Author Guidelines for Case Reports
A covering letter must state that the work is original and must include the senior author’s address for correspondence, a statement that the case report is not in consideration by any other journal, and the phone and fax numbers and e-mail address to ensure rapid processing. Authors should identify their affiliation with a hospital or university department and indicate if they are students, sonographers, residents, fellows, or on staff. After acceptance of the case report, the author(s) must sign a copyright transfer agreement. The Journal reserves the right to edit case reports to ensure conformity with the Journal’s style. Such editing will not affect the scientific content.
The purpose is to present a case. The actual case report should include any relevant patient information and medical history; results of correlating diagnostic data, techniques, and equipment used; a detailed description of the sonographic findings; a formulation of differential sonographic impression(s) using critical thinking/problem solving; and the final patient outcome. The length of the report can be anywhere from 500 words to a maximum of 1,500 words. Case reports must include a reasonable review of the literature, with no more than 5 references. Case reports should contain a concise description. All supporting images should be clearly identified and labelled.
The manuscript must be sent by e-mail attachment (Word or Rich Text Format only). Images must not be embedded in the Word document.
Introduction
One to three paragraphs are all that is required to describe how the case came to be noticed by the author. Mention what the main case features are. What is the new disease or rare case discussed, or some new findings that have not been observed before? Has there been a lesson learned in the case that can be shared for teaching purposes? Is there any unusual disease presentation that the author wishes to share with the reader?
Case description
Tell the story in chronological sequence. All relevant data should be included. Dates and times when data/images were collected with relevant history should be included for the case study. Sometimes a table can be used to show dates and times rather than text. Do not go into detail about the topic in general; instead, focus on why this case is unique or different or what you want to teach the reader. The case report is always written in the past tense.
Always include the following:
• Patient’s age and sex
• Race, ethnic origin, and occupation (only when relevant)
• Patient’s primary reason for referral
• Relevant clinical information
• Symptomatology
• Brief medical history:
– Stick to the details most relevant to the patient’s current condition
– Make the time sequence as clear as possible
– Include the physical examination report (when available)
– Include laboratory test results (if needed)
– Include the patient’s status at follow-up
– Include other relevant medical tests
Discussion/comment
Focus on the case uniqueness or significance. Review the diagnosis and what you can impart to the reader. Always maintain patient confidentiality. Don’t blame the patient for the condition. Review your evidence/discussion for accuracy. Summarize your findings and the significance of the case to the ultrasound/medical field. Remember, you need to explain the pathology and relevance to the case report being discussed.
References
References should be numbered consecutively in the text by superscript numerals. Corresponding references should be listed at the end of the text. Unpublished sources such as personal communications should be cited within the text and not included in the reference list.
The sequence for journal references should be as follows: author(s); title of paper; journal name abbreviated as in Index Medicus; year of publication, volume number, first and last page numbers. When there are more than 4 authors, shorten to 3 and add “et al.”
Col NF, Eckman MH, Karas RH, et al. Patient specific decisions about hormone replacement therapy in postmenopausal women. JAMA 1997; 277:1140–7.
The sequence for chapters of a book should be as follows: author(s) of chapter, chapter title, editor(s) of book, book title, edition, place of publication, publisher, year of publication, page range.
Galloway AC, Colvin SB, Grossi EA, et al. Acquired heart disease. In: Schwartz SI, Shires GT, Spencer FC, eds. Principles of Surgery, 6th edition. New York: McGraw-Hill; 1994:845–99.
Tables and illustrations
Each table should be typed on a separate page and should have a legend at the top indicating the information contained and should supplement the text. Each table should be clearly labelled with the title and table number.
Illustrations may be sent via e-mail as a TIFF or JPEG file. Do not embed the images in the text/Word document. Please use the maximum resolution on your PACS system (usually 640–480). If any photographs are to be submitted, please use the maximum resolution of the camera (3.2 megapixel minimum). Please do not crop the photos as you lose resolution; instead, zoom in to get the maximum image in the frame for the photograph. Illustrations should clarify and complement the text. Each illustration should be clearly labelled with the title, figure number, and indication as to the correct position of viewing of the image. Labels or arrows may be used to point out areas of interest and should be detailed in the legend. Patient identification MUST be removed, as should all hospital identification and dates on the images. Video/DVD presentations are also accepted.
Note: Figure reproduction cannot improve on the quality of the originals.
Numbers, units, and abbreviations
Measurements are to be metric. In scientific text, physical quantities and units of time should be expressed in numerals, for example, 2 kg, 6 mmol, 5 hours, 4°C, 3 mm, 6 m/s.
Use only standard abbreviations, and avoid using abbreviations in the title. Define all abbreviations on their first mention.
Ethical and legal issues
No reference should be made to a patient’s identity. Names, initials, hospital numbers, dates, and personal histories must not be used. Written consent must be obtained from patients for the use of any photographs in which they are pictured.
Proofs
Proofs for correction may be sent to authors by e-mail as a Word file or pdf. Authors are asked to fax or e-mail corrections back to the publisher within 72 hours.
Please submit manuscripts to:
Kim Boles
Editor-in-Chief
E-mail: csdmseditor.cjms@gmail.com
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