Getting a case report published as an undergrad

[wolverine2015]

A vascular surgeon at a local hospital I'm currently doing an internship at is currently helping me write a case report on an interesting case he did recently. I was hoping to submit it for publication when completed, and I was wondering if it's a ridiculously difficult process to get it in some journal. I heard it's generally easier to get case reports out there compared to research studies, is that true? How long does the peer review process usually take?

Thanks everyone!

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[ShenanigansMD]

By your sdn name, I'm guessing you went to same school I went to, so it'll probably be relatively quick. Or maybe ask Denard Robinson, he could run it in for you.

 

[wolverine2015]

Haha, true, I'm currently at U of M. Hey, he can pass it in too, last years ND game is reflection of that!

Also I'd like to add that I'm not trying to take a shortcut or anything, just trying to understand the process

 

[LizzyM]

It is very difficult to get a case report published. Pick up some journals and have a look. You will look for a long time before you find a case report.

 

[samsunimomo]

Perhaps it has less to do with case studies vs. research studies and more to do with which journals you are aiming for?

 

[wolverine2015]

Perhaps it has less to do with case studies vs. research studies and more to do with which journals you are aiming for?

Well, I'd aim for any journal I can get and be happy with it. My question was is it possible? I was looking at several journals myself, but does anyone have any suggestions?

Would it help if the vascular surgeon was first author and I was second, and he submitted it for publication?

 

[vc7777]

Well, I'd aim for any journal I can get and be happy with it. My question was is it possible? I was looking at several journals myself, but does anyone have any suggestions?

Would it help if the vascular surgeon was first author and I was second, and he submitted it for publication?

Go blue.

Author order/credentials in this case (and in virtually all cases) do not affect the decision to publish or not. Also, the order of authors typically would place him as last author. There is an entire subforum in the research forum for questions regarding publication. However, as Lizzy mentioned, it has become increasingly difficult to publish case reports in leading journals.

Sent from my phone

 

[LizzyM]

Not just "leading journals" but (almost) all journals. A century ago you could report a single case of survival of a heart attack and that was novel. Today, editors and readers are looking for research rather than anecdotal reporting.

If you do see anecdotal reporting, it is most often a case series rather than a case report. What might seem like an exception to the rule would be the Clinical Conferences published in New England Journal of Medicine which describe a patient's symptoms, history, diagnostic findings and have an expert describe the possible differential diagnosis followed by further information (sometimes from autopsy) that nails the diagnosis, concluding with some information on the pathophysiology and epidemiology of the condition and in some cases a follow-up with the patient's response to therapy. Those tend to be authored by experts from Boston.

 

[wolverine2015]

Not just "leading journals" but (almost) all journals. A century ago you could report a single case of survival of a heart attack and that was novel. Today, editors and readers are looking for research rather than anecdotal reporting.

If you do see anecdotal reporting, it is most often a case series rather than a case report. What might seem like an exception to the rule would be the Clinical Conferences published in New England Journal of Medicine which describe a patient's symptoms, history, diagnostic findings and have an expert describe the possible differential diagnosis followed by further information (sometimes from autopsy) that nails the diagnosis, concluding with some information on the pathophysiology and epidemiology of the condition and in some cases a follow-up with the patient's response to therapy. Those tend to be authored by experts from Boston.

What about this journal: http://casereports.bmj.com/
Says it has something like 70% acceptance rate for case reports, but I'm thinking the number is misleading in some way. There are some other journals that I've found that are exclusively dedicated to case reports. Do you mean that these journals want case reports from a research standpoint or that the non-case report journals prefer research to case reports?

 

[45408]

It is very difficult to get a case report published. Pick up some journals and have a look. You will look for a long time before you find a case report.

I disagree. You do need to have a novel case with a learning point to it, but if you find such a case, it's not that hard to get it published. Now, you almost certainly won't get it published in a prestigious journal, but that's a different question.

All of my current fellow residents who have written up case reports and submitted them have had them accepted, but they were unique cases. I've had cases that I thought were potentially worth submitting, but they had been reported already in similar enough detail, so I didn't pursue it.

 

[Chrome19]

It is very difficult to get a case report published. Pick up some journals and have a look. You will look for a long time before you find a case report.

Not true. I see published case reports every time. Some of my friends at medical school have even gotten their names into some of them.

 

[LizzyM]

Not true. I see published case reports every time. Some of my friends at medical school have even gotten their names into some of them.

Can you give me the names of a few journals?

 

[Chrome19]

Can you give me the names of a few journals?

A friend of mine published one in "Urology"; another had one in Case Reports in Neurology. I know I have seen more from faculty here. In general, a case that is somewhat rare can be published in clinical journals, probably not NEJM though.

 

[Buzz Me]

Selecting which journal to submit a case report (or regular journal article, for that matter) to is a tough process. It's helpful to have a mentor/advisor (usually the attending helping you write the paper) advise you in this. Certain journals have "niches" and have reputations for accepting certain articles - then often your attending may know people on the editorial board and have connections there. It's not as straightforward as just writing an article and then mass submitting it to every journal out there, starting from NEJM and working your way down the impact factor list.

 

[futureapppsy2]

If you do see anecdotal reporting, it is most often a case series rather than a case report. What might seem like an exception to the rule would be the Clinical Conferences published in New England Journal of Medicine which describe a patient's symptoms, history, diagnostic findings and have an expert describe the possible differential diagnosis followed by further information (sometimes from autopsy) that nails the diagnosis, concluding with some information on the pathophysiology and epidemiology of the condition and in some cases a follow-up with the patient's response to therapy.

So, in other words, episodes of House. 😉 🙂

Selecting which journal to submit a case report (or regular journal article, for that matter) to is a tough process. It's helpful to have a mentor/advisor (usually the attending helping you write the paper) advise you in this. Certain journals have "niches" and have reputations for accepting certain articles - then often your attending may know people on the editorial board and have connections there. It's not as straightforward as just writing an article and then mass submitting it to every journal out there, starting from NEJM and working your way down the impact factor list

Great advice. Also in case, anyone is unaware, you can't submit a manuscript to more than one journal simultaneously, which can lead to long waits , especially if an article is rejected after peer review.

 

[Brachyury]

The ease, or difficulty, of getting a case report does tend to vary by specialty: the more bad journals and open-access-only online journals, the easier it is. For example, I had a malignant heme case report that I couldn't get into an onc journal, but it was easy to find a heme journal that would take it.