From Case Report to Scientific Publication: Essential Steps
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Case Reports represent a valuable tool for documenting unusual clinical scenarios and contributing to continuing professional development within the medical community. They are a compilation of detailed information about a patient of particular interest (interesting, novel, and/or challenging), with a message for clinical practice. In Internal Medicine, they are commonly presented during grand rounds or at medical congresses. However, turning a single clinical case into a publication requires essential steps to ensure scientific quality. Preparing a case report can be a rich learning experience, especially for medical students, residents, and/or early-career researchers. They serve as an initial challenge in academic writing, allowing one to become familiar with all aspects of publication (e.g., guidelines, peer review, consent). This article aims to give practical, literature-based recommendations to guide the successful development of a case report.
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