CHM Office of Reseach

Writing a Case Report

This page is intended for medical students, residents or others who do not have much experience with case reports, but are planning on writing one.  

What is a case report?  A medical case report, also known as a case study, is a detailed description of a clinical encounter with a patient.  The most important aspect of a case report, i.e. the reason you would go to the trouble of writing one, is that the case is sufficiently unique, rare or interesting such that other medical professionals will learn something from it.   

Case reports are commonly of the following categories :

- Rare diseases

- Unusual presentation of disease

- Unexpected events

- Unusual combination of diseases or conditions

- Difficult or inconclusive diagnosis

- Treatment or management challenges

- Personal impact

- Observations that shed new light on a disease or condition

- Anatomical variations

It is important that you recognize what is unique or interesting about your case, and this must be described clearly in the case report.

Case reports generally take the format of :

1. Background

2. Case presentation

3. Observations and investigation

4. Diagnosis

5. Treatment

7. Discussion

Does a case report require IRB approval?

Case reports typically discuss a single patient. If this is true for your case report, then it most likely does not require IRB approval because it not considered research.    If you have more than one patient, your study could qualify as a Case Series, which would require IRB review.  If you have questions, you chould check your local IRB's guidelines on reviewing case reports.

Are there other rules for writing a case report?

First, you will be collecting protected health information, thus HIPAA applies to case reports.   Spectrum Health has created a very helpful guidance document for case reports, which you can see here:   Case Report Guidance - Spectrum Health

While this guidance document was created by Spectrum Health, the rules and regulations outlined could apply to any case report.  This includes answering questions like: Do I need written HIPAA authorization to publish a case report?  When do I need IRB review of a case report?  What qualifies as a patient identifier?

How do I get started?

1. We STRONGLY encourage you to consult the CARE Guidelines, which provide guidance on writing case reports -  https://www.care-statement.org/

Specifically, the checklist -  https://www.care-statement.org/checklist  - which explains exactly the information you should collect and include in your case report.  

2. Identify a case.  If you are a medical student, you may not yet have the clinical expertise to determine if a specific case is worth writing up.  If so, you must seek the help of a clinician.  It is common for students to ask attendings or residents if they have any interesting cases that can be used for a case report. 

3. Select a journal or two to which you think you will submit the case report.   Journals often have specific requirements for publishing case reports, which could include a requirement for informed consent, a letter or statement from the IRB and other things.  Journals may also charge publication fees (see Is it free to publish? below)   

4. Obtain informed consent from the patient (see " Do I have to obtain informed consent from the patient? " below).  Journals may have their own informed consent form that they would like you to use, so please look for this when selecting a journal.

Once you've identified the case, selected an appropriate journal(s), and considered informed consent, you can collect the required information to write the case report.

How do I write a case report?

Once you identify a case and have learned what information to include in the case report, try to find a previously published case report.  Finding published case reports in a similar field will provide examples to guide you through the process of writing a case report.    

One journal you can consult is BMJ Case Reports .  MSU has an institutional fellowship with BMJ Case Reports which allows MSU faculty, staff and students to publish in this journal for free.  See this page for a link to the journal and more information on publishing-    https://lib.msu.edu/medicalwriting_publishing/

There are numerous other journals where you can find published case reports to help guide you in your writing. 

Do I have to obtain informed consent from the patient?

The CARE guidelines recommend obtaining informed consent from patients for all case reports.  Our recommendation is to obtain informed consent from the patient.  Although not technically required, especially if the case report does not include any identifying information, some journals require informed consent for all case reports before publishing.  The CARE guidelines recommend obtaining informed consent AND the patient's perspective on the treatment/outcome (if possible).  Please consider this as well.  

If required, it is recommended you obtain informed consent before the case report is written.

An example of a case report consent form can be found on the BMJ Case Reports website, which you can access via the MSU library page -  https://casereports.bmj.com/ .  Go to "Instructions for Authors" and then "Patient Consent" to find the consent form they use.  You can create a similar form to obtain consent from your patient.  If you have identified a journal already, please consult their requirements and determine if they have a specific consent form they would like you to use.

Seek feedback

Once you have written a draft of the case report, you should seek feedback on your writing, from experts in the field if possible, or from those who have written case reports before.   

Selecting a journal

Aside from BMJ Case Reports mentioned above, there are many, many journals out there who publish medical case reports.   Ask your mentor if they have a journal they would like to use.  If you need to select on your own, here are some strategies:

1. Do a PubMed search.  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/

   a. Do a search for a topic, disease or other feature of your case report 

   b. When the results appear, on the left side of the page is a limiter for "article type".  Case reports are an article type to which you can limit your search results.  If you don't see that option on the left, click "additional filters". 

   c. Review the case reports that come up and see what journals they are published in.

2. Use JANE -  https://jane.biosemantics.org/

3. Check with specialty societies.  Many specialty societies are affiliated with one or more journal, which can be reviewed for ones that match your needs

4. Search through individual publisher journal lists.  Elsevier publishes many different medical research journals, and they have a journal finder, much like JANE  ( https://journalfinder.elsevier.com/ ).  This is exclusive to Elsevier journals.  There are many other publishers of medical journals for review, including Springer, Dove Press, BMJ, BMC, Wiley, Sage, Nature and many others.

Is it free to publish ?

Be aware that it may not be free to publish your case report.  Many journals charge publication fees. Of note, many open access journals charge author fees of thousands of dollars.  Other journals have smaller page charges (i.e. $60 per page), and still others will publish for free, with an "open access option".  It is best practice to check the journal's Info for Authors section or Author Center to determine what the cost is to publish.  MSU-CHM does NOT have funds to support publication costs, so this is an important step if you do not want to pay out of pocket for publishing

*A more thorough discussion on finding a journal, publication costs, predatory journals and other publication-related issues can be found here:   https://research.chm.msu.edu/students-residents/finding-a-journal

Gagnier JJ, Kienle G, Altman DG, Moher D, Sox H, Riley D. 2013. The CARE guidelines: Consensus-based clinical case reporting guideline development.  Glob Adv Health Med . 2:38-43. doi:  10.7453/gahmj.2013.008

Riley DS, Barber MS, Kienle GS, AronsonJK, von Schoen-Angerer T, Tugwell P, Kiene H, Helfand M, Altman DG, Sox H, Werthmann PG, Moher D, Rison RA, Shamseer L, Koch CA, Sun GH, Hanaway P, Sudak NL, Kaszkin-Bettag M, Carpenter JE, Gagnier JJ. 2017.  CARE guidelines for case reports: explanation and elaboration document . J Clin Epidemiol . 89:218-234. doi: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2017.04.026 

Guidelines to writing a clinical case report. 2017. Heart Views . 18:104-105. doi:  10.4103/1995-705X.217857

Ortega-Loubon C, Culquichicon C, Correa R. The importance of writing and publishing case reports during medical education. 2017. Cureus. 9:e1964. doi:  10.7759/cureus.1964

Writing and publishing a useful and interesting case report. 2019. BMJ Case Reports.  https://casereports.bmj.com/pages/wp-content/uploads/sites/69/2019/04/How-to-write-a-Case-Report-DIGITAL.pdf

Camm CF. Writing an excellent case report: EHJ Case Reports , Case of the Year 2019. 2020. European Heart Jounrnal. 41:1230-1231.  https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehaa176  

*content developed by Mark Trottier, PhD

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  • Published: 30 January 2023

A student guide to writing a case report

  • Maeve McAllister 1  

BDJ Student volume  30 ,  pages 12–13 ( 2023 ) Cite this article

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As a student, it can be hard to know where to start when reading or writing a clinical case report either for university or out of special interest in a Journal. I have collated five top tips for writing an insightful and relevant case report.

A case report is a structured report of the clinical process of a patient's diagnostic pathway, including symptoms, signs, diagnosis, treatment planning (short and long term), clinical outcomes and follow-up. 1 Some of these case reports can sometimes have simple titles, to the more unusual, for example, 'Oral Tuberculosis', 'The escapee wisdom tooth', 'A difficult diagnosis'. They normally begin with the word 'Sir' and follow an introduction from this.

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Guidelines To Writing a Clinical Case Report. Heart Views 2017; 18 , 104-105.

British Dental Journal. Case reports. Available online at: www.nature.com/bdj/articles?searchType=journalSearch&sort=PubDate&type=case-report&page=2 (accessed August 17, 2022).

Chate R, Chate C. Achenbach's syndrome. Br Dent J 2021; 231: 147.

Abdulgani A, Muhamad, A-H and Watted N. Dental case report for publication; step by step. J Dent Med Sci 2014; 3 : 94-100.

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how to write a case report medical student

A case report of case report pursuit by medical student

This article was migrated. The article was marked as recommended.

Medical students often seek case reports as vehicles for academic writing opportunities, conference presentation avenues, and residency/fellowship application highlights. Here we review a case where, due to unfortunate circumstances, a student made a unique diagnosis central to proper patient clinical care, wished to write up the case subsequently, but was ultimately excluded from the final work stemming from the patient case. We review the pitfalls that occurred in the process of pursuing publication of an interesting case, the educational value of pursuing case reports for students, the necessity for strong mentorship in this process, and general principles that medical students can follow regarding case report creation to avoid being "burned".

Undergraduate Medical Education, Case Report, Mentorship, Medical Student, Academic Medicine, Medical Teaching, Communication

Introduction

Medical students often seek case reports as vehicles for academic writing opportunities, conference presentation avenues, and residency/fellowship application highlights. Here we review a case where, due to unfortunate circumstances, a student made a unique diagnosis central to proper patient clinical care, wished to write up the case subsequently, but was ultimately excluded from the final work stemming from the patient case. Below, we will review the pitfalls that occurred in the process of pursuing publication of an interesting case and general principles that medical students can follow regarding case report creation to avoid being “burned”. The medical specifics of this case will be generalized to maintain anonymity.

A third-year medical student, on a mandatory inpatient rotation, was assigned to care for a patient with an unusual constellation of neurologic symptoms. The attending physician noted several distinct, unusual characteristics of the patient’s presentation, but given limited non-diagnostic lab results and imaging, the team was unable to reach a definitive diagnosis. After independently performing an extensive literature search, the medical student eventually found a disease reflecting the patient’s presentation and physical examination, with a notable exception of pre-existing disease for which the diagnosis was a rare complication.

The student then performed a focused review and identified 20+ published case reports concerning the diagnosis, and developed a spreadsheet to compare these reports. When approached by the student about the possible diagnosis, the attending physician did not feel strongly about the suggestion. When presented the student’s review, the team’s senior resident agreed with the potential diagnosis. After discussing it privately with the attending physician, the senior resident was able to convince the attending physician to consult a specialist team.

A fellow from the consultant team assessed the patient. The medical student discussed the potential diagnosis with the fellow, and provided the consultant team with printouts of the case reports. The fellow informed the medical student that the patient could not possibly have such a diagnosis, because it was a rare complication of a disease the patient did not have. With time, both attending physicians of the primary and consultant team decided to include the rare diagnosis in the differential. A biopsy was performed, and confirmed the rare diagnosis. Definitive treatment could now be initiated.

At this time, the medical student proposed write up of the case with the primary team attending physician. Enthusiastic at the time, the attending physician agreed it was worthy for publication since it would be the first presentation of this disease without antecedent disease history. However, the attending physician stipulated any write-up should wait until evidence the patient responded to therapy. One week later, the attending physician rotated off service. The student completed the inpatient rotation. Two months later, the team’s senior resident completed residency training. The medical student continued to follow the patient’s treatment course and kept communication with the attending physician every 2 months. Four months later, the patient was found to have responded to treatment, but the student was unable to reach the attending to confirm the next step in writing up the case.

Five months after initial accurate diagnosis of the patient, a different resident reached out to the student about writing up the case as an abstract for presentation at a national conference. The student responded, but still pursued writing the case as a manuscript, and could not receive confirmation from the resident or the initial attending physician. When the student happened to rotate through the consultant service that same month, he discussed the unique case with the specialist attending physician. To the student’s surprise, the attending informed him that the fellow originally consulted for the patient was writing up the case for publication. The student reached out to the fellow. The fellow responded that the case write-up was complete, and there was nothing the student could do to help.

The medical student reached out again to the attending physician of the primary team, who acknowledged awareness of the case report authored by the consultant team. The attending physician had been asked to review a component of it prior to publication, and thus was included in the author list. The medical student was not included in the authorship. The medical student then sought guidance from a third-party mentor not involved in the case. The medical student was advised that as a member of the inpatient service, the primary attending is the acting representative for the student with the consulting team. The student, cautiously restated his desired involvement in the manuscript and requested to be advocated for by the primary attending. The attending stated there was little to do at this point, as it appeared that the consultant service conducted its own background and literary search, and in the situation of clinical case reports co-managed by multiple specialties, “it is a race to publication”.

Case reports provide medical students and physicians-in-training the opportunity to begin engaging in simpler scientific medical writing before pursuing more advanced forms of medical writing (e.g. research manuscripts, book chapters). Case reports also afford an early opportunity to publish outside of formal scientific research projects. ( Har-el, 1999 ; Mishra, 2015 ) They engage a pertinent clinical question, and give students practice in research and assessment skills that forge strong clinicians. ( Florek and Dellavalle, 2016 ) Packer et al. identified five educational benefits of case reports for medical students ( Packer et al., 2017 ):

1. Developing observation and pattern recognition skills. Students who engage in writing case reports become better at recognizing and understanding nuances of disease presentations.

2. Developing hypothesis-generating skills. Students learn self-criticism and hone hypothesis-generating skills through engaging in discourse, refining arguments, and anticipating criticisms.

3. Understanding patient-centered care. Students appreciate the individual variations in disease presentation, progression, and treatment outcomes because case reports focus upon an individual patient.

4. Writing skills and rhetorical versatility. Students engage in the four classical rhetorical modes of narrative, descriptive, expository, and argumentative writing, which ultimately improves communication skills in all aspects of medicine.

5. The case report as a “mini-thesis”. Students answer a clinical question, support a possible answer, and contribute their synthesis to the scientific literature body.

Despite these advantages, medical students face major challenges and barriers in the process of writing case reports. In one survey-based study examining writing and presenting case reports among 84 fourth-year medical students, only approximately one-third had written or presented a case report. Almost all (99%) believed that finding a good mentor was a key component to finding success in the process, while major perceived barriers included a lack of formal training and the lack of a mentor. ( Jha et al., 2018 ) This study highlights the essential role solid mentorship plays in supporting engaged, motivated students choosing to write case reports. The study also corroborates clearly the significant challenges encountered by the student in the case above.

Mentoring and role modeling are critical components of the formal, informal, and hidden medical education curriculum. Poor role modeling experiences can leave lasting negative impacts on students and change student behavior to become aversive towards similar situations ( Mileder, Schmidt and Dimai, 2014 ). Thus, when students experience poor role modeling related to a fundamental form of medical literature, it may have profound effects upon their future, including career decisions. ( Mileder, Schmidt and Dimai, 2014 )

In the case above, did mentors exhibit poor role modeling in failing to include the student in co-authoring the report. Authorship issues are a common source of conflict during the pre-publication stage. The position of the first author is highly coveted and reflects an individual’s time and dedication towards manuscript preparation and publication. The last author of the paper identifies the senior individual providing guidance and oversight. Universities have additional guidelines for determining who else is a co-author. Our institution recommends steps to avoid authorship disputes, with a focus on clearly defining the role of each author and on early, frequent, and open communication during the drafting process.(Office of Research Conduct and Compliance, Thomas Jefferson University, 2017)

If a dispute occurs, the research group should first attempt to resolve the conflict internally. If the disagreement remains unresolved, then they should consult a senior third-party colleague. If all else fails, refer to institutional policy and involve senior administrative level colleagues. The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) provides guidelines to determine how individuals qualify for authorship and to prevent gift authorships and unethical distribution of credit. Authors should meet all of the following three conditions: 1) Make substantial contributions to conception and design, acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data; 2) draft the article or revise it critically for important intellectual content; and 3) provide final approval of the version to be published. Those who are involved with the manuscript but do not meet these criteria should be listed in the acknowledgments section. ( Gopikrishna, 2010 ; Rison, 2013 )

The medical student in the presented case would not have met authorship criteria based on clinical involvement alone, but might have been listed in the acknowledgments section. Had the primary attending physician advocated for the student to be included in the writing process, however, the student would have had an opportunity to meet criteria for authorship. For instance, given the continued interest exhibited by the student through consistent communication, the primary attending physician could have established early communication between the specialty service already writing the patient case and the motivated medical student. And when the specialty service initially contacted the primary attending to review the component of the patient case report, the primary attending could have advocated at that junction on behalf of the medical student.

As exemplified in this case, medical students cannot necessarily rely on the advocacy of attending physicians. Any student interested in writing up a potentially interesting clinical case is advised to immediately approach all involved parties and constantly engage in communication from the onset of idea conception. It is not sufficient to only have dialogue with the primary team members, as evidenced in this case. One party’s reluctance to engage in an academic written activity should serve as impetus for student communications with other involved team members, to secure concrete mentoring in project development. Dialogue should be frank, and conversations should be documented to confirm responsibilities of all parties involved. Early, inclusive communication is critical to increase the number of potential mentors for manuscript production, establish early leadership in a project’s development, and prevent unpleasant late surprises.

Teaching faculty should support medical students who are interested in writing case reports because the process provides students with unique educational opportunities. Lack of quality mentorship is a major barrier for medical students pursuing case report completion. To increase mentor/mentee relationships resulting in concrete academic accomplishments, students should contact multiple teaching faculty involved in the case early and engage in communication amongst all potential co-authors. Identification of a communicative mentor, discussing authorship, dividing project responsibilities early, and maintaining frequent communication through all stages of academic production is central to a student’s success in writing a case report.

Take Home Messages

• Medical students should express interest early in pursuing a case report and identify supportive and communicative mentors.

• Communication should be established early between all parties involved in the care of the patient and maintained frequently throughout production of the manuscript.

• Authorship and project responsibilities should be discussed early.

• Case reports are unique educational opportunities for medical students and mentorship is an essential component of this learning experience.

• Mentors should maintain open communication with students.

Notes On Contributors

Jonathan C. Li, BS is a fourth-year medical student at Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University. He is pursuing a career in Combined Internal Medicine and Pediatrics.

Jennifer Fisher Wilson, MS, ELS, is the Senior Writer/Editor for the Office for Professional Writing, Publishing, and Communication at Jefferson (Philadelphia University+Thomas Jefferson University). She is a former writer for Annals of Internal Medicine and The Scientist.

Wayne Bond Lau, MD is Professor of Emergency Medicine at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. He contributes to EM through clinical care, basic research (cardiac ischemia/reperfusion injury), and education of medical students/residents at Jefferson. As Director of the Jefferson Chinatown Clinic, he has cared for Philadelphian underserved communities for over a decade.

Declarations

The author has declared that there are no conflicts of interest.

Ethics Statement

Thomas Jefferson University—Office of Human Research provided exemption from IRB approval from FORM OHR-34, item 9 stating: “(9) Case reports of one or two cases. (Three or more case reports in one series require IRB review). While one or two case reports do not require IRB review, they do require review by the Privacy Office.”

External Funding

This article has not had any External Funding

Acknowledgments

Publication made possible in part by support from the Thomas Jefferson University + Philadelphia University Open Access Fund.

Bibliography/References

  •   Florek A. G., Dellavalle R. P. (2016) Case reports in medical education: a platform for training medical students, residents, and fellows in scientific writing and critical thinking.Journal of Medical Case Reports. 10 , p. 86. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13256-016-0851-5
  •   Gopikrishna V. (2010) A report on case reports.Journal of Conservative Dentistry: JCD. 13 (4), pp. 265–271. https://doi.org/10.4103/0972-0707.73375
  •   Har-el G. (1999) Does it take a village to write a case report?Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery: Official Journal of American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. 120 (6), pp. 787–788. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0194-5998(99)70314-1
  •   Jha P., Thakur A., Klumb J., Bhandari S. (2018) Perceptions of Fourth-Year Medical Students on Writing and Presenting Case Reports.Cureus. 10 (3), p. e2341. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.2341
  •   Mileder L. P., Schmidt A., Dimai H. P. (2014) Clinicians should be aware of their responsibilities as role models: a case report on the impact of poor role modeling.Medical Education Online. 19 , p. 23479. https://doi.org/10.3402/meo.v19.23479
  •   Mishra S. (2015) Are medical breakthroughs declining - The importance of case reports?Indian Heart Journal. 67 Suppl 3, pp. S1–S3. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ihj.2016.01.005
  •   Office of Research Conduct and Compliance, Thomas Jefferson University (2017) GUIDELINES FOR AVOIDING AND RESOLVING AUTHORSHIP DISPUTES.Available at: https://www.jefferson.edu/content/dam/university/research/compliance/Guidelines%20for%20Avoiding%20Resolving%20Authorship%20Disputes.pdf (Accessed:2 February 2019).
  •   Packer C. D., Katz R. B., Iacopetti C. L., Krimmel J. D., et al. (2017) A Case Suspended in Time: The Educational Value of Case Reports.Academic Medicine: Journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges. 92 (2), pp. 152–156. https://doi.org/10.1097/ACM.0000000000001199
  •   Rison R. A. (2013) A guide to writing case reports for the Journal of Medical Case Reports and BioMed Central Research Notes.Journal of Medical Case Reports. 7 , p. 239. https://doi.org/10.1186/1752-1947-7-239

Comments on this article Comments (0)

Open peer review.

This review has been migrated. The reviewer awarded 4 stars out of 5

A well written and interesting paper that describes some of the pitfalls that students can fall into in their pursuit of scholarship, and some of the difficulties arising from lack of recognition by faculty. It points to some salient issues relating to the faculty- student relationship. This well written and descriptive paper prvides some possible answers that we all need to take notice of.I fully recommend this paper to all those involved with mentoring or supervision of students

Competing Interests: No conflicts of interest were disclosed.

  • Respond or Comment
  • COMMENT ON THIS REPORT

This is a novel and important manuscript and one which deserves as wide an audience as possible in my opinion. The authors are to be commended for addressing an important issue in medical education with balance and professionalism. Their case study highlights the often vulnerable position of medical students in the training hierarchy. According to principles of natural justice, the medical student in the case described should have been afforded the opportunity to contribute to or even to prepare the first draft of the case report, based on a diagnosis first suggested by that same student. Unfortunate timing with lack of continuity of clinical staff, questionable role modelling and the complete lack of mentorship conspired to prevent the student from realising a worthy ambition of co-authoring a case report with which he/she was intimately involved. I feel only admiration for the student involved and hope that this encounter with the sometimes dysfunctional power relationships in clinical practice will not discourage future publication attempts. This case study is very well written and well supported by reference to the literature. The set of recommendations provided will itself be an important contribution to the medical education literature and I believe that it will help in the creation of ‘ground rules’ which will serve to guide clinical teams who may face similar situations in future. We must cherish our learners and support them in their efforts to advance and grow in knowledge. The opposite, unfortunately, occurred in the case described but lessons have luckily been learned.

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  • Gerard Flaherty , National University of Ireland Galway
  • Trevor Gibbs , AMEE

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Another Trump case at the Supreme Court? His argument for immunity could be a tough sell

WASHINGTON – Former President Donald Trump is expected to try to appeal Tuesday's scathing lower court ruling that said he isn't immune from charges that he tried to unlawfully overturn the 2020 election. He may not get a sympathetic audience with the Supreme Court.

A three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday forcefully rejected Trump's claim of immunity from prosecution for the potential crimes tied to trying to stay in office despite losing the election.

Trump is expected to appeal that decision to the Supreme Court, with the dual aim of pushing his expansive vision of presidential immunity and delaying his federal trial for allegedly attempting to steal the 2020 election − ideally until after he has regained the White House, and with it the power to order the Department of Justice to drop its charges.

Many legal scholars say the Supreme Court is unlikely to embrace Trump's expansive immunity claims. And the appeals court has taken measures to limit Trump's ability to delay his trial by setting a Monday deadline for Trump to ask the Supreme Court to keep his case on hold.

“I think there’s a strong chance the Supreme Court will unanimously uphold this,” Michael Waldman, president of the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University's law school, told USA TODAY. "The question to me is not how the court will rule, but when."

Prep for the polls: See who is running for president and compare where they stand on key issues in our Voter Guide

A Supreme Court review could move briskly or run for months, depending on how swiftly the justices want to act.

A trial date in limbo

Of the four criminal cases Trump is currently facing, special counsel Jack Smith's case against Trump for allegedly illegally attempting to overturn the election was slated by late last year to be Trump's first 2024 criminal trial.

Customary deadlines for filing Supreme Court arguments run for months at a time and routine cases filed at this point in the year could be heard in the fall, which could potentially put off a decision into 2025. The high court previously declined in December a request from Smith to review Trump's appeal immediately, before the Circuit Court weighed in .

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan had scheduled Trump's trial for March 4, but suspended pre-trial deadlines and eventually postponed the trial date as Trump's appeal unfolded. The appeals court said the suspension will expire Monday unless Trump asks the Supreme Court to keep it in place by then. At that point, it will be up to the high court whether to keep the case on hold while it decides whether to hear the case.

"It puts the Supreme Court in the hot seat, gives Trump only six days to write this petition on an emergency basis, and it's going to be one of the most significant things that the Supreme Court does in relation to the 2024 election,” said Rick Hasen, a professor and election law expert at the University of California, Irvine School of Law, on CNN International.

Waldman said the Supreme Court might not take the case, which would leave the appeals court decision in place, but the high court is also capable of moving cases quickly within days or weeks. In Bush v Gore, which determined the outcome of the 2000 election, the Florida Supreme Court had ordered a hand recount of ballots on Dec. 8, 2000, and the U.S. Supreme Court halted the count on Dec. 12. In the latest case, the Colorado Supreme Court ordered Trump off the ballot on Dec. 19, 2023, Trump appealed Jan. 3 and the Supreme Court set arguments for Feb. 8 .

A strategic dilemma for Trump

Trump could try to slow the process down even further by asking the full D.C. Circuit of 11 judges to consider the case before the Supreme Court. But Chutkan could schedule a trial if he chooses that route, unless the full D.C. Circuit grants him a new stay while that is adjudicated. The full circuit also could refuse to hear Trump's case and let the panel's decision stand.

If Trump heads straight to the Supreme Court and it agrees to hear the case, at least five of the nine justices would need to agree to continue postponing the trial.

“The Supreme Court can move quickly," Waldman said. "And the presidency is at stake. Voters have a right to know if Trump will be convicted."

Expansive immunity claim met with skepticism

Trump's lawyers argued at the appeals court for near absolute immunity. Even if a president killed a political rival, the House would have to impeach and the Senate convict before a president could be criminally prosecuted, according to Trump lawyer John Sauer.

“If there’s no impeachment ever, and no conviction, then the official acts are immune, period,” Sauer said.

The D.C. Circuit Court's panel flatly rejected that assertion when it comes to potential crimes committed in an attempt to retain power.

"We cannot accept former President Trump’s claim that a President has unbounded authority to commit crimes that would neutralize the most fundamental check on executive power — the recognition and implementation of election results," the panel said.

Some experts argued the panel's ruling was made more powerful by coming through one voice: the three judges didn't identify who wrote the unanimous decision.

Many say the Supreme Court is likely to agree with the lower court, at least when it comes to Trump's broadest immunity claims.

“This is a landmark case, but in many ways it is an easy case," Waldman said.

Noting that one of the judges on the panel was appointed by former President George H.W. Bush, a Republican, Waldman added, “It’s very strongly worded and strongly argued and was unanimous with appointees from presidents of different parties. It’s hard to just sneer at it and say it’s just a liberal plot."

Even though six of the nine Supreme Court justices were appointed by Republicans, including three appointed by Trump, experts say that doesn't guarantee Trump will prevail. Trump has lost other cases before the court , such as rejecting a Texas lawsuit aimed at overturning election results in four states.

Norman Eisen, a Brookings Institution senior fellow who served as special counsel to the House Judiciary Committee during Trump's first impeachment, told USA TODAY it "can't be right" that a president has an absolute right to commit crimes while in office.

"Think of the bizarre consequences of planning murders or kidnappings or bank robberies from the Oval Office," he said.

Stanford law professor David Sklansky characterized Trump's immunity argument as "totally meritless."

"It's an argument that is completely inconsistent with the idea that no one is above the law," Sklansky said.

Trump continues to press for immunity

Trump and his supporters argue presidents must be protected from criminal charges after they leave office, or it will inhibit a president's actions in the White House.

Trump characterized the appeals court decision as "Nation-destroying" on his social media platform, Truth Social, posting that a president "must have Full Immunity in order to properly function and do what has to be done for the good of our Country."

Republican Rep. Jim Jordan, a Trump ally and head of the House Judiciary Committee, said the appeals decision “raises serious concerns” that would have to be addressed on appeal.

“That a President is stripped of his constitutional protections for official acts while in office is obviously something that will need to be addressed on appeal,”  Jordan, R-Ohio, said in a post on X .

The Appeals Court countered that the separation of powers means the judicial branch must retain some ability to check the president.

"The court dismantled these claims patiently, painstakingly, and unsparingly," wrote George Conway, an anti-Trump Republican and longtime federal litigator, in the Atlantic .

"The separation of powers doctrine … necessarily permits the Judiciary to oversee the federal criminal prosecution of a former President for his official acts because the fact of the prosecution means that the former President has allegedly acted in defiance of the Congress’s laws," the judges wrote.

Trump continues to push for presidential immunity, despite his own past lawyers arguing otherwise

Courts have never settled the issue of post-White House presidential immunity for crimes committed while in office because no former president has ever been charged before. But many legal experts say the possibility always existed, which is why former President Gerald Ford pardoned former President Richard Nixon.

The appeals court noted that at Trump's second Senate impeachment trial, on a charge he incited the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021, his own lawyers argued the charges should be heard instead in the criminal justice system.

“We have a judicial process in this country,” Trump lawyer David Schoen told the Senate on Feb. 9, 2021. “We have an investigative process in this country to which no former officeholder is immune. That is the process that should be running its course.”

Trump has argued that his alleged conduct under the federal election indictment formed part of his official acts as president.

However, Josh Blackman, a professor at the South Texas College of Law Houston, expressed skepticism about characterizing Trump's rally on Jan. 6, soon before the breach of the Capitol, as part of official conduct.

"As I look at the January 6 speech, and I said this on January 7th, this was a private act," Blackman said. "Because he was talking to supporters, he was not within the outer bounds of his official duties."

Trump's appeals could prevent decision before election: legal experts

Chutkan has already halted pretrial work on Trump's case for two months. She wrote in a January order that Trump would not lose any preparation time for his trial, meaning that even if the Supreme Court declines to hear Trump's appeal and Chutkan restarts the clock within a few weeks, the trial could not begin before early May.

If the Supreme Court agrees to hear the case and continues to postpone the trial, it could take weeks for Trump and Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith to file written arguments and then hold oral arguments. If the high court spent months collecting arguments, the eventual decision creeps closer to the election − and possibly past it.

“Everyone understands that this could well be what determines whether or not Trump can win the election, whether or not he’s going to be convicted of these crimes," Hasen said on CNN International.

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How to write a case report

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  • Peer review
  • Rahij Anwar , locum registrar in trauma and orthopaedics 1 ,
  • Huma Kabir , clinical fellow in paediatrics 2 ,
  • Rajesh Botchu , senior house officer in trauma and orthopaedics 3 ,
  • Shah Alam Khan , assistant professor 4 ,
  • Nitish Gogi , senior house officer in trauma and orthopaedics 5
  • 1 Royal London Hospital, Bexleyheath, London DA6 8DR
  • 2 Queen Mary's Hospital, Bexleyheath, London DA6 8DR
  • 3 Maidstone Hospital, Maidstone ME16 9PQ
  • 4 Department of Orthopaedics, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Ansari Nagar, New Delhi, India
  • 5 Russels Hall Hospital, Dudley DY1 2LU

Rahij Anwar and colleagues give advice on the practical details of writing case reports

Research has become an integral part of medical careers. A case report is a way of communicating information to the medical world about a rare or unreported feature, condition, complication, or intervention by publishing it in a medical journal.

When to start

Be on the look out for a case report from the start of your basic surgical or medical training. This will introduce you to the research world, and if your report is published it will be an asset to your CV. Any kind of research entails a lot of hard work and persistence. Your thought processes should be geared towards research in your postgraduate career, and you should use every opportunity you get for writing a report. So if you come across something unusual, discuss it with a consultant, particularly one who is keen on research.

Many consultants have huge amounts of material in the top drawers of their desks, waiting to be published. All they want is an enthusiastic medic who will help share their load in writing and getting it published. They are usually helpful if you ask them about this.

How to start

A senior doctor's help is a must from the beginning. He or she may know from their experience what cases are suitable for publication. Do an extensive literature search--PubMed, Medline, Ovid, Embase, and even search engines like Google will give you a vast amount of information related to the condition or feature you are after. Narrow down the search to your actual topic. If this comes up with very few search results, it means (assuming your search method is correct) that the case is rare and the report is therefore more likely to be published.

Your hospital library staff can help (especially in the beginning) by doing your searches for you and then getting relevant literature from other sources, if necessary. So don't be afraid to ask them. It is always useful to read in a standard textbook or appropriate journal everything about the topic that your case report relates to. Note down or photocopy important references at the end of the chapter or article and follow them up.

Obtaining consent from the patient is not only good medical practice but also mandatory for some journals, such as the BMJ (which has its own consent form on bmj.com). If there is no standard form, make up your own. It is useful to have the patient's contact details on the form just in case you want to trace him or her later. It is also polite to ask permission from the doctor in charge of the patient's management.

How to collect information related to the case

After you have done the groundwork, collect all the material for the case report. Use the patient's notes to record the details of all the events in the patient's care--that is, history, examination findings, results of investigations with dates, and operative findings, if any, together with the details of the actual intervention and follow ups. Get copies--do not take the originals (they are the patient's only records for future reference). You are allowed to have copies only of radiographs, slides, photographs, and so on, but in this electronic age it is better to use a digital camera for your personal copies of radiographs and clinical photographs. This avoids many potential problems and saves a lot of time. Make sure you return the notes and radiographs to their original source. You should also visit the patient again and make sure you have got the facts right.

Which journal to choose

Again, the advice of your supervising consultant is useful. Select a journal that you think would be the most appropriate for your case report. For example, unusual injury presentations are more likely to be accepted in the journals such as Trauma rather than more mainstream, general interest journal. The BMJ does not publish case reports, only Lesson of the Week. In other words, be sensible in choosing the journal.

Download or copy the information for authors for that particular journal and keep the hard copy safely in a folder with all the other information about the case. It is also useful to have a copy of any case report from a previous issue of the journal to get an idea of the presentation. It is extremely important to understand the basic format required by the journal. Your case report may be rejected because it does not conform to the standard format, no matter how good the content is. Margins, spacing, figure numbering, and style of references (Vancouver, Harvard, and so on), all are important aspects.

How many colleagues should be included?

The honest answer is not many: the supervising consultant and maybe one or two other colleagues, depending on how sincere and helpful they have been in collecting information or literature. You or your consultant (discuss with him or her) must be the first author. Do not ever give photographs or any other material related to your case report to anyone who you think might misplace them.

How do I write it?

It is best to write everything in one stretch. Piecemeal writing consumes time because you have to go over everything repeatedly. The following format is the most common way of writing a case report.

Introduction

Describe your case report in one sentence. Also mention how rare it is.

Case report

You have to summarise the information that you have gathered: a brief history and important and relevant positive and negative findings with details of investigations, treatment, and the condition of the patient after treatment. Don't include unnecessary details. Remember, this part should read like an interesting story, which your reader should enjoy.

One common form of presentation is to divide it into separate paragraphs with history, examination, investigation, treatment, and outcome in separate paragraphs--a textbook style of presentation without the headings.

Remember that the probability of getting any research work published in a reputable journal is determined primarily by how well your arguments are presented scientifically --that is, how your report is supported or discussed. The first paragraph may explain the objective of reporting the case.

You must subsequently describe whatothers have written before about the condition or any related feature. Be generous in quoting the literature but don't go into unnecessary details.

The third and most important stage in the discussion is to substantiate the message you are trying to convey. Your reviewers want proof of the rarity of the condition and the scientific explanations for it. If you don't do this, they are likely to reject your report immediately. So you must be able to describe the cause of the condition or why a particular procedure or feature was chosen. How did it influence the outcome? How does it differ from usual and what are your recommendations? Are there any lessons to be learnt? All (or at least, most) of these questions need to be answered in the discussion.

Box 1: Stages in writing a case report

Finding a rare case

Literature search

Collecting information related to the case, including consent

Summarising and writing

Revising and editing

Box 2: Format for writing a case report

the real story

Clinical features

Investigations

Treatment and outcome

review of literature

Recommendations, if any

This is not always necessary in a case report but if it is, summarise your message in a few sentences.

The reference section is boring and time consuming but extremely important. Keep to the style (Vancouver, Harvard, etc) that your journal requires. The references should be in the form of numbers as you go along (usually 1, 2, 3, etc, as superscripts or in brackets in the order of appearance, as required by your journal). It is useful to put the same number on your hard copy of the reference.

Finishing touches

Expect to have to edit and revise the report about three times. Make sure you use the spell and grammar check on your computer. Every section of the case report--discussion, reference, etc--should start on a new page. Get the senior author (usually supervising consultant) to review the finished report and then write a covering letter. All the other documents, including photographs, copyright, and so on, as required by the journal, should be attached to the final copy of the report before sending it to the journal.

You are allowed to have a party once you have put your completed case report in the mailbox. Not for celebration but for preparation. Your search for the next case report should start the next day.

Originally published as: Student BMJ 2004;12:60

how to write a case report medical student

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  • v.51(3); May-Jun 2017

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Effective medical writing: How to write a case report which Editors would publish

Rehan ul haq.

Department of Orthopaedics, UCMS and Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, New Delhi, India

Ish Kumar Dhammi

Case reports will always have an important place in medical literature. 1 , 2 A number of important medical conditions such as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, adverse effects of fenfluramine and dexfenfluramine in causing primary pulmonary hypertension, parkinsonism, and Paget's disease were initially reported as case reports. 3 , 6 , 7 , 8 The words of William Osler, (father of modern medicine) “Always note and record the unusual…Publish it. Place it on permanent record as a short, concise note. Such communications are always of value,” are still very true. 9

The first piece of medical writing which most authors attempt is usually a case report. They come across a clinical condition or perform a procedure which they think is unique and worth reporting. They put it down in words, in the form of a case report and send it to the most reputed journal, thinking that it would help to disseminate their new discovery most widely. But, the journal rejects it, and the same story is repeated many times over till the time the author finally dumps the report.

Authors who wish their case reports to be accepted must pay importance to the following points; what are the different types of case reports? which topic to choose for a report? how to structure it? which journal to send it to? ethical issues as applied to case reports; and common pitfalls and mistakes to avoid.

T YPES OF C ASE R EPORTS

Before one starts writing a case report, one must know the different types of case reports that exist. Broadly speaking, clinical case reports can be divided into two categories; 10

  • Diagnosis related. These include case reports which describe new, rare, or unusual disease; unusual presentation of a known disease; unusual or new etiology for a known disease; new test or method of diagnosis; unexpected association between diseases or symptoms; and diagnostic dilemma or challenge
  • Management related. These include case reports which describe a new, novel, or improved treatment or surgical procedure; a new or rare side effect or complication of treatment; and therapeutic dilemma or challenge.

Besides these two broad categories, case reports can be on other issues such as a positional or quantitative variation of an anatomical structure; cases in which one patient has two or more unexpected diseases or disorders; new possible mechanism of injury; and an unusual injury pattern. 11

Different categories of case reports require slightly different styles of writing and highlighting key points, therefore authors must be familiar with them.

W HICH T OPIC TO C HOOSE FOR A C ASE R EPORT ?

Most journals, especially the ones which publish only case reports, provide an extensive list of topic on which they usually accept a report. This is usually in accordance with the broad publication policy of the journal. 2 Other journals including the Indian Journal of Orthopaedics (IJO) where case reports form a small part of the print publication do not provide extensive guidelines, but have some broad rules for them to be accepted. 12 Authors must understand that it is not the rarity or unusual nature of a case because of which it is accepted. 10 Case reports are accepted if they have key learning message which may change or alter practice. They are also accepted if they contribute new knowledge, ideally raising a new research question leading to larger scale research. 10 Novice authors, sometimes by focusing solely on the novelty of a case, de-emphasize the educational value of the report which results it not being accepted. This is something which must be avoided at all cost.

H OW TO S TRUCTURE A C ASE R EPORT ?

Most journals provide authors some broad guidelines about how to structure a case report. More recently, consensus-based clinical case report guidelines have been advocated by Gagnier et al . 13 , 14 Authors planning to write a case report must make themselves familiar with them. Some of the key points for each section of a case report are described in the following sections: 2 , 10 , 11 , 13 , 14 , 15

Title should include the word “case report” and highlight the subject of greatest interest which makes the case report worth reporting. Title should clearly state what the case is really about, because if it is obscure, then readers may not read it at all.

Abstract must briefly mention the rationale of the report, the chief concerns of the patient, the main intervention, outcome, and finally the main learning message from the case report. Great care must be exercised in writing an abstract because most editors and readers would only read this part of the case to form an opinion about it. For case reports, IJO expects its authors to provide an unstructured abstract. 12

Two to five keywords must be provided. These phrases of words must be carefully chosen so that electronic search of the report is maximized. IJO encourages its authors to also provide Medical Subject Headings terms for all types of articles including case reports to optimize its electronic search. 12

Introduction

Introduction must summarize the background and context of the case report. It should include a brief relevant literature review including any landmark papers on the issue. It must usually end with the reason highlighting as to why the case is worth reporting.

This is the main body (core part) of the case report. In two or three well-laid out paragraphs, authors must present the patient's information, clinical history presenting features, family, social occupational history, clinical examination findings, diagnostic assessment including all relevant investigations, differential diagnosis, if relevant, treatment plan, outcome and patient's progress, followup and complications if any. It must follow a logical sequence and time line.

It must be able to convince the editors and readers that the case is worth reporting. Authors should begin with expanding on the introduction and reemphasizing as to why the case is worth reporting. This must be followed by a focused review of literature narrowing down to the key challenges in the present case. The authors must try to compare and contrast their case with the existing literature. A line about the strengths and limitations of the case report must also be added. Discussion must conclude by bringing out the key take away points from the report and how the evidence can add value to the future clinical practice and research.

Most journals in their guide to authors would provide information about the length, number, and type of figures and tables, number and style of references, etc., for a case report. For example, the IJOs encourages authors to stick to a length of 1000 words excluding the references while submitting a case report. 12 Authors must go through the guide to authors and journal policy before submitting their work to a particular journal.

W HICH J OURNAL TO S END A C ASE R EPORT TO ?

Authors planning to submit a case report for possible publication must understand that case reports have one of the highest rates of rejection. The most obvious reason is that they are one of the most common forms of medical writing that is received by journals which always have limited print space. The other reason is that the level of evidence generated by them is low while journals prefer high-level evidence articles. Third, case reports are low on an editor's priority because they are rarely cited and therefore do not help to improve the impact factor of a journal which is one of the key matrices by which the quality of an indexed journal is accessed. 15 However, if an author feels that his/her report has something unique which can change practice, he/she should not be deterred by these issues and must diligently continue with his/her endeavor. Besides the more established journals, there are several new online journals such as BMJ Case Reports, 16 the Journal of Medical Case Reports, 17 Clinical Case Reports, 18 Cases Journal, 19 and Journal of Orthopaedic Case Reports 20 which publish case reports.

E THICAL I SSUES AS A PPLIED TO C ASE R EPORTS

Patient's informed consent must always be taken and patient's confidentiality and privacy must be maintained. Based on the journal guidelines and local institutional policies, ethics committee or institutional review board approval may be required. Like in any type of medical writing, common ethical issues such as authorship, plagiarism, fabrication and falsification, and conflict of interest issues must be taken care of. 21 , 22

P ITFALLS AND M ISTAKES

At the end of writing a case report, the author must go through it very carefully and see if “the rule of Cs” has been followed. 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 The “rule of Cs” is that a case report should be Clear, Concise, Coherent, and must Convey a Crisp message. Some of the common pitfalls that need to be avoided are as follows:

  • Authors must understand that a good case report is not the one which highlights a rare condition but the one that has a clear message that can be generalized, and is relevant to many other clinicians
  • Authors must be very clear about the one single learning point they want to highlight. Trying to put too many ideas only confuses the readers and turns off the editors
  • Before claiming rarity or uniqueness, a thorough literature search is mandatory. Sometimes, in their zeal to publish, authors write a case report on a topic which is all too well known and then feel dejected once it is rejected
  • The length, structure, and format of a report must be according to the journal to which the authors wish to submit their report. Always go through the guide to authors and previously published case reports of the journal to familiarize with the style of the journal
  • One must understand that the level of evidence generated by a case report is pretty low and therefore authors must avoid making firm judgments and sweeping recommendations based on speculation. Conclusions must be justifiable and evidence based.

The IJO stopped accepting case reports from January 2016. This was a temporary step to clear the backlog of case reports which had accumulated over the years. The journal publishes two to four case reports in every issue and now the backlog is significantly reduced and we have started accepting them. The editors hope that the present editorial would help authors write case reports which are readily accepted and avoid disappointments which happen, if ones work is rejected.

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A laminated yellow sign with black writing and a headline saying "Plague Warning!!!", with red circles crossing out both an icon of a person walking and an icon of a dog.

A case of bubonic plague was reported in Oregon. Here’s what to know

US cases of plague are exceedingly rare, and modern therapies are effective when patients are treated in time

  • Oregon resident caught bubonic plague from cat, officials say

A case of bubonic plague – the disease that killed tens of millions of people in medieval Europe – was reported in rural Oregon last week . The afflicted individual was promptly treated, and health officials believe that there is “little risk to the community” that the disease will spread.

Though the disease, which officials believe was likely passed on to the individual from a sick pet cat, is exceedingly rare in the modern day, a few cases are reported each year. But in 2024, doctors know much better how to treat the disease and prevent its spread.

Here what to know about how an illness once known as the “black death” became treatable:

What is the plague?

The bubonic plague is an infectious disease that can affect mammals , caused by the Yersinia pestis bacteria. It is often transmitted via fleas infected with the bacteria. It can also be caught by inhaling respiratory droplets after close contact with animals or humans sick with pneumonic plague, the most severe form of the disease. Another way it can be caught is “from direct contact with infected tissues or fluids while handling an animal that is sick with or that has died from plague”, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Plague symptoms can manifest in a few ways. Bubonic plague – the kind contracted by the Oregon resident – happens when the plague bacteria get into the lymph nodes. It can cause fever, headache, weakness and painful, swollen lymph nodes. It usually happens from the bite of an infected flea, according to the CDC.

Septicemic plague symptoms happen if the bacteria get into the bloodstream. It can occur initially or after bubonic plague goes untreated. This form of plague causes the same fever, chills and weakness, as well as abdominal pain, shock and sometimes other symptoms like bleeding into the skin and blackened fingers, toes or nose. The CDC says this form comes from flea bites or from handling an infected animal.

Pneumonic plague is the most serious form of the disease, and it occurs when the bacteria get into the lungs. Pneumonic plague adds rapidly developing pneumonia to the list of plague symptoms. It is the only form of plague that can be spread from person to person by the inhalation of infectious droplets.

All forms of plague are treatable with common antibiotics, and people who seek treatment early have a better chance of a full recovery, according to the CDC.

Who is at risk?

In the US, an average of seven cases of human plague are reported each year, according to the CDC, and about 80% of them are the bubonic form of the disease. Most of those cases are reported in the rural western and south-western US.

A welder in central Oregon contracted bubonic plague in 2012 when he pulled a rodent out of his choking cat’s mouth – he survived but lost his fingertips and toes to the disease. A Colorado teen contracted a fatal case while hunting in 2015, and Colorado officials confirmed at least two cases last year – one of them fatal.

Worldwide, most human cases of plague in recent decades have occurred in people living in rural towns and villages in Africa, particularly in Madagascar and the Congo, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

People can reduce the risk of plague by making their homes and outdoor living areas less inviting for rodents, by clearing brush and junk piles, and by keeping pet food inaccessible. Ground squirrels, chipmunks and wood rats can carry plague, as can other rodents, and so people with bird and squirrel feeders may want to consider the risks if they live in an area with a plague outbreak.

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The CDC says repellent with Deet can also help protect people from rodent fleas when camping or working outdoors.

Flea-control products can help keep fleas from infecting household pets. If a pet gets sick, it should be taken to a vet as soon as possible, according to the CDC.

Isn’t plague from the middle ages?

The black death in the 14th century was perhaps the most infamous plague epidemic, killing up to half the population as it spread through Europe, the Middle East and northern Africa. It began devastating communities in the Middle East and Europe between 1347 and 1351 , and significant outbreaks continued for roughly the next 400 years.

An earlier major plague pandemic, dubbed the Justinian plague, started in Rome around 541 and continued to erupt for the next couple of hundred years.

The third major plague pandemic started in the Yunnan region of China in the mid-1800s and spread along trade routes, arriving in Hong Kong and Bombay about 40 years later. It eventually reached every continent except Antarctica, according to the Cleveland Clinic, and is estimated to have killed roughly 12 million people in China and India alone.

In the late 1800s, an effective treatment with an antiserum was developed. That treatment was later replaced by even more effective antibiotics a few decades later.

Though plague remains a serious illness, antibiotic and supportive therapies are effective for even the most dangerous pneumonic form when patients are treated in time, according to the World Health Organization.

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  • Infectious diseases
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COMMENTS

  1. Guidelines To Writing A Clinical Case Report

    The most common reasons for publishing a case are the following: 1) an unexpected association between diseases or symptoms; 2) an unexpected event in the course observing or treating a patient; 3) findings that shed new light on the possible pathogenesis of a disease or an adverse effect; 4) unique or rare features of a disease; 5) unique therap...

  2. Writing A Case Report

    Select a journal or two to which you think you will submit the case report. Journals often have specific requirements for publishing case reports, which could include a requirement for informed consent, a letter or statement from the IRB and other things. Journals may also charge publication fees (see Is it free to publish?

  3. Writing a case report in 10 steps

    First steps Begin by sitting down with your medical team to discuss the interesting aspects of the case and the learning points to highlight. Ideally, a registrar or middle grade will mentor you and give you guidance. Another junior doctor or medical student may also be keen to be involved.

  4. How to write a medical case report

    The writing of a case report rests on skills that medical students acquire in their medical training, which they use throughout their postgraduate careers: these include history taking, interpretation of clinical signs and symptoms, interpretation of laboratory and imaging results, researching disease aetiology, reviewing medical evidence, and w...

  5. Developing a Beginner's Guide to Writing a Clinical Case Report: A

    Writing a case report increases one's knowledge about a particular disease condition, demonstrates intellectual curiosity and commitment to scientific inquiry and the ability to follow through on scholarly projects.

  6. Writing a Medical Case Study: From Inspiration to Publication

    1 A case study report is an academic publication describing an unusual or unique case. Academic medical journals publish case study reports to inform and educate other medical practitioners. Case study reports might also prompt additional scholarly research on the medical condition or treatment plan discussed in the report. [1]

  7. Tips for writing a case report for the novice author

    For many doctors and other healthcare professionals, writing a case report represents the first effort at getting articles published in medical journals and it is considered a useful exercise in learning how to write scientifically due to similarity of the basic methodology. 1 Case reports aim to convey a clinical message. 2, 3 Despite different...

  8. Writing a Case Report

    Relevant information on writing case-based papers can be found in the following journal article: Rison: A guide to writing case reports for the Journal of Medical Case Reports and BioMed Central Research Notes.Journal of Medical Case Reports 2013 7:239.; The CARE Guidelines provide guidance on writing case reports and provides a checklist that explains what information you should collect and ...

  9. A student guide to writing a case report

    Sometimes case reports include a short literature review, if you think it is worthwhile, include it. 2. Describe your patient and follow the diagnostic pathway. For example - Patient X is a 10 ...

  10. Case reports in medical education: a platform for training medical

    5 Altmetric Metrics Abstract A case report is a detailed narrative that usually illustrates a diagnostic or therapeutic problem experienced by one or several patients. Case reports commonly serve as the first line of evidence for new interventions or they function as alarms that an issue exists with an already established therapy.

  11. PDF Writing and publishing a Case Report

    writing up a clinical case that you think demonstrates valuable clinical or ethical lessons for an audience of medical students or junior doctors. Take any clinical pictures you need to illustrate your case (download our consent form to use in addition to the consent forms you use locally - we do not accept manuscripts

  12. PDF 10. Guideline and Template for Writing a Case Report/Case Series

    Step 1: state the obvious Start by asking yourself: What are we talking about? Whom are we talking about? Why is this observation important? Who needs to know about this case? Example Tuberculosis - Severely malnourished child - Atypical presentation of the disease - Pediatricians in humanitarian and resource-limited settings

  13. How to write a case report Which journal to choose

    Use the patient's notes to record the details of all the events in the patient's care—that is, history, examination findings, results of investigations with dates, and operative findings, if any, together with the details of the actual intervention and follow ups.

  14. Guideline on writing a case report

    Despite that, case report provides the medical community with information which cannot be picked up by any other designs. Just to name a few, ... Writing a case report varies from one physician to another, depending on the expertise of the author who prepared the report. This variation is influenced by many factors ranging from the author's ...

  15. Student Careers How to write a medical case report

    Choosing the right message Rare diseases are not in themselves a reason to w rite up a case, but unusual presentations of a common disease are important to communicate to the medical community. Early or subtle signs and symptoms that are easily missed are important for us to learn from.

  16. A case report of case report pursuit by medical student

    5. The case report as a "mini-thesis". Students answer a clinical question, support a possible answer, and contribute their synthesis to the scientific literature body. Despite these advantages, medical students face major challenges and barriers in the process of writing case reports.

  17. A case report of case report pursuit by medical student

    Abstract. Medical students often seek case reports as vehicles for academic writing opportunities, conference presentation avenues, and residency/fellowship application highlights. Here we review ...

  18. Writing a medical case report

    Case reports have fallen out of favour, but they still have a role to play Given the unpredictable and challenging nature of medicine, many medical students will have come across a patient who has not been a textbook case. The patient may have presented in an unusual way, had a strange new pathology, or reacted to a medical intervention in a manner that has not been seen before. The ...

  19. How to get published as a medical student

    Anyone working in healthcare long enough will have at least a handful of things that would make a good case report or at least a poster, but never went anywhere. It's really a win-win because they get to "publish" and demonstrate academic productivity, which for a lot of teaching faculty is mandatory. Talk to attendings.

  20. PDF Case reports in medical education: a platform for training medical

    Case reports are written with the goal of sharing information for medical, scientific, or educational purposes. They often serve as medical or even undergraduate students' first experience with medical writing and they provide a solid foundation for manuscript preparation and publication.

  21. What records are exempted from FERPA?

    Records on a student who is 18 years of age or older, or attending a postsecondary institution, that are: (1) made or maintained by a physician or other recognized professional acting in that capacity; (2) made, maintained, or used only in connection with treatment of the student; and (3) disclosed only to individuals providing the treatment. ...

  22. A guide to writing case reports for the Journal of Medical Case Reports

    Case reports are a time-honored, important, integral, and accepted part of the medical literature. Both the Journal of Medical Case Reports and the Case Report section of BioMed Central Research Notes are committed to case report publication, and each have different criteria.Journal of Medical Case Reports was the world's first international, PubMed-listed medical journal devoted to ...

  23. Another Trump case at the Supreme Court? His argument for immunity

    A strategic dilemma for Trump. Trump could try to slow the process down even further by asking the full D.C. Circuit of 11 judges to consider the case before the Supreme Court.

  24. How to write a case report

    Rahij Anwar and colleagues give advice on the practical details of writing case reports Research has become an integral part of medical careers. A case report is a way of communicating information to the medical world about a rare or unreported feature, condition, complication, or intervention by publishing it in a medical journal. Be on the look out for a case report from the start of your ...

  25. Effective medical writing: How to write a case report which Editors

    The first piece of medical writing which most authors attempt is usually a case report. They come across a clinical condition or perform a procedure which they think is unique and worth reporting. They put it down in words, in the form of a case report and send it to the most reputed journal, thinking that it would help to disseminate their new ...

  26. A case of bubonic plague was reported in Oregon. Here's what to know

    A case of bubonic plague - the disease that killed tens of millions of people in medieval Europe - was reported in rural Oregon last week.The afflicted individual was promptly treated, and ...