Q: Who writes medical case reports and case studies, and why are they written?

Case study can be written in any discipline such as administrative science such as business and marketing, psychology, anthropology, sociology, political science, education, clinical science, social work etc. Case study refers to the method involving an up-close, in-depth, and detailed examination of a subject of study (the case), as well as its related contextual conditions.

In the scientific and medical world, case studies and case reports are written and read by doctors, nurses, medical researchers, post graduate students of medicine. Case studies and case reports generally describe a new medical condition, treatment or management options for various diseases, diagnosis, unreported or unusual side effects or adverse interactions involving medications, new presentation, associations or variations in disease processes, an unexpected event in the course of observing or treating a patient, findings that shed new light on the possible pathogenesis of a disease or an adverse effect.

Case reports and case series significantly contribute to towards advancement of current medical knowledge. Medical case reports are published in journals related to the medical specialities such as oncology, gastrointestinal diseases, cardiovascular disorders, neurological diseases etc. Apart from these, there are journals that publish only case reports; again, there are journals that publish case reports/studies pertaining to all disciplines of medicine and there are also journals that are specific to particular sub-category of medicine.

Journals publishing case reports generally follow the CARE Guidelines. Please refer to this guidelines for more information on how to write the case reports.

Related reading:

A young researcher's guide to writing a clinical case report

Will my paper be regarded as an original research article or a case study?