Increasing Significance Of Medical Case Reports: Innovative Journal Leads The Way

Main Category: Primary Care / General Practice
Also Included In: Public Health
Article Date: 04 Oct 2008 - 4:00 PST

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The importance of case reports has long been recognized among surgeons, but this identification is now spreading, with the announcement from the Journal of Medical Case Reports (JMCR), that it has published its 500th case report.

JMCR takes the innovative step of publishing only medical case reports - articles that have previously been overlooked by traditional medical journals. By including all case reports in a fully searchable database, JMCR makes each individual patient's case a valuable addition to the medical literature.

JMCR has published case reports from all major medical fields including cancer, ophthalmology, gastroenterology, infectious diseases and musculoskeletal disorders. Since its launch in 2006 over 530,000 case reports have been downloaded from JMCR's website - indicative of the increasing significance and usage of case reports in the industry.

Authors of articles published in the journal are not just from the US and UK. Many authors have submitted case reports from countries as far afield as Nepal and Iran. This signifies the inherent value that case reports have to clinical practice globally and the importance of contributing directly to advancing medical understanding of disease, through the sharing of knowledge online.

The 500th article published by JMCR shows an analysis of 113 medical case reports that identify risk factors for the development of complications after endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair. By bringing together the case reports and amalgamating their results, the researchers of the study were able to determine the most likely factors leading to increased morbidity and mortality.

The authors of the article stated, "This type of article can help to detect specific patterns of patient outcomes, particularly with regard to clinically important and rare adverse events and complications".

JMCR is edited by Professor Michael Kidd, of the University of Sydney. Speaking of the publication of the 500th case report, Professor Kidd said, "This is an important milestone for this new journal. Our journal is devoted to publishing reports about individual people. Reports can serve as an early warning signal for the presentations of new and emerging diseases or the side effects of new medications. Reports that allow clinicians to share the experiences of their patients to support improving health care for everybody."

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Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.
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Notes:

1. Journal of Medical Case Reports (http://www.jmedicalcasereports.com/) is a peer-reviewed open access journal that will consider any original case report that expands the field of general medical knowledge. All articles published in Journal of Medical Case Reports are included in PubMed and PubMed Central.

2. BioMed Central (http://www.biomedcentral.com/) is an independent online publishing house committed to providing immediate access without charge to the peer-reviewed biological and medical research it publishes. This commitment is based on the view that open access to research is essential to the rapid and efficient communication of science.

Source: Matt McKay
BioMed Central