Case reports in dermatology: loved by clinicians, loathed by editors, and occasionally important

Abstract

http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6881-5260 http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5257-1142 http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3160-2835 http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6345-4144 Dermatologists occupy a unique position between patients and researchers and are usually the first to recognize novel clinical features of potential importance. We learn clinical craft by studying our patients and their skin diseases under supervision from expert senior colleagues, complemented by reading and then writing what we hope will be instructive and insightful case reports. However, some leading dermatology journals now decline case reports, perhaps due to concerns about academic citation rates. This has spawned open‐access, online‐only journals dedicated to case reports. Unfortunately, the outputs of such journals may be missed by the research community. The BJD is unique among clinical dermatology journals for publishing basic and applied research of translational significance.1 Our readership is diverse, representing a continuum from clinical dermatology to laboratory science with multiple variants in between. The BJD academic community includes novices in clinical dermatology and laboratory science, as well as expert clinicians, clinical academics and leading scientists. Additionally, the BJD excels in epidemiology and qualitative research,1 attracting academic hunter–gatherers who roam outside the laboratory and clinic in their quest for big datasets and insights into patients’ behaviour and experience. Thus, the BJD has a unique and broad profile within dermatology academic publishing. This raises the question, how best to satisfy these multiple stakeholders? The answer is to ensure that the journal remains focused on disseminating high‐quality clinical research, including clinical trials, epidemiology, qualitative research and translational research of clinical relevance. Publishing interesting and rigorously prepared case reports may fit with this aspiration and with the recent BJD position statement.1 Indeed, case reports sometimes open new avenues of research, leading to unexpected and transformative insights of importance to patient care. In other words, the best case reports should interest our multiple stakeholders, particularly clinicians, clinical academics and skin scientists.

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