Information for patients

What is Cases Journal?

Cases Journal is a place for doctors to publish reports on any of their patients, so that others can learn from them. Each 'case report' is a description of one patient's problem - what their symptoms were, what tests the doctor carried out, what treatments were given, and any other information about what happened in the patient's case. Information about the patient's age, sex, country, and medical history is usually included.

Each case report published in Cases Journal will be added to a database that will allow users to find case reports of interest to them. For example, a doctor might search for case reports in which the patient has similar symptoms to a patient they are treating, to find out how other doctors have treated the condition in the past. Or, users can search for all case reports that involve a particular drug, so that they can find reports of any side effects that have been related to that drug.

Cases Journal is open access, which means that all case reports can be read for free by anyone - you do not need a subscription. The free access is funded by the doctor who is publishing the case report, or the institution they belong to, by paying an article-processing charge when their article is accepted for publication in the journal.

How does publication of my case affect me?

You will need to give your consent for publication of the case report. Your doctor should give you this form for you to sign. The case report should be written in a way that means that you cannot be identified - your name should not be included, nor photos of your face or distinguishing features like birthmarks or tattoos. However, you should be aware that it is not always possible for you to be completely anonymous in the published article - your friends and family may be able to identify you in some cases.

You should let your doctor know if you have concerns about any of the information they are including in the case report.

We welcome you to contribute to the case report too. Each article can include a 'Patient's perspective', where you describe your symptoms and treatment. This will help doctors and other patients who are dealing with similar conditions - your description of the condition can give extra detail that your doctor may be unable to add.

How can Cases Journal benefit me?

You may find that case reports on conditions similar to your own have been published in Cases Journal. These may help you to find out more about your illness, and how other patients have been treated. If you have any concerns about your condition or treatment because of a case report you have read in Cases Journal, we recommend that you speak to your doctor about it. You should remember that another patient with the same disease as you, or taking the same medication as you, may respond differently. Each patient is different, and may have different reactions to treatments, or have varying symptoms of the same disease.

We hope that Cases Journal and the database that includes all published case reports will help physicians to make the best decisions about treating their patients.

Publication of your case may help to start research into your condition, which may one day lead to better treatments.

I want to publish my case report. What do I do?

If you want the report of your illness to be published, you should speak to your doctor who will take the lead in writing it. You will be able to contribute your point of view in the 'patient's perspective' section.

You may like to print out this letter, which explains the journal to your doctor.

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