Student Case Study of the Month

This is designed for students with an interest in pain management to present an interesting, unusual, or difficult case in the area of pain management. Cases should be submitted by the 10th of each month to qualify for the next month. Please submit your case to Whitney Mays at ivapm@xmi-amc.com.

If there is a low level of submitted cases one month, cases from previous months may be considered. The first author of the case that is chosen for a particular month will receive a $100 honorarium. Listed below are the criteria for accepting a case report.

Introduction
Is the rationale for reporting the case adequately explained?
Is the rationale for reporting the case adequately substantiated by references?

Case Description
Is the case described adequately?
Is the case described briefly?
Is the case described clearly?
Are the results of investigations described adequately?
Are the results of less common laboratory investigations accompanied by normal values?

Discussion, Comments
Is the evidence to support the authors' diagnosis presented adequately?
Is the evidence to support the authors' recommendations presented adequately?
Are other plausible explanations considered and refuted?
Do authors indicate directions for future investigation or management of similar cases?

The introduction should be brief, tell why the case is important and why it is being reported (for example, because it adds to the understanding of a clinical problem). For the sake of brevity, you should cite a few recent review articles when possible rather than many individual studies.

The purpose of the case description is to let the reader understand the case, making clear all the pertinent findings. The case description is usually told in chronological order. Categories of information often covered in this section are

For legal and ethical reasons, a patient should not be referred to by his or her name. Use "Patient A" or some other designator that does not hint at the patient's identity. Do not use case when referring to a patient—a case is an instance of disease, a patient is an animal.

Provide the results of only the relevant examinations and laboratory tests, usually only those with positive results. A few journals, however, want the results of all tests and procedures presented, so that the reader can follow along in detective fashion, eliminating unlikely diagnoses and "solving" the case at the end of the report with the author.

List the laboratory's ranges of normal values for any unusual tests performed.

The purpose of the discussion is to explain the major findings and anything that isn't clear in the case description and to offer interpretations of findings. Make clear any important point that isn't explained in the case descriptions. For example, if you reported that liver enzymes were elevated but no significant liver dysfunction was found, tell the reader in the discussion section why the enzymes were elevated.

 Refer to information in the literature that bears on the case. Indicate if this case suggests alternative or novel ways to manage patients with similar signs. Point out what questions deserve further research. If you say that you found no other cases in the literature, the reader would like to know how you did the literature search. For example, how far back in time did your search go, and did you limit your search to reports only in Japanese or English?

Copyright ©2004 Robert L. Iles

For further information on medical writing see http://www.medwriting.com/1a.html .

If you have any questions, please contact Whitney May at ivapm@xmi-amc.com.

Case studies that are selected will be posted on the web site.