APSP J Case Rep Vol. 1 (1) Jan-Jun, 2010
FULL TEXT
EDITORIAL
APSP J Case Rep 2010; Vol. 1 (1)
OPEN ACCESS
APSP Journal of
Case Reports: A New Beginning
Bilal
Mirza,** Jamshed Akhtar*
*Department of Paediatric Surgery, National Institute of Child Health Karachi,
Pakistan
**Department of Paediatric Surgery,
The Children's Hospital & The Institute of Child Health Lahore,
Pakistan
*Corresponding
Author's E-mail address: jamjim88@yahoo.com
APSP J Case Rep 2010; 1: 1
In a book, Orphan Diseases: New Hope for Rare Medical Conditions,
author Wendy Murphy in introductory pages quotes William Harvey, an English
physician (1578 - 1657)
”Nature is nowhere accustomed more openly to
display her secret mysteries than in cases where she shows tracings of her
workings apart from the beaten paths; nor is there any better way to advance the
proper practice of medicine than to give our minds to the discovery of the usual
law of nature, by careful investigation of cases of rarer forms of
disease”.1,2
This is apt to the discipline of pediatric
surgery, as unusual anomalies are seen frequently in clinical practices. At
times one tries to seek opinions and learn from experiences of other colleagues
in dealing with such patients. Case reports thus become an important source of
documenting such experiences and observations. In hierarchy of evidence in
scientific literature, they are placed at lowest level but even then, are the
important contribution to the medical literature. According to Karl Popper any
proposition or theory is scientific only if it is falsifiable. Thus logically an
observation can falsify an assertion. A reported case may shift the existing
thinking paradigm.3
Case reports have made important
contributions in relation to many clinical conditions. Cases of HIV / AIDS have
been documented initially as case reports. Many adverse drug reactions came into
light when such incidences were reported under this category of manuscript. They
are of educational value and guide us to future areas of research. In selecting
case reports for this journal we ensure that they must address or reveal new
scientific information. We have also added segments like images and letters to
the editor, so as to provide educationally rich clinical observations to our
readers.
Many scientific journals have stopped publication of case
reports. Various reasons have been cited though according to some publishing of
case reports affects the impact factor.4 Also as research became an
integral part of teaching, training and promotions, authors are now inclined
towards more elaborate study designs, thus their interest in this category of
publication has declined. This domain is usually left to the juniors in the
discipline. The APSP Journal of Case Reports, an online, free access periodical,
from the platform of the Association of Paediatric Surgeons of Pakistan, is one
such portal through which authors can present their experiences to the world.
The first issue of this journal is taken out in record time. One of the
editors (Bilal Mirza) remained instrumental in this regard. He contributed
greatly in developing and maintaining the website of the journal as well. All
articles presented in this are peer reviewed by senior pediatric surgeons both
from Pakistan and abroad. Elaborate guidelines are available on our website both
for the authors and reviewers. We hope you will contribute to this first ever
electronic journal dedicated to case reports from Pakistan. Your participation
by submitting quality manuscript shall improve the standard of the journal and
increase its readership.
REFERENCES
1. Murphy W. Apart from beaten path In Orphan
Diseases: New Hope for Rare Medical Conditions, Twenty-First Century Books
Millbook Press Incorporated Connecticut 2002: pp 9. Available at
<http://books.google.com> accessed on July 25, 2010.
2. William Harvey.
Today in Science History. Available at <http://www.todayinsci.com/H/Harvey_William/HarveyWilliam-Quotations.htm> accessed on July 25, 2010.
3. Falsifiability. Available at <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falsifiability> accessed on July 24,
2010.
4. Kidd M, Hubbard C. Introducing Journal of Medical Case
Reports. J Med Case Rep 2007;1:1.
Website developed by Bilal Mirza