ArticleBMC medical education2004
Instructions to authors for case reporting are limited: a review of a core journal list.
Article in BMC medical education, 2004. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
24 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- CARE-radiology statement explanation and elaboration: reporting guideline for radiological case reports.BMJ evidence-based medicine · 2024Guideline
- The quality of reports on cervical arterial dissection following cervical spinal manipulation.PloS one · 2013Pooled it
- Abstract-to-publication ratio and predictors for publication success for papers presented at an Italian Internal Medicine Meeting: a cross-sectional study.Internal and emergency medicine · 2026Article
- The reporting requirements of case reports and adherence of case report reporting guidelines in medical journals: an analysis of the authors' guide sections.Journal of medical case reports · 2023Article
- Navigating the Path to Publication: A Guide for the Novice Researcher.Kansas journal of medicine · 2023Article
- Analysis of the Reporting Requirements of Clinical Case Reports Dedicated Journals: Towards Updating the CARE Guideline.Advanced biomedical research · 2023Article
- Systematic review and meta-analyses of studies analysing instructions to authors from 1987 to 2017.Nature communications · 2021Article
- Guidelines to authors publishing a case report: the need for quality improvement.AME case reports · 2018Article
- Clinical Contributions to the Available Sources of Evidence (CASE) Reports: Executive Summary.Journal of athletic training · 2016Article
- Two cheers for case reports.Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien · 2014Article
- The clinical case report: a review of its merits and limitations.BMC research notes · 2014Article
- Obtaining subjects' consent to publish identifying personal information: current practices and identifying potential issues.BMC medical ethics · 2013Article
- Open-access electronic case report journals: the rationale for case report guidelines.Journal of clinical epidemiology · 2013Article
- Tips for writing a case report for the novice author.Journal of medical radiation sciences · 2013Article
- Use of case reports and the Adverse Event Reporting System in systematic reviews: overcoming barriers to assess the link between Crohn's disease medications and hepatosplenic T-cell lymphoma.Systematic reviews · 2013Article
- Evidence for the use of Levomepromazine for symptom control in the palliative care setting: a systematic review.BMC palliative care · 2013Article
- [Not Available].The Canadian journal of hospital pharmacy · 2013Article
- Selecting the best clinical vignettes for academic meetings: should the scoring tool criteria be modified?Journal of general internal medicine · 2012Article
- Morality, ethics, norms and research misconduct.Journal of conservative dentistry : JCD · 2012Article
- A report on case reports.Journal of conservative dentistry : JCD · 2010Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundCase reports are frequently published in the health care literature, however advice on preparing such reports using the "instructions to authors" pages of journals is alleged to be limited. However, to our knowledge, this has not been formally evaluated. As roles of case reports may vary according to the case and the clinical specialities, one might expect the advice to authors to vary according to journal clinical grouping.
methodsWe surveyed the current advice available to authors of case reports from 'instructions to authors' pages of a core collection of 249 journals ('Hague' list). These were examined and compared for advice or recommendation on writing case reports. Of these, 163 (65%) published case reports and provided instructions on this publication type. Data were extracted on items of style and content of case reports, using a piloted data extraction form.
resultsJournals that published case reports were grouped into medical (n = 81, 50%), surgical (n = 38, 23%) and generic or multidisciplinary (n = 44, 27%) categories. There was a difference among the medical, surgical and generic or multidisciplinary journals in the maximum number of words and pages allowed but no difference in the number of figures, tables, references, authors, abstract or synopsis, indexing or key words and consent. Additionally, there was no statistically significant difference among the three different categories of journals regarding the content of the case reports.
conclusionsOf the journals reviewed, we found that 'instructions to authors' pages provided limited and varied information for preparing a case report. There is a need for consensus, and more consistent guidance for authors of case report.
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Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.