ISSN 2462-8522
online version

DOI: 10.15446/cr

INSTRUCTIONS TO AUTHORS

• Scope and policy
• Form and preparation of manuscripts
• Envío de manuscritos
• Declaration of ethics and transparency

Case Report

This type of publication presents the results of a study on a subject to make public the technical and methodological experiences of a specific case.

Open Submissions

Indexed

Peer Reviewed

Case Series

"Case series" reports are manuscripts with some similar characteristics, usually the same diagnosis or another taxonomic category, which can be grouped: syndromic, etiological, anatomical, histological, physiological, genetic or molecular similarities, similarities in some complementary study results (e.g. ultrasound, tomography), in the type of treatment, side effects, etc.

Although their content varies according to the topic of the manuscript, it should include essential elements such as:

• Demographic information: age, sex, race, place of work or residence, travel history.
• Clinical information: manifestations and date of onset, laboratory findings, severity of the disease, co-morbidities, evolution.
• Information on risk factors: known and hypothetical factors according to the existing knowledge on the subject at that point in time, such as life habits and previous use of medications.
• Information on diagnostic, clinical and paraclinical tests, laboratory examinations and diagnostic imaging performed on patients.
• Information on possible and differential diagnoses.
• Information about the treatment, side effects and evolution of the patient.

They allow studying very rare exposures or diseases since research is based on identified cases, like "case and control" studies, regardless of their incidence or prevalence. They can be very useful when facing new diseases and allow sketching the first hypothesis of causality. Although their main disadvantage is its "uncontrolled" nature, which can lead to erroneous conclusions regarding the causal associations evaluated, they sometimes allow describing clinically a syndrome, disease or causal association that is little known.

Open Submissions

Indexed

Peer Reviewed

Systematic Case Review

"Case series" reports are manuscripts with some similar characteristics, usually the same diagnosis or another taxonomic category, which can be grouped: syndromic, etiological, anatomical, histological, physiological, genetic or molecular similarities, similarities in some complementary study results (e.g. ultrasound, tomography), in the type of treatment, side effects, etc.
Although their content varies according to the topic of the manuscript, it should include essential elements such as:

• Demographic information: age, sex, race, place of work or residence, travel history.
• Clinical information: manifestations and date of onset, laboratory findings, severity of the disease, co-morbidities, evolution.
• Information on risk factors: known and hypothetical factors according to the existing knowledge on the subject at that point in time, such as life habits and use of previous medications.
• Information on diagnostic, clinical and paraclinical tests, laboratory examinations and diagnostic imaging performed on patients.
• Information on possible diagnoses and differential diagnoses.
• Information about the treatment, side effects and evolution of the patient.

They allow studying very rare exposures or diseases since, like in "cases and controls" studies, research is based on identified cases, regardless of their incidence or prevalence. They can be very useful when facing new diseases and allow sketching the first hypothesis of causality. Although their main disadvantage is its "uncontrolled" nature, which can lead to erroneous conclusions regarding the causal associations evaluated, they sometimes allow describing clinically a syndrome, disease or causal association that is little known.

Open Submissions

Indexed

Peer Reviewed

Editorial

An editorial is a paper written by the editor, by a member of the Editorial Board or by a guest researcher on orientations in the subject domains of the journal.

Open Submissions

Indexed

Peer Reviewed

Peer Review Process

By signing and submitting these documents, the authors also express that the manuscript has not been previously published under any modality and that it will not be submitted to other journals while the editorial committee decides to publish or reject it.

1. Submission of articles to the Case Reports

1. Case Reports adheres to the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals del International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICJME) can be consulted Here.
2. The text is typed and double-spaced on letter-sized sheets, with margins of 2.5x2.5x2.5x2.5, and 12-point Verdana font. Unless the paper is an Editorial or Letter to the Editor, its writing style does not use any first person (plural or singular) form of conjugation. The pages should be numbered in the upper right corner, starting from the title page.
3. Articles shall only be received at our OJS (Open Journal System) website (URL: http://goo.gl/tB9vcf).
4. Submission must include:

• All authors’ full names and last names must be stated
• Institutional affiliation for each author must be presented only institutions and sections/departments
• Email (Included in OJS)
• Provide the ORCID number for each author.
• Complete contact details of the main author or the corresponding author must be provided (name, institutional address, telephone, city, country, email).
• “The conflct of Interest Disclosure Form”
• Document of “Assignment of rights”
• Letter of “Authorship responsibility”

2. Languages of submission and language of publication

Articles shall be received in English, Spanish and Portuguese. If the article is accepted shall begin a transition process for being published in English.

3. Structure of articles

a) To report the clinical case, we recommend following the CARE guidelines checklist (URL: https://goo.gl/JSE99e), as well as the instructions for authors for writing case reports (URL: https://goo.gl/qsdMYv)

b) The article must consist of:

• Provide a title in the language in which the article is written and in a second language (English or Spanish depending on which language is written the article)
• Abstract in the language in which the article is written and in a second language (English or Spanish depending on which language is written the article)
• Keywords in the language in which the article is written and in a second language (English or Spanish depending on which language is written the article)
• “Introduction”
• “Case presentation”
• “Discussion”
• “Conclusions”
• “References”
• “Declaration of transparence”
• “Conflict of interests”
• “Funding”

c) "Case Reports" should be between 1 500 and 3 000 words, excluding the abstract, tables and references. "Case series reports" and "Systematic case reviews” should be between 3 000 and 6 000 words.

3.1 Title page:

a. Provide a title in the language in which the article is written and a second language max 25 words. The area of focus and “case report” should appear in the title.

b. All authors’ full names and last names must be stated; their institutional affiliation must be identified with superscript Arabic numerals.

c. Institutional affiliation for each author must be presented without specifying positions, only institutions and sections/departments within them shall be included. Provide the ORCID number for each autor

d. Email for each author

e. ID number for each author This information is intended to facilitate indexing, will only be for internal use of the Journal and will not be published or shared under any circumstance.

f. Complete contact details of the main author or the corresponding author must be provided (name, institutional address, telephone, city, country, email).

g. Word count: please state the total number of words that make up the article without considering words included in titles, abstracts, acknowledgments, tables, figures, and the list of references. The number of words must not exceed the maximum allowed for each the type of article (see Section 3c)

3.2   Abstract: It must not exceed 200 words. Included:

• Introduction – What is unique and why is it important?
• Abstract of the case: The patient’s main concerns and important clinical findings. The main diagnoses, interventions, and outcomes.
• Discussion: What is important about the case and comparison with literature.
• Conclusion—What are one or more “take-away” lessons?

The abstract should be structured; likewise, non-standardized abbreviations should be avoided. The abstract should be submitted in both Spanish and English languages.

3.3 Keywords:Include 3 to 6 exact descriptors from DeCS Bireme (URL: http://decs.bvs.br/) and exact MeSH descriptors (URL: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/).

3.4 Introduction:Expose the background of the clinical case, the current standards of care (if any) with reference to relevant medical literature. Do not review the subject extensively and cite only the strictly necessary references.

3.5 Case presentation

a) Demographic information: Include contextualization data of the patient, always considering confidentiality. Sex, age, ethnicity and occupation are considered as especially important. Other data such as educational attainment, socioeconomic status, religion and others, should be added if the authors consider that they are relevant to the report.

b) Symptoms and history: Describe the reason for consultation and the development of the relevant symptoms of the current disease that motivated consultation, including previous diagnostic or therapeutic interventions and outcomes according to their relevance. Also, include the most significant medical information about the patient, including physicians and pharmacologists.

c) Physical examination: Describe the relevant physical findings.

d) Diagnostic evaluation: It should include:

• Diagnostic aids used, such as imaging, questionnaires, laboratory tests, histopathology, among others. Information should include units of measurement of the quantitative results and the reference range when it is considered relevant.
• Diagnostic difficulties (such as financial, linguistic, cultural barriers, among others).
• Rationale and diagnostic approach, including differential diagnoses considered and diagnostic challenges.
• Consider making tables or figures that connect diagnostic rationale, diagnostic evaluation and interventions.
• When applicable, include considerations for the evaluation of prognostic factors (e.g., tumor staging in cancer).

e) Therapeutic intervention: It should include the following aspects.

• The types of intervention performed (e.g., changes in lifestyle, pharmacological, surgical, educational).
• Application of the intervention (in case of a medication, for example, name, dose, route of administration, duration)
• Changes in interventions, together with the reasons for the change.
• Clarify if there were other concurrent interventions, not necessarily related to the diagnosis of work (e.g. continuation of medication in patients with chronic diseases).

f) Follow-up and outcomes: It should include the following aspects:

• Results evaluated by the doctor, as well as by the patient, when applicable.
• Results of relevant follow-up diagnostic tests and aids.
• Evaluation of tolerance and adherence to interventions.
• Adverse effects of interventions.

g) Timeline

Use a figure or table to describe the most relevant diagnostic and intervention events of the case. It is optional; do it if you consider that it will give greater clarity to the development of the case.

3.6 Methods:The type of study and the methodology used (sample identification, selection criteria, statistical methods, etc.) shall be described here. If the procedures performed during the study involved humans or animals, authors must explicitly state that they followed the ethical principles for medical research on humans of the Declaration of Helsinki (2013) and any other applicable national regulations, said documents must be duly referenced. Additionally, it must be clearly expressed that the study was approved by the ethics committee of the institution or institutions where it was carried out, and the corresponding letter of approval from the ethics committee must be enclosed.

3.7 Discussion:In this section, results obtained in the study must be addressed without making a general review of the subject. Authors must only discuss the new and most relevant aspects presented by the study and the conclusions proposed from them. Limitations of the research and the agreement or disagreement of findings reported in the article with other studies on the subject, duly referenced, must be reported.

3.8. Conclusions: Write the main lessons learned from the case and the conclusions proposed based on it.

3.9. Patient’s perspective: Whenever possible, establish the experience and perspective of the patient in the development of the clinical case, and include it in the text.

3.9.1 Informed consent:The patient or group of patients must give their informed consent; attach it if requested.

3.10 Conflict of interests: State whether the authors have a conflict of interest for the preparation of the article because of the study or for any other reason.

Remember that there is conflict of interest when professional judgment may be influenced by an external factor such as economic interests, personal relationships, academic competition, among others.

Please state, based on the funding sources of the study or any other reason, whether the authors have a conflict of interest or not. Authors must complete and sign the Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form of the ICJME (http://www.icmje.org/about-icmje/faqs/conflict-of-interest-disclosure-forms) and attach it to the submission.

3.11 Funding: Indicate the source of financial support, if any, in the form of a research grant, equipment, medication or all the above. All financial assistance received should be declared, specifying whether the organization that provided it had an influence on the case or case series report. For systematic case reviews, authors should state if there was an impact on the design of the information search, analysis or interpretation of the results and in the preparation, revision or approval of the manuscript.

3.12 Refrences:References must be introduced in order of appearance and identified by Arabic numerals in parentheses, without superscripts, at the end of the sentence or paragraph where they are alluded to.

Both in-text and end references must conform strictly to the Vancouver style adopted by the ICJME in its recommendations (URL: https://goo.gl/XdCdmS). Please include DOI where applicable.

Review articles shall list at least 50 references

3.13 Tables. A maximum of 6 tables and/or figures is allowed. Tables shall be editable, have a title, be listed in order of appearance, be mentioned within the body of the article and be included immediately after the paragraph in which they are first mentioned. If abbreviations are used, they must be clarified in table footers. If a table already published is partially or totally reproduced, the corresponding reference must be added and a letter of permission for its reproduction must be attached. If a table is created by the authors, the legend “Source: own elaboration.” must be included.

3.14 Figures. A maximum of 6 tables and/or figures is allowed.  Figures must be editable and have a minimum 30 dpi resolution. Figures include any type of illustration other than tables (graphics, x-rays, photographs, etc.) and must be listed in order of appearance. Every figure shall be mentioned within the body of the article and included immediately after the paragraph in which it is first mentioned. Titles and legends must not be included in the figure but below it. If a figure already published is partially or totally reproduced, the corresponding reference must be added and a letter of permission for its reproduction must be attached. If a table is created by the authors, the legend “Source: own elaboration.” must be included.

Photographs of people and figures (radiographs, etc.) must respect the privacy of the people involved and have the informed consent of the patient; such consent should be submitted as a supplementary file in the OJS system.

Symbols, arrows or letters used in photographs of microscopic preparations should be large enough and have enough contrast to distinguish them from their surroundings. Cite each figure in the text in consecutive order. If a figure reproduces previously published material in an exact manner, indicate the source and obtain written permission from the author and the original publisher to reproduce it in your work. Otherwise, it should be indicated that it is the author's original creation.

Photographs of people should cover part (s) of their face to protect their privacy; otherwise, the author should submit a copy of the authorization letter for publication.

3.15 Non-original material: If tables or figures taken from other publications are reproduced, the written authorization of their authors or owners of publishing rights must be provided, as appropriate. If the tables or figures are adapted, the source must indicate that the table or figure was adapted and include the corresponding reference.

4. Authorship and assignment of rights: Those appointed as authors of articles submitted to our Journal must fully comply with the authorship criteria established in the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals del International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICJME), setction II, subsections A and B (http://www.icmje.org/icmje-recommendations.pdf)

Also, the authors when upload the Conflict of Interest Disclosure form (URL: https://goo.gl/kQMb33), assignment of rights (URL: goo.gl/tC2bEP) and authorship responsibility forms (URL: goo.gl/sNYYe7) assign the publication rights and declare that the article us of their authorships and is original.

Manuscripts of any institution at a national and international level are accepted. The journal reserves the right to make modifications to the original text, style correction is made, and translation is done in the necessary cases, for publication in English.

Specialized in case reports, images in medicine, case series, systematic review of cases studies and case studies of adverse effects, that are relevant to the advance in Medicine and other Health sciences.

Case reports of the Universidad Nacional de Colombia accepts and adheres to the “Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals” issued by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) (URL: www.icmje.org) and to the guidelines established by the Equator Network (Enhancing the QUAlity and Transparency Of health Research) (URL: http://www.equator-network.org/) and the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) (URL: http://publicationethics.org/) in order to guarantee the quality of scientific publications, their transparency, integrity and respect for the ethical principles that govern biomedical research. In consequence, the works sent to the Journal must be adjusted to these guidelines.

The articles (or important parts of them) sent to Case Reports must be unpublished documents that do not correspond to translations or adaptations of other sources already published. By submitting the article together with the assignment of rights (URL: goo.gl/tC2bEP)and authorship responsibility (URL: goo.gl/sNYYe7)forms duly completed.

By signing and submitting these documents, the authors also express that the manuscript has not been previously published under any modality and that it will not be submitted to other journals while the editorial committee decides to publish or reject it.

Articles submitted to Case Reports must respect the anti-plagiarism policy. Plagiarism is understood as the passing off someone else’s work by the author when data from other researches are used without referencing. On the other hand, double duplication or self-plagiarism occurs when an author reuses, without referencing, a large part of his/her own already published material.

To determine if a document has been plagiarized (use of sources and material without proper reference) or if there is a high level of similarity with other publications, the Journal will check for plagiarism in all articles received with the Turnitin software. In case plagiarism is detected, the article will not be accepted for the publishing process and the authors will be informed about the findings. If Turnitin's report shows 30% similarity or higher, the Journal will reject the article and send the Turnitin report to the authors for adjustment and compliance with this requirement.

As mentioned in the instructions to the authors, when releasing the publication rights to the Case Reports Journal, it reserves the right to modify the original text during the copy editing and layout stages, and to accept only the changes suggested by the authors that the editorial committee considers pertinent.

If images or personal data are used in the conduct of the study, the identity of the people involved must be protected by editing the images included in the article and the use of terms and conventions to refer to their data or names to guarantee their privacy.

Finally, before the references section, the authors should inform if they received funding from one or more organizations and if there were any conflicts of interests during the preparation of the article.