Analysis of the evolution of the publication of case reports in endocrinology journals

María Carmen López García; Antonio José Moya Moya; Alejandro Esteban Sirvent Segovia; Andrés Ruiz de Assin Valverde; Lourdes García Blasco; Rosa Pilar Quilez Toboso; José Joaquín Alfaro Martínez

doi:10.1016/j.endinu.2021.04.002

Analysis of the evolution of the publication of case reports in endocrinology journals

Endocrinol Diabetes Nutr (Engl Ed). 2021 May 28:S2530-0164(21)00119-1. doi: 10.1016/j.endinu.2021.04.002. Online ahead of print.

[Article in English, Spanish]

Authors

María Carmen López García¹, Antonio José Moya Moya², Alejandro Esteban Sirvent Segovia², Andrés Ruiz de Assin Valverde², Lourdes García Blasco², Rosa Pilar Quilez Toboso², José Joaquín Alfaro Martínez²

Affiliations

¹ Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Albacete, Albacete, España. Electronic address: mariaclopez@sescam.jccm.es.
² Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Albacete, Albacete, España.

PMID: 34059478
DOI: 10.1016/j.endinu.2021.04.002

Abstract

Introduction: A case report is a scientific article describing one or more patients with unusual clinical presentations. In recent years, the number of case reports in publications has decreased. In this study, we analyze the publication of case reports in journals of Endocrinology during the years 2010, 2015 and 2019.

Materials and methods: The Pubmed web was browsed for clinical journals of Endocrinology, those published in English and/or Spanish being selected, and the relevant variables analyzed.

Results: Of 84 analyzed journals, 51 accepted cases for publication, 29 did not, and 4 did so only in exceptional cases. In 2010, 11,754 articles were published, of which 709 were clinical cases (6.9% of the total); in 2015, a total of 14,594 articles of which 655 were clinical cases (5.8% of the total); and in 2019 a total of 14,110 articles, of which 472 were clinical cases (4.6% of the total). In journals demanding payment for the publishing of clinical cases, case reports represented 9% of all articles, and in free journals, 3% (P<.05).

Conclusion: There has been a decline in publication of case reports in journals of Endocrinology in recent years, both in absolute and relative terms. Even though the cases described by these reports are, by definition, exceptional, the decline of their publication implies a significant loss of scientific information and clinical knowledge regarding certain pathologies.

Keywords: Case report; Caso clínico; Clinical investigator; Endocrinology; Endocrinología; Investigador clínico; Journal; Publicación; Publication; Revista.