How To Write a Medical Case Report: Step 2 - Review the Literature

You'll want to review the medical literature for two reasons. First, to see if similar reports or findings have been published. It's okay if there are some case reports on your same topic, but if there are a lot then it's probably not worth submitting it to a journal or conference. It has to meet that "so what" factor (see Step 1). The second reason is to gain background information on your case topic and to determine its relationship to the medical literature. You will need this information for the Introduction and Discussion parts of your case report. Check the following databases/indexes:

You should also consider searching search engines, like Google or Google Scholar. However, beware of your search results as they can include articles that are published in predatory journals. Both library subscription databases and indexes like MEDLINE have quality control measures that exclude predatory journals, unlike search engines that pull unvetted content from the internet.

Want to check if an article you found is from a predatory journal? See our guide on Predatory Publishing.