Case report

Write a case report a journal will consider

A case report is often a clinician's first publication, written between shifts. Journals take them when the case teaches something and the report follows the CARE guideline. Get the timeline straight, show what the literature already says, and have consent before you write a word.

Try it freeSee the steps

Free plan includes 100 AI Autocomplete / Ghost Text · 5,000 AI Writing Words · 100 AI Rewrites.

Case report

Case Study
  • IntroductionWhy this case matters
  • Patient informationDe-identified
  • TimelineDay 0 to follow-up
  • Diagnosis and treatmentTo write
  • DiscussionCompare with literature

On day 3 the fever returned despite treatment. Repeat blood cultures were taken and imaging was requested the same afternoon.

Tab to accept the suggestion
The problem

Why case reports get rejected

Many journals accept few case reports, so the avoidable faults matter.

Nothing new to learn

A textbook presentation of a known condition. Editors ask what a reader would do differently after reading it.

"First ever" without a search

Claims of rarity that a ten-minute literature search would contradict.

A muddled timeline

Events reported in the order they were remembered, with dates and durations missing.

Consent or anonymity problems

No documented patient consent, or details and images that could identify the person.

Step by step

How to do it in LitraMind

Remove anything that could identify the patient before the case goes into any software, this included.

  1. Get consent and de-identify your notes

    Obtain written consent on the journal's or your institution's form. Strip names, dates of birth, record numbers and exact dates from your working notes before you start writing.

  2. Check what has been published

    Search for similar cases with Research & Cite. Filter by article type and year. You need to know how many exist and how yours differs.

    About Research & Cite

  3. Read the closest reports quickly

    Upload the most similar published cases and ask for presentation, investigations, treatment and outcome, with page references. This becomes the comparison in your discussion.

    About Chat with Files

  4. Set up the CARE headings and write the timeline

    Create a document, add the CARE sections as headings, and write the timeline first as a dated list relative to presentation (day 0, day 3, week 6).

    About Write New Paper

  5. Write the case and the discussion

    Describe the case in plain chronological prose yourself; only you have the facts. In the discussion, state the teaching point and compare with the cases you found.

    About AI Autocomplete

  6. Edit to the journal's limit

    Case reports often have tight word limits. Use Trim, then AI Edit for consistent drug names, units and abbreviations, and set the reference style the journal uses.

    About AI Edit
Start step 1 free
The guide

What a case report needs

The CARE guideline is the standard most journals point to. It comes with a checklist you can submit alongside the manuscript.

The CARE sections

CARE sets out what a complete case report contains. Journals may merge or rename some sections, so check the author guidelines.

Main sections of a case report under the CARE guideline
SectionWhat it covers
Title, keywords, abstractThe words "case report", the main finding and the lesson
IntroductionWhy the case is worth reporting, with brief background
Patient informationDe-identified demographics, symptoms, relevant history
Clinical findings and timelineExamination findings and the sequence of events
Diagnostic assessmentTests, reasoning, differential diagnoses
Therapeutic interventionWhat was given or done, doses and duration
Follow-up and outcomesWhat happened, including adverse events
DiscussionStrengths, limits, comparison with literature, the take-away
Patient perspective and consentThe patient's view where possible; confirmation of consent

What makes a case worth publishing

An unusual presentation of a common disease. A rare condition with a useful diagnostic lesson. An unexpected adverse effect or drug interaction. A new approach to management. A case that challenges an assumption.

Write the teaching point in one sentence before you start. If you can't, the case may suit a conference poster or a teaching session better than a journal.

Consent and confidentiality

Journals require the patient's written informed consent for publication, or that of a guardian or next of kin where appropriate, usually on a specific form. Some also ask for ethics committee confirmation.

Anonymize thoroughly: no names, initials, exact dates, locations or record numbers, and crop or mask images. Removing the name is not enough if the combination of details identifies the person.

Choosing a journal

Check that your target journal still accepts case reports; many general journals no longer do, and dedicated case-report journals exist in most specialties. Look at the article processing charge and the indexing before you commit.

Written by the LitraMind team. Last reviewed .

In their words

What researchers and students say

“It helped me organise the clinical timeline clearly and avoid repeating the same patient information in several sections.”

Dr. P•••Clinical Research FellowN••• M••• School, United Kingdom

“The case presentation became much easier to follow once the diagnostic work-up and treatment sequence were presented chronologically.”

Dr. C•••Resident PhysicianW••• M••• University, United States

“I found it especially useful for tightening the discussion and focusing it on what made the case educationally relevant.”

Dr. I•••Senior Resident, Internal MedicineN••• Institute of M••• S•••, India

“It helped remove unnecessary detail while preserving the clinical information needed to understand the case.”

Dr. B•••Clinical ResearcherR••• M••• University, Germany

“The comparison with the existing literature became much more focused after restructuring the discussion around the unusual aspects of the case.”

Dr. M•••Resident PhysicianP••• Institute of C••• M•••, France

“I used it mainly for language and structure after the clinical details were finalized. That worked very well for a case report.”

Dr. L•••Clinical FellowP••• M••• R••• University, Singapore
The tools

What this workflow uses

All of them live in the same editor, so you don't move text between apps.

Research & Cite

Highlight a claim, search scholarly sources for it, and insert the citation in your chosen style.

About Research & Cite

Chat with Files

Ask questions of a PDF or DOCX and get answers with page references you can check.

About Chat with Files

AI Autocomplete

Ghost Text suggests the next sentence as you type. Press Tab to keep it, keep typing to ignore it.

About AI Autocomplete

AI Edit

Grammar, tone, clarity and consistency suggestions that you accept or reject one at a time.

About AI Edit
Straight answer

What stays your job

Clinical accuracy and patient confidentiality can't be delegated.

  • De-identification and consent. Don't put identifiable patient information into the editor or any other tool.
  • The clinical facts. Suggested text can sound plausible and be wrong; every value and date must come from the record.
  • Clinical judgment about what the case means. That is for you and your senior colleagues.
Questions

Questions people ask

Short answers before you start. Plan limits are on the pricing page.

See plans and limits
Can I use AI to write a case report?
For literature searching, structure and language, yes, within your journal's AI policy and with disclosure where required. Enter only de-identified information, and write the clinical narrative from the record yourself.
What is the CARE guideline?
A reporting guideline for case reports developed by an international group and listed by the EQUATOR Network. It provides a checklist of items a complete case report should include.
How long is a case report?
Often 1,000 to 2,000 words with a limited number of references and figures, but journals differ. Check the guidelines before you draft.
Do I need ethics approval?
A single case report usually needs patient consent rather than research ethics approval, but institutions and journals vary. Ask your ethics office if you're unsure.
Which reference style do medical journals use?
Most use Vancouver or a variant of it. You can set Vancouver in the citation settings and the reference list formats itself.
Keep going

Related use cases

All use cases

Journal manuscript preparation

Fix the things that get papers rejected before peer review: inconsistent terms, the wrong reference style, and an abstract that hides the finding.

Read the guide

Case study analysis

Read the case once properly, name the real problem, apply a framework to the evidence, and commit to a recommendation.

Read the guide

Citations and bibliography

Find a source at the moment you make a claim, insert it in your style, and let the reference list keep itself in sync.

Read the guide

Start with the timeline

Open a document in LitraMind, add the CARE headings, and write the de-identified sequence of events.

Create a free accountView pricing