27/5/ · Peer review; Victoria Stokes, foundation year 2 doctor, trauma and orthopaedics, Basildon Hospital, Caroline Fertleman, paediatrics consultant, The Whittington Hospital NHS Trust; blogger.com1{at}blogger.com; Abstract. Victoria Stokes and Caroline Fertleman explain how to turn an interesting case or unusual presentation into an educational report. It is common practice in medicine Cited by: 1 Journal of Medical Case Reports is an open access peer-reviewed medical journal publishing case reports and research on case reports. It was established in and is published by BioMed Central. The editor-in-chief is Michael Kidd (University of Sydney). The journal is abstracted and indexed in CINAHL and Scopus Clinical Case Reports and Reviews (CCRR) is a bimonthly open access journal with a comprehensive peer review policy, and a very rapid publication process. We aim to publish high quality original case reports across all medical disciplines contributing greatly to the advancement of health care
How to review a case report | Journal of Medical Case Reports | Full Text
BMC Research Notes volume 7Article number: Cite this article. Metrics details. The clinical case report has a long-standing tradition in the medical literature.
While its scientific significance has become smaller as more advanced research methods have gained ground, case reports are still presented in many medical journals. Some scholars point to its limited value for medical progress, while others assert that the genre is undervalued. We aimed to present the various points of view regarding the merits and limitations of the case report genre. We searched Google Scholar, PubMed and select textbooks on epidemiology and medical research for articles and book-chapters discussing the merits and limitations of clinical case reports and case series.
The major merits of case reporting were these: Detecting novelties, generating hypotheses, pharmacovigilance, high medical case reports and reviews when other research designs are not possible to carry out, allowing emphasis on the narrative aspect in-depth understandingand educational value. The major limitations were: Lack of ability to generalize, no possibility to establish cause-effect relationship, danger of over-interpretation, publication bias, retrospective design, and distraction of reader when focusing on the unusual.
Despite having lost its central role in medical literature in the 20th century, the genre still appears popular. It is a valuable part of the various research methods, especially since it complements other approaches. Furthermore, it also contributes in areas of medicine that are not specifically research-related, medical case reports and reviews, e.
as an educational tool. Revision of the case report genre has been attempted in order to integrate the biomedical model with the narrative approach, but without significant success, medical case reports and reviews.
The future prospects of the case report could possibly be in new applications of the genre, i. exclusive case report databases available online, and open access for clinicians and researchers. Throughout history the clinical case report and case report series have been integral components of medical literature[ 1 ]. The case report genre held a strong position until it was sidelined in the medical case reports and reviews half of the 20 th century[ 23 ].
New methodologies for research articles paved the way for evidence-based medicine. Editors had to make space for these research articles and at the same time signaled less enthusiasm for publishing case medical case reports and reviews 4 ].
This spurred some heated debates in medical journals as readers were worried that the traditional case report was in jeopardy[ 56 ]. Those who welcomed the new trend with fewer case reports being published pointed mainly to their low quality and inclination to emphasize mere curiosa[ 7 — 9 ]. Still, the case report got a low ranking on the evidence hierarchy, medical case reports and reviews.
After a decline in popularity a new interest for the case report emerged, probably beginning in the late s[ 2 ].
Inthe first international, Pubmed-listed medical journal publishing only case reports was established[ 1112 ].
In the following years, several similar journals, for the most part online and open-access, have been launched. The present debate is not so much medical case reports and reviews on whether case reporting is obsolete or not. Some of the discussions after the turn of the century have been about adapting the case report genre to new challenges. One example is the suggestion of incorporating the narrative, i. Their endeavor was not met with success. Notwithstanding, we feel there is much to be gained from having an ongoing discussion highlighting the indications and contraindications for producing case reports.
This can to some degree be facilitated by getting an understanding of the merits and limitations of medical case reports and reviews genre. The objective of this article is to present the merits and limitations of case reports and case series reports.
A case report consists of one or two cases, most often only one. The case series or case series report usually consists of three to ten cases[ 16 ]. In the following we use the term case report to denote both case reports and case series report.
Case reports are most often naturalistic and descriptive. Sometimes, however, they can be prospective and experimental. As literature specifically dealing with the case report genre seemed harder to elicit from the databases than the vast amount of particular case reports, we performed iterative searches. Further references were identified by examining the literature found in the medical case reports and reviews searches.
We also consulted major textbooks on epidemiology[ 1718 ], some scholars of medical genres[ 1920 ] and a monograph on case reporting by the epidemiologist M. Jenicek[ 16 ]. Thus we excluded other types, such as the planned, qualitative case study approach[ 21 ] and simulated cases[ 22 — 24 ].
Finally, we extracted the relevant data and grouped the merits and limitations items in rank order with the items we judged to be the most important first. The major advantage of case reporting is probably its ability to detect novelties[ 16 ]. It is the only way to present unusual, uncontrolled observations regarding symptoms, clinical findings, course of illness, medical case reports and reviews, complications of interventions, associations of diseases, side effects of drugs, etc.
In short, anything that is rare or has never been observed previously might be important for the medical community and ought to be published. A case report might sensitize readers and thus facilitate detection of similar or identical cases. From a single, or preferably several single case reports or a case series, new hypotheses could be formulated. These could then be tested with formal research methods that are designed to refute or confirm the hypotheses, i.
comparative observational and experimental studies. There are numerous examples of new discoveries or major advancements in medicine that started with a case report or, in some cases, as humbly as a letter to the editor.
The first concern from the medical community about the devastating side effect of thalidomide, i. the congenital abnormalities, appeared as a letter to the editor in the Lancet in [ 25 ]. Soon thereafter, several case reports and case series reports were published in various journals. Case reporting is thus indispensable in drug safety surveillance pharmacovigilance [ 26 ].
by serendipity. Psychiatry has profited to a large degree from this mode of advancing medical science as many of the drugs used for mental disorders have been discovered serendipitously[ 27 ], medical case reports and reviews. One notable example is the discovery of the effect of lithium on manic episodes in patients with manic-depressive disorder[ 28 ].
A more recent discovery is the successful treatment of infantile hemangiomas with systemic propranolol. This discovery was published, as a case series report, in the correspondence section in New England Journal of Medicine [ 29 ]. However, the evidence for the effect of this treatment is still preliminary, and several randomized trials are under way[ 3031 ]. Clear and operational entities are prerequisites for doing medical research. Descriptions must come before understanding.
Clinical observations that lead to new disorders being described are well suited for case reporting. The medical literature is replete with case-based articles describing new diseases and syndromes.
One notable example is the first description of neurasthenia by G. Beard in Boston Medical and Surgical Journal in [ 32 ]. For rare disorders randomized controlled medical case reports and reviews RCTs can be impossible to run due to lack of patients to be enrolled.
Research on drug treatment and other kinds of interventions must therefore be based on less rigorous methodologies, among them case series and case reports. Case reporting can be valuable when ethical constraints prohibit experimental research. Take as an example the challenge of how to manage the side effects of accidental extravasation of cytotoxic drugs, medical case reports and reviews.
As RCTs on humans seem unethical in this clinical situation the current guidelines rest on small observational studies, case reports and animal studies[ 34 ]. Or another example: Physical restraint is sometimes associated with sudden, unexpected death. The cause or causes for this are to some degree enigmatic, and it is hard to conceive of a controlled study that could be ethical[ 3536 ].
Case reporting can be a way of presenting research with an idiographic emphasis. As contrasted to nomothetic research, an idiographic approach aims at in-depth understanding of human phenomena, especially in the field of psychology and psychiatry.
The objective is not generalizable knowledge, but an understanding of meaning and intentionality for an individual or individuals.
This usage of case reports borders on qualitative research. Qualitative studies, although developed in the social sciences, have become a welcome contribution within health medical case reports and reviews in the last two decades. Clinical medical learning is to a large degree case-based.
Typical case histories and vignettes are often presented in textbooks, in lectures, etc. We believe that some case reports that are written with the aim of contributing to medical knowledge turn out to be of most value educationally because the phenomena have already been described elsewhere, medical case reports and reviews. Other case reports are clearly primarily written for educational value[ 37 ].
Some journals have regular sections dedicated to educational case reports, e. The Case Records of the Massachusetts General Hospital in the New England Journal of Medicine and the Clinical Case Conference found in the American Journal of Psychiatry. The cost of doing a case report is low compared to planned, formal studies. Most often the necessary work is probably done in the clinical setting without specific funding. Larger studies, for instance RCTs, will usually need an academic setting.
The time span from observation to publication can be much shorter than for other kinds of studies. This is obviously a great advantage as a case report can be an important alert to medical case reports and reviews medical community about a serious event, medical case reports and reviews. The unexpected side effects of the sedative-antinauseant thalidomide on newborn babies is a telling story.
After the first published observation of severe abnormalities in babies appeared as a letter to the editor of the Lancet in December 16 th[ 25 ], several case reports and series followed[ 3940 ], medical case reports and reviews.
It should be mentioned though that the drug company had announced on December 2 nd, i. two weeks before the letter from McBride[ 25 ], that it would withdraw the drug form the market immediately[ 41 ]. Although the editor is commenting on the surgical case report, the argument can be applied for the whole field of clinical medicine. It should be mentioned though, that other commentators have argued for a more standardized, in effect more rigid, structure[ 43 ], medical case reports and reviews.
Case reporting medical case reports and reviews lead to or contribute to a change in clinical practice. A drug might be withdrawn from the market, medical case reports and reviews.
Writing Clinical Case Reports
, time: 37:49Case Reports Journal | Clinical Case Reports and Reviews (CCRR) - OAtext
22/7/ · Case reports offer unique value to the body of medical knowledge by describing new diseases, disease mechanisms, therapeutic approaches, and adverse or beneficial effects of drugs. The act of recording, discussing with colleagues, and publishing clinical observations as case reports remains essential to the art of medicine and patient care [ 1 ].Cited by: 19 Clinical Medical Reviews and Case Reports (CMRCR) is an open access monthly journal publishing Cases, Reviews and Images to elaborate the importance of solving case challenges Clinical Case Reports and Reviews (CCRR) is a bimonthly open access journal with a comprehensive peer review policy, and a very rapid publication process. We aim to publish high quality original case reports across all medical disciplines contributing greatly to the advancement of health care
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