Fastest Route to Publication? Write and Publish a Case Report At No Cost
Make the case for your case.
A case report is the easiest, shortest and fastest way to getting a published research paper. That's why it's the first type of research paper I'm featuring in the Access: Research series. That being said, you still need to know how to make the case for your case report. For this, you will have to channel your inner detective. Here's Sherlock, the greatest to ever do it :
Introduction
Ah, Watson, I see you have come to me once more for help on a task requiring curiosity and intrigue. But this time, it is not a matter of solving a criminal case. No, this time it is a matter of writing a case report. Well, then.
You see, writing a case report is not all that different from solving a criminal case. Both require a keen eye for observation, an analytical mind, and a dedication to the truth. In both cases, we must carefully gather and analyze the evidence to come to a logical conclusion. But why, you may ask, is writing a case report important? Well, a case report is like a medical storybook. It tells the tale of a patient's journey through illness and recovery, and it helps us understand how to better care for others in the future. By documenting our patients' cases, we contribute to the medical literature and help inform future medical practice.
And yet, dear Watson, the true essence of writing a case report is not simply to document a patient's medical journey, but to make the case for your case report. To unravel the mysteries behind it. To find the WHY. If you want it published, noticed, and celebrated, you must fight tooth and nail to secure its place among the greats. You must use your powers of deduction and persuasion to demonstrate the importance and relevance of your findings. Think of it as a battle of wits, my dear Watson. A battle to prove the significance of your work in the face of countless other case reports vying for attention. But fear not, for with a clear and compelling argument, you can secure your place among the greats.
In this article, I will guide you through the process of making the case for your case report. We will cover the key elements that make a case report noteworthy, the importance of selecting the right case, and the strategies for presenting your findings in a clear and persuasive manner. So, get out your magnifying glasses, my dear readers, and let us embark on this investigation together.
Finding the right case : a story
First, we start with the crucial task of finding the right case. This is where our powers of observation truly come into play. As detectives of medicine, we must keep our ears and eyes sharp at all times, listening for any clues that may lead us to a case worth reporting.
One key strategy is to heed the words of your seniors. When a seasoned physician says something along the lines of "in my xy years of practice, I have never seen a case like this," one must take note. That, my dear Watson, is the very definition of a solid case report. The medical community is waiting with bated breath for someone to report on such a rare and fascinating case. And let me tell you, it was through such a case that I landed a published report in a prestigious Nature journal (free of cost).
One cold winter morning in the medicine ward, my professor of Medicine told the house officers with astonishment that he had not seen such a severe case of transverse myelitis in 28 years of practice, that too, in a healthy individual. My ears stood up on red alert and my mind was immediately intrigued. I knew this was a case worth investigating, a case that could potentially make a significant impact on the medical community. I began to gather as much information as possible about the patient's medical history, symptoms, and treatment plan.
As I delved deeper into the case, I discovered several unique features that set it apart from other cases of transverse myelitis. For instance, the patient's symptoms had developed very rapidly and with unusual severity, and there were no clear underlying factors that could explain the condition. Furthermore, we never found any the bacterium on any test we performed, yet only anti-TB drugs improved his condition.
I knew that this case was one for the books, and I was determined to make out of it a lesson for the medical community. After all, as the great detective himself once said, "The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes." It takes a keen eye and a curious mind to spot the extraordinary in the ordinary.
And so, I set to work, gathering and analyzing the data, and crafting a compelling argument for the significance of this case report. And it paid off. The case report was published in a top-tier medical journal, and it sparked discussion and interest among my peers in the medical community.
So, my dear Watson, when it comes to finding the right case for your case report, keep your ears and eyes sharp. Listen for those rare moments when a seasoned professional expresses surprise or confusion over a patient's condition. Those are the cases that have the potential to make a real impact, to contribute to the medical literature and improve patient care. And who knows, it might just lead to your own moment of brilliance and recognition, like it did for me.
But do not despair if such a case does not fall into your lap. You must also actively seek out cases that challenge the norms and expand our understanding of medicine. Look for cases that challenge conventional diagnoses or treatments, cases that involve rare diseases or unusual presentations, or cases that shed light on new treatments or technologies. Keep in mind the rare diseases we study in our lectures and books. With a bit of detective work, you are sure to find a case worthy of reporting.
Now, the game is truly afoot.
Investigation
Now that we have a case at hand, it is imperative that we begin our investigation forthwith. For the coming days, our lives shall revolve solely around this one patient. We must uncover every detail about them, from their birth to the moment they arrived at our doorstep.
However, let us not forget the importance of obtaining informed consent before delving into the patient's records or history. It is crucial that we explain to the patient what we intend to do with their information and why. Some patients may even feel honored to contribute to the advancement of medicine.
If you have electronic records, it would be a good idea to print them and highlight all important information. If you do not, that is ok. I had trouble accessing my aforementioned patient's electronic record so I wrote down whatever I could find from his physical file.
Making the Case For Your Case Report
Once you've found out everything there is to find out about the patient and their case, the next step is to make the case for it. You have to figure out why this case is important and find a way to present it in a persuasive manner.
Sometimes, this may not be very obvious. For example, with my patient, we initially thought that the curious thing about the case was the fact that we never isolated Mycobacterium. After facing three rejections, me and my co-author figured we had to change our strategy. We carefully analyzed the feedback we received and realized that the reviewers did not find our case compelling enough. So why did our professor find it fascinating?
We had to go back to square one. We remembered the professor had commented on the severity of the patient's myelitis, that he had "never seen such a severe case in 28 years". Furthermore, we realized that during our literature search, we had found very few cases of extensive transverse myelitis and even fewer related to tuberculosis. So we decided to focus on the patient's presentation. We shifted our focus from infectious disease (mycobacterium) to the neuroanatomy/pathology (the spine). This was a big lesson that I want my readers to learn from.
Having a peculiar case is not enough, you have to make the case for it as well. What was missing from human knowledge was not an elusive tuberculous meningitis, but a severe presentation of the myelitis. This is what the world needed to know. This is what would help clinicians and patients.
We now decided to target journals that focused on the spine or neuroanatomy. And et voila! Our first submission was a success.
Writing the Report
To write the report, you have to follow CARE guidelines. They've recently launched a CARE writer online application that makes things a lot more easier. The application even creates a shareable PDF for you to upload to preprint servers.
Nonetheless, you should know what to cover in your case report. You should know how to present a history, write a detailed yet concise clinical presentation and mention relevant physical examination findings.
A lot of journals will have their own guidelines on how they want a case reported, but most follow the standard format, in line with the CARE Checklist :
Case Presentation
The case presentation should include de-identified patient-specific information, primary concerns and symptoms, medical, family, and psychosocial history, and relevant past interventions. Significant physical examination findings and a historical and current timeline should also be included.
Diagnostic Assessment: should include the diagnostic methods used, any diagnostic challenges encountered, the diagnosis, and relevant prognostic characteristics.
Management and Outcome
The management and outcome section should include details on the types and administration of therapeutic interventions, any changes made to the interventions, and follow-up outcomes. This section should also include information on the clinician- and patient-assessed outcomes, follow-up diagnostic and other test results, intervention adherence and tolerability, and any adverse and unanticipated events.
Discussion
The discussion section of a case report should provide a critical analysis of the case, including the strengths and limitations of the approach taken. This includes any challenges encountered during the diagnosis, management, and follow-up phases. Any potential biases or limitations in the approach should also be acknowledged. A comprehensive review of the relevant medical literature should be included in the discussion section. This should include current evidence-based guidelines and any relevant published cases that support or differ from the conclusions drawn. I have written about conducting a literature search here.
The rationale for the conclusions drawn in the case report should be clearly explained in the discussion. This includes an analysis of the diagnostic process and the management decisions made, including the reasons for choosing a particular therapeutic intervention.
Conclusion
The primary take-away lessons from the case report should be summarized in the conclusion. These should be presented in a concise and actionable manner, highlighting the clinical implications of the case and any potential future research directions. The main lessons learned from the case should be emphasized, without referencing specific sources.
Finding a Journal to Submit to
I always recommend JANE to my readers. JANE (Journal/Author Name Estimator) is a free online tool developed by Biosemantics Group to help researchers find the right journals to publish their research. It will list journals with no APCs. This is where me and my co-author also found the journal that finally accepted and published our report - at no cost.
You can also always use GoogleSearch.
Remember to format your report's manuscript according to the guidelines of your chosen journal.
Summary
In conclusion,
Find a solid case
Find out everything there is to know about the case
Make the case for it - why does it matter to anyone? how does it help clinicians and patients? in what way does it contribute to medical knowledge?
Write it according to CARE + chosen journal's guidelines
Submit
Best of luck.
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