How To Write a Medical Case Report: Step 6 - Identify Target Journals

Identifying target journals to submit your case report to takes time. You need to select a handful because the acceptance rates of legitimate journals range from 5%-50%. It's similar to applying to medical school; you don't apply to just one. However, unlike medical school, you have to submit your case report to ONE JOURNAL AT A TIME per publishing ethics. (Here's an example of Elsevier's publishing ethics: https://www.elsevier.com/about/policies-and-standards/publishing-ethics#4-duties-of-authors.) For more on developing your publishing strategy, review the ACHE course on Publication Development. 

Over the last two decades, the number of journals accepting case reports has declined while the number of journals that only publish case reports has increased. An example is Bone (https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/bone/publish/guide-for-authors) and its companion journal Bone Reports (https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/bone-reports/publish/guide-for-authors). When identifying journals, check the journal's guidelines or instructions for authors and see what article types they accept. If they don't clearly state the acceptance of case reports, see if they have published articles that clearly have "case report" in the title. If they don't do either, then they probably do not accept case reports and you should move on to another journal.

*Please note that journals may accept case reports but call them other things, such as "brief reports", "case presentations", or "case studies". Do not confuse the later with case-control studies. Look at what the journal publishes and see if their articles types under different names are truly case reports.

In addition to the journals' instructions, some journal may refer authors to use the external reporting guideline for case reports, called CARE. The CARE website has a checklist of what should be included in a case report. (https://www.care-statement.org/checklist).

Alongside the increase of case report journals is an increase in predatory journals. So it is very important to make sure the journals you are considering are legitimate. See our guide on Predatory Publishing or reach out to your librarians for help.

In summary, you'll want to:

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

You may want to consider presenting your case report at a conference or symposium first. Doing so allows you to work through the process. Conferences may also require IRB letters or permit numbers, as well as patient consent attestations. Plus, you can get feedback at the event as you present your poster. Another benefit is that, in most cases, you can submit your case report to a journal for publication too. But check to make sure the journal does not consider a prior presentation as a form of prior publication.

Learn more about ACHE's Research Symposium here: https://research.achehealth.edu/research-symposium/