Writing patient case reports for publication

Abstract

A case report is a description of a clinical case that has unique features. It may include a previously unreported clinical condition or observation of a disease, a unique use of imaging or diagnostic tool to reveal a disease, a new therapeutic intervention of a known disease, a previously unreported complication of a disease, or a new adverse event from a medication. 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. Case reports are valuable sources of new and unusual information that may stimulate further research and applicability to clinical practice. Writing case reports properly is important if they are to be accepted by journals and credible and useful to readers.