Case report preparation
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MD PROGRAMME
Year: Year 2 (Academic Year 2019-2020)
Semester: Semester 4 (Spring 2020)
Course: MED 207 Histology II
Assessment: Case report preparation
Submission:
Assignments:
1. Group 1 assignment: https://path.upmc.edu/cases/case967/dx.html 2. Group 2 assignment: https://path.upmc.edu/cases/case759/dx.html 3. Group 3 assignment: https://path.upmc.edu/cases/case291/dx.html 4. Group 4 assignment: https://path.upmc.edu/cases/case421.html 5. Group 5 assignment: https://path.upmc.edu/cases/case44.html
https://path.upmc.edu/cases/case967/dx.html
https://path.upmc.edu/cases/case759/dx.html
https://path.upmc.edu/cases/case291/dx.html
https://path.upmc.edu/cases/case421.html
https://path.upmc.edu/cases/case44.html
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Guidelines for writing the case report
You are required to write a case report based on the case allocated to you. The case describes the
histopathological findings of diagnostic laboratory for the referred case. You must pretend that you
are the histopathology lab head and you are writing the scientific report for publication. In writing
the report, follow the following general guidelines:
1. Length of report required 1,800 to 2,000 words, excluding title, references list, but including any text boxes, tables and figures.
2. Report needs to be accessible by a general professional audience.
3. The writing should demonstrate coherence and structure. Each section should be concise and self- contained, leading into the next section.
4. Use straightforward language that facilitates understanding. Avoid complex jargon.
5. The main body of report text should be in a font accessible to examiners (guidance currently recommends Arial font size 12.)
Required Sections
Name of the Student:
1. Title
The title should be deduced from the case report assigned and should best describe the case.
2. Introduction
In this section, you should introduce the disease that the patient suffers from. Refer to the clinical
and histological manifestations. Mention any related diseases or group of diseases that are similar to
the one under investigation and talk about the prevalence, if applicable. Use literature sources from
the internet to familiarise yourself with the disease and use scientific papers to acquire a better
knowledge of the scientific basis of the disease. This section should not be more than 400-500 words
in length.
3. Materials and Methods
Present the materials and methods used to produce the histological pictures that appear in
the report. Although you did not do the work and no details of the methods used are given, just by
looking at the pictures (which have short legends) you can deduce what technique (s) were used to
produce the images. Put yourself in the shoes of the histopathologist and describe, briefly, the
methodology used to generate the slides. There are cases were immunohistochemistry was used but
the report does NOT actually say this. You should work out if an antibody was used and try to find
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out (if possible from the picture legends) against which antigen an antibody was used to come to a
diagnosis. This section should not exceed 300 words
4. Results
Present the findings descriptively by referring to the pictures shown in the report. Each
picture or (group of pictures) must be organised in Figures. Figures may contain more than one
image of the case. This is preferred in cases that several images may refer to the same pathological
finding. Each figure must contain a short title and a figure legend. The legend must describe what
the picture shows and use annotation (arrows etc) if necessary to point to important histological
findings if necessary. The case report you have been assigned describes the findings, but there is no
direct reference to each picture in the report. You should work out, by looking at the pictures and by
reading the text of the report, where the abnormality actually lies and describe it in the figure
legend. Each figure legend must not exceed 40-50 words. You are not expected to produce more
than 2-3 figures.
5. Discussion
Discuss the findings of this case and the final diagnosis. You should also relate the findings for
this patient to what is known about the disease. You should talk about disease management and refer
to any prospects for developing new therapies for this disease. This section should be around 700-
1000 words.
6. References: You should cite references in the Harvard style. The number of references should be
between 10-15 and be presented in the Harvard style (https://infolib.blog.jbs.cam.ac.uk/wp-
content/uploads/2013/10/HarvardReferencingStyle-2013.pdf).
https://infolib.blog.jbs.cam.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/HarvardReferencingStyle-2013.pdf
https://infolib.blog.jbs.cam.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/HarvardReferencingStyle-2013.pdf
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Guidance when marking (for the examiner) Assessment of the written report is based on content and delivery:
Content: Exploration of topic, breadth/depth of reading, level of critical thinking. Delivery: Appearance and structure, organisation and coherence, clarity of expression.
The following should be used as guidance, along with the grades for the individual criteria, when assigning an overall grade for the written report. The individual criteria do not carry equal weight, and their relevance will no doubt vary between students.
CONTENT
ORGANISATION
– Full title describing the focus of the report – Traditional organisation for case report: – Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion. – Kept to a reasonable word count.
15%
CRITICAL REVIEW
– Understood well the importance of the case – The introduction delivered the context of the case. – The importance of the case was understood well and delivered
adequately in the discussion.
50%
Understanding of techniques used
– Clear description of the techniques used. – Logical presentation of the case in the materials and methods
section. – Clear presentation of the case in the results section.
15%
STYLE
– Clear use of English – Aim for standard for publication – All abbreviations qualified on first use in the text – Harvard referencing style, correctly applied in text and
reference list. – Figures appropriately labelled and presented.
20%
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