The Medscape Reference Cases are a series of real patient presentations distributed via email to health care practitioners around the world. Our mission is to educate health care providers regarding the clinical presentation, diagnosis, management, and complications of a wide range of disorders in all areas of medicine.

We are currently publishing 2 different types of Cases: Case Quiz, which is in a slideshow format that features more images and less text; and Case Presentation, which is text-based and features only a few significant images. Please review the below guidelines for submitting an appropriate case.

Examples of Case Quiz:

An Atypical and Potentially Deadly Abdominal Emergency: Case Quiz

Case Quiz: An Ominous Cause of Vision Loss

Please do the following if you would like to submit a Case Quiz:

Download the "Case Quiz - Getting Started" document, which is an in-depth guideline for writing your case study. We highly recommend that you use Microsoft PowerPoint to create your slideshow. If you do not have access to PowerPoint, we would recommend using a compatible program, such as Impress available from OpenOffice.

Download the author disclosure and documentation and the IRS W-9 form, and either please fax the completed documents to (212) 624-3748 or email them to cases@reference.medscape.com.

Example Case Presentations:

A Child With Breathing Difficulties and Nasal Discharge

Agitation and Hallucinations in an Elderly Man with Parkinson Disease

Please do the following if you would like to submit a Case Presentation:

Download the "Case of the Week: A Formula for Success" document, which is an in-depth guideline for writing your case study, and download the Case Template. Cases that are not in our template and/or do not conform to the guideline will not be accepted.

Download the author disclosure and documentation and the IRS W-9 form, and either please fax the completed documents to (212) 624-3748 or email them to cases@reference.medscape.com.

Each Case should include the following:

A clinical patient presentation with a broad appeal to a general clinical audience that falls into one or more of these categories:

• A commonly encountered medical condition (eg, cholecystitis, appendicitis, incarcerated hernia)
• A relatively less common, but "cannot miss" diagnosis associated with a common presentation (eg, aortic dissection for a patient with chest pain; epiploic appendagitis in a patient with right lower quadrant pain)
• An interesting medical condition (eg, herpes zoster oticus, pneumatosis intestinalis)
• A regional disease or condition (eg, dracunculiasis, coccidioidomycosis)

Associated multimedia resources with sufficient resolution:

• Digitized imaging studies, such as a plain radiographs, ultrasound images, or a CT scan image
• Digital photographs of physical examination findings
• Digitized or scanned electrocardiograms
• Video clips of ultrasound examinations or physical examination findings
• Digitized histopathology slides

A discussion of the disease, syndrome, or condition, including:

• A general description of how the diagnosis was made
• Epidemiology of the condition
• Typical and atypical clinical presentations
• Useful diagnostic studies
• The differential diagnosis
• Complications associated with the condition
• Typical and atypical treatment
• Clinical course of the patient presented in the case

Possible responses within 4 weeks of submission

• Accepted without revisions
• Accepted with revisions
  • If your case receives an "accepted with revisions" status, you will be expected to make the necessary changes as suggested by the medical editor of the case. Generally, your case will be published within a 2- to 3-month time frame, but the editors reserve the right to suspend the case for an indefinite period.
• Not Accepted
  • If your case is initially not accepted, you may resubmit if you modify your case to more closely comply with the guidelines or address specific issues with the case.

The decision to suspend a case may be made for a number of reasons, such as if another case on a similar topic was recently published or if there are difficulties or delays in obtaining copyright clearances or in processing the multimedia used in the case.

Submit cases or questions

Please send your note of interest, details of your case submission, or questions to cases@reference.medscape.com.

Rick G. Kulkarni, MD
Medical Director, Medscape Reference

Luis Soler
Editor, Medscape Reference