title: Of spiders and zebras: publication of inadequately documented loxoscelism case reports.
abstract: The dermatology and general medical literature is filled with articles that report skin disease caused by the brown recluse spider, Loxosceles reclusa. A large number of these articles contain inadequate documentation of Loxosceles bites; many come from areas that have no Loxosceles spiders. Authors submitting papers alleging loxoscelism should adhere to standards of evidence when writing case reports.
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, USA.
authors.forename: Richard S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Vetter
authors.forename: David L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Swanson
mesh_terms: D004282:Documentation / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D011643:Publishing / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001098:Spider Bites / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*