title: Advance modern medicine with clinical case reports.
abstract: Randomized clinical trial (RCT) can fail to demonstrate the richness of individual patient characteristics. Given the unpredictable nature of medicine, a patient may present in an unusual way, have a strange new pathology, or react to a medical intervention in a manner not seen before. The publication of these novelties as case reports is a fundamental way of conveying medical knowledge. Throughout history there have been famous case studies that shaped the way we view health and disease. Case reports can have the following functions: (I) descriptions of new diseases; (II) study of mechanisms; (III) discovery new therapies; (IV) recognition of side effects; and (V) education. Before submitting a case report, it is worthwhile to refer to the Case Report Check Sheet described by Green and Johnson [2006].
authors.affiliation: Department of Imaging and Interventional Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China.
authors.forename: Yì-Xiáng J
authors.initials: YX
authors.lastname: Wáng
keywords: Case report; randomized clinical trial (RCT); research methods