How To Write a Medical Case Report: ACHE Checklist for Publishing a Medical Case Report

If you've never published a case report, it is difficult to know what all is involved and what steps to take. We have provided a checklist for ACHE students, faculty, and staff to navigate the process. Below is the checklist in brief as well as a downloadable pdf. See the left hand navigation for each step, which includes more information.

Step 1. Identify an appropriate case. Consider the following:

• New disease/condition
• Unusual presentation or manifestation of a known condition
• A unique reaction to a medication or treatment not previously reported
• A new idea/theory of mechanism of a disease/condition
• A rare or unusual physical, laboratory, or imaging finding
• Education/ teaching point(s)

Step 2. Review the literature to see if similar reports or findings have been published. Check in the following:

• PubMed (MEDLINE)
• Embase
• Web of Science
• Google Scholar (for breadth but beware of results from predatory journals)

Step 3. Submit to ACHE IRB via ACHE Connect (student) or MyACHE (faculty). Email IRB@achehealth.edu for questions.

• Journals/conferences may require IRB letter or reference/permit numbers.

Step 4. Obtain patient consent. If deceased, then next of kin. If includes family history, consent of those family members. With

no consent, cannot move forward.

Step 5. Register with the ACHE Office of Research. Email research@achehealth.edu.

Step 6. Identify target journals (or conferences)

• Review CARE reporting guidelines
• Review journal (or conference) instructions for authors
• Use library resources to find good journals and avoid predatory journals

Step 7. Consider publishing your case report Open Access. Faculty and students sponsored by ACHE faculty are eligible for up

to $2500 per year.

Step 8. Write the case report and submit to journals (submit to one journal at a time).

Step 9. Upon acceptance / publication, notify the library (library@achehealth.edu) so the citation may be added to ACHE’s

Institutional Repository.