HowtoPrepareaCaseReport-DoctorsHospitalResearchand.ppt

Writing Case Reports Michael A. Weiser CORE Research Editor/Writer weiser@ Doctors Hospital – Case Reports January 16, 2007 Today’ Goals Provide an overview of Case Reports as a “research” vehicle. Draw a distinction between “scholarly work” and “research.” Discuss the Review of Literature Present the Case Report format and discuss the typical sections of the report. Talk about research dissemination – papers, posters, and presentations. Scholarly Work or Research? Case Reports are considered “Scholarly Work.” “N” of 1; Unidentifiable/De-Identified Data; Non-Generalizable Results. Retrospective and Prospective Studies are considered “Research.” Generalizable findings based on a large sample size. Why Do Research? Clinical research drives evidence-based medicine, which in turn, impacts clinical practice … Research → Quality. Professional development and growth depends on having adequate skills to: Critically read and evaluate journal articles Document interesting cases, and Understand and engage in conference workshops and presentations. Writing a Clinical Vignette An unexpected association between diseases or symptoms. An unexpected event in the course of observing or treating a patient. Findings that shed new light on the possible cause of a disease or an adverse effect. Unique or rare features of a disease. Unique therapeutic approaches. How to Begin? Find a topic or question of interest. Discuss your idea with your peers or a advisor/mentor. Check the literature. Find an appropriate case to report. Searching the Literature Start with a well-defined Idea. Clearly identify the Topic Areas covered by your Idea. Search those topic areas in Medline/PubMed; Generally, you want to combine terms to find the intersection of several topics. A “MeSH” search is best to combine terms. Surveying the Literature Questions to ask: Has someone already conducted research on this idea? If so, can I tailor my idea to tease out more specific details of the idea? Population – Rural v