGROUND

Having peer-reviewed articles published in medical journals is important for career progression in many medical specialties. Despite this, only a minority of junior doctors have the skills in the area of medical article publishing. The aim of this study was to assess junior doctors' views concerning being involved in medical article publishing and whether they perceive involvement as an effective method of teaching.

METHODS

A cross-sectional survey was administered to a convenience sample of doctors who had been involved in medical article publishing. Questions concerned training and involvement in publishing as junior doctors, effects on education and training, is it an effective method of teaching and should publishing be part of their education and training program. Questions used the 5-point Likert scale. Of the 39 doctors, 37 (94.9%) doctors responded.

RESULTS

Only one-third of respondents agreed that they had adequate training or involvement in medical article publishing during their undergraduate medical training. Many (78.4%) agreed that it was difficult to get published as a junior doctor. Publishing as a junior doctor improved knowledge about publishing, understanding of the topic and interest in the field of study for 92, 92 and 73% of respondents, respectively. Many (89%) agreed that publishing made them eager to publish more. Most (76%) agreed that it was likely to encourage interest in a postgraduate career in that field of study. A majority (92%) felt that involvement in medical article publishing is an effective method of teaching and it should be a part of the junior doctors' education and training program.

CONCLUSION

Junior doctors feel that involvement in medical article publishing contributes to learning and education and is an effective method of teaching. This supports the need to incorporate such training into the junior doctors' education and training program.

Case reports: Brief overview of reporting and submission to biomedical journal

A case report is a specific type of research design that reports on an aspect of the management of patients. Case reports have significantly influenced the evolution of medicine. In general, case reports should be short and focussed and should contain abstract, introduction, description of the case, discussion and conclusion. The aim of this article is to provide useful details and tips to the young anaesthesiologists in the writing of a case report and then to publish it.