scholarly journals Ethics of Publishing Case Reports: Do We Need Ethics Approval and Patient Consent?

10.19082/7830 ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 7830-7830
Author(s):  
Mehrdad Jalalian
Keyword(s):  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyle B Mueller ◽  
Jean-Marc Voyadzis

Abstract Spinal schwannomas most likely occur at the thoracic level and within the intradural extramedullary compartment. They are benign, typically slow-growing, peripheral nerve sheath tumors that produce symptoms by displacing or compressing the nerve roots and spinal cord. There is an association with patients that have neurofibromatosis type 2. Surgical pearls including the utilization of intraoperative ultrasound for localization, D wave monitoring, and microsurgical dissection are demonstrated. Pertinent high-yield radiographic and histological features of schwannomas are reviewed.1-4  We report the case of a 59-yr-old female who presented with progressively worsening gait instability that was associated with lower extremity numbness progressing to weakness. She had myelopathic findings on examination, which included brisk patellar reflexes and persistent clonus with sensory changes to the umbilicus and mild leg weakness. Full body examination revealed no stigmata of neurofibromatosis. Magnetic resonance imaging of the neuroaxis demonstrated a large, intradural extramedullary mass with peripheral enhancement that spanned the T9 to T11 vertebral levels with severe compression of the spinal cord. There were no intracranial, cervical, or lumbar findings. Surgical intervention was planned with the following objectives: decompression of the neural elements, curative resection, and diagnosis. Patient consent for the procedure was obtained. Institutional Review Board approval for solitary case reports are not needed at our institution.


2012 ◽  
Vol 30 (34_suppl) ◽  
pp. 161-161
Author(s):  
Takeshi Hagihara

161 Background: The use of oral ketamine, an N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, is reported to be effective against opioid-refractory cancer pain. Only a few studies have been performed worldwide so far, and in Japan we have more difficulty evaluating it, as the insurance doesn’t cover the application of ketamine to the tumor pain unlike in some other countries. Here we present the successful treatment of four patients with severe cancer-related pain due to bone metastases, by oral administration of ketamine. Methods: Inclusion criteria were cancer pain refractory to standard opiates. After institutional approval and informed patient consent were obtained, the treatment started with 40mg/day of oral ketamine. The ketamine regimen was adjusted individually based on analgesia and any adverse effects. Results: Self-reported pain significantly improved. In addition, serious adverse effects such as nightmares were not observed. In one case, epidural anesthesia became unnecessary. In another case, base and rescue opiates regimen can decreased. Conclusions: Ketamine is considered one of the World Health Organization essential drugs for the management of refractory pain. By oral administration of ketamine the quality of life can be improved, so we consider that further studies should be performed.


2001 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 240-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Garry Walter ◽  
Joseph M. Rey ◽  
Floor Dekker

Objective: There is negligible systematic information about case reports in the psychiatric literature. We aimed to describe case report articles published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry (ANZJP), to provide data about the quality of evidence they offer, to ascertain changes over time and to make recommendations, based on our findings, about these articles. Method: All articles describing cases which appeared in the ANZJP between 1967 and 1999 were identified and examined. Results: 256 articles describing a total of 479 cases were published over the study period. Fifty-five per cent of articles reported an unusual presentation. Thirty-eight per cent of cases had a mood disorder and 24% had a psychosis. Seventy-six per cent of patients had a positive outcome. Cases published in 1989–1999 were more likely to describe pharmacological treatments than cases published earlier. Conclusions: Clinical descriptions that lead to progress are undervalued. Case reports should retain a place in the ANZJP, provided they convey information that is new and useful (e.g. suggesting or refuting hypotheses) rather than simply document current practice or describe the unusual. Issues of patient consent and anonymity also warrant consideration.


2004 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 83-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrian White

Case reports are particularly valuable in specialist clinical areas such as acupuncture to report new adverse events and to suggest possible new hypotheses. They can also be used to report events that have been reported previously but are rare or serious, in order to illustrate their frequency. They may illuminate the wider side of clinical practice by describing personal experiences of one practitioner. Constraints to writing case reports include finding time, working in isolation, and not having enough experience at the task. This article reproduces and develops a set of guidelines that were previously published, in an attempt to help authors to write thorough but succinct reports in a structured manner. The format for case reports includes an abstract, description of the case, literature search, discussion and summary or conclusions. Recommendations are made for the material to be included in each section. The policy of Acupuncture in Medicine is to require patient consent before accepting a report for publication.


Anaesthesia ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 56 (9) ◽  
pp. 906-924 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Hubregtse ◽  
S. J. Collins
Keyword(s):  

2018 ◽  
Vol 166 (3) ◽  
pp. 179-180
Author(s):  
Kieran Walsh

Case reports are commonly used to describe new infectious diseases. In the past 20 years, there have been an increasing number of emerging infectious diseases that could constitute a major threat to global health security (through naturally occurring pandemics or deliberate release of infectious agents). It is vitally important that case reports related to infectious diseases are written up according to the highest possible standards and that guidelines regarding patient consent to publish are followed. So, do case reports that relate to dangerous infectious diseases follow guidance related to patient consent? To help find the answer to this question, I looked at a sample of case reports published on PubMed between 1 January 2014 and 31 December 2016. I searched for freely available full-text reports of infections that affected humans. The search was conducted for case reports on infectious diseases that pose the greatest risk to global health—infections that have been classified as Tier 1 agents by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. An assessment was carried out as to whether the identified case reports satisfied the criteria related to consent as outlined in the CARE guidelines. In total, 71 case reports were found. These were related to Ebola, Botulism, Yersinia and Tularaemia. The authors stated that they had obtained consent to publish in 17 of these case reports. Only a minority of published case reports on extremely dangerous pathogens contain documented evidence that consent was obtained from the patient in question. In this sample, 24% of case reports contained such evidence regarding consent.


2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. E63-E64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyle Mueller ◽  
Islam Fayed ◽  
Steven Spitz ◽  
Nathan Nair ◽  
Jean-Marc Voyadzis ◽  
...  

Abstract Synovial cysts of the lumbar spine result from degeneration of the facet capsule, and their prevalence may be as high as 10% in symptomatic patients. Although conservative management is possible, the majority of patients will require resection. Traditional procedures for resection use an ipsilateral approach requiring partial or complete resection of the ipsilateral facet complex, possibly leading to further destabilization. A contralateral technique using minimally invasive tubular retractors for synovial cyst resection avoids facet disruption, minimizes soft-tissue trauma, and limits disruption of the ligamentous and bony structures. Additionally, by approaching contralateral, the cyst/dura interface is better visualized especially at the depths of the lateral recess. Seeing the full extent of this interface from an ipsilateral approach is very difficult without decompressing the cyst, which, in turn, makes dissecting and separating the remaining cyst wall more difficult and increases the risk of durotomies.1,2  We report the case of a 53-yr-old female who presented with persistent left leg pain in an L5 distribution that was associated with some mild lower back pain. She was refractory to conservative management that included physical therapy along with a series of epidural steroid injections. She was noted to have some weakness with dorsiflexion on the left side and as absent a straight leg raise. Given the predominance of her leg over her back symptoms along with the patient's age, a minimally invasive contralateral approach for resection of the synovial cyst was offered as opposed to more traditional decompression and fusion. Institutional Review Board approval and patient consent for solitary case reports are not needed at our institution.


2009 ◽  
Vol 98 (4) ◽  
pp. 612-612 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheri Mathews John ◽  
Deepa Elizabeth Mathew

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
N Irenji ◽  
C Mcaloon

Abstract Background - Case reports are a well-established part of the medical literature presenting interesting cases which require patient consent and peer review as a prerequisite. The advent of social media platforms has changed the way knowledge is shared. Twitter is a micro-blogging site utilised by the medical profession including cardiologists and allied health care professionals (HCP), allowing sharing of interesting cases. Echocardiography is particularly complementary to the medium as images and short films can be included in Tweets. However, its immediacy means traditional safeguards are absent, meaning patients might be identifiable. The study aim was to sample the prevalence of echocardiography cases being shared on Twitter and analyse the degree of identifiable information present. Methods - A retrospective observational study of videos of echocardiograms uploaded to Twitter under the hashtag #echofirst over 4 months (Nov 18-Feb 19) was performed in May 2019. Only English language Tweets were included. All Tweeter Demographics and Followers were manually collected by reviewing biographies. Tweets were screened for ‘direct’ (name, address, date-of-birth) and ‘indirect’ (age, gender, ethnicity, diagnosis, clinical diagnosis, date study performed) patient identifiers. Numbers of interactions (replies, likes, retweets, views) were recorded at the time of viewing tweets. Results - 324 of screened tweets (120 unique users; 114 individuals, 6 organisations) met study criteria. 81 (67%) stated their city. 35 (29%) stated their hospital. One Tweet contained directly identifiable information. Patient consent was not mentioned in any Tweet. Table 1 demonstrates Tweets with the number of identifiers cross-referenced with Tweeters" location. Discussion - Social media is a highly accessible method for cardiologists and allied HCP to instantly share and discuss echocardiography cases. However, our analysis potentially demonstrates that specific patients could be identified based location and identifiers. Caution must be applied when posting cases as Tweets. Specific guidelines on this practice should be considered. Table 1 Identifiers (n) Worldwide (n = 324) Country (n = 284) City (n = 221) Hospital (n = 112) 0 98 (30%) 88 (31%) 64 (29%) 27 (24%) 1 114 (35%) 97 (34%) 77 (35%) 39 (35%) 2 50 (15%) 45 (16%) 33 (15%) 19 (17%) 3 24 (7%) 20 (7%) 15 (7%) 5 (4%) 4 36 (11%) 32 (11%) 31 (14%) 21 (19%) 5 2 (1%) 2 (1%) 1 (<1%) 1 (1%)


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