Abstract

BERNARDES, Maria João  and  NUNES, Rui. Patients’ Consent for publication of Case reports: a literature review. Arq Med [online]. 2013, vol.27, n.2, pp.58-64. ISSN 2183-2447.

Introduction: Although reporting of patient’s consent for the publication of observational and experimental research studies involving humans is usual in medical journals with highest impact factor, the same does not seem to occur in case reports. The objective of this paper was the development of a literature review on patients’ consent for the publication of case reports. Methods: A systematic review of publications was developed based on guidelines proposed for argumentative or normative studies. A PubMed search was performed using a query with the MeSH words [(informed consent or ethics) and (case report) and (publication)] or the text words [case and consent and (report or reports)], scrutinized by two assessors, with the limits “English”, “Portuguese” and “humans”, closely following the PRISMA and MOOSE guidelines. Results: Thirty six papers were selected for full analysis, mostly authors’ and editors’ opinions, putting in evidence a consensual acknowledgment on the patient’s right to autonomy and confidentiality, although the obligation of a written consent for all case reports was controversial. In 7 of the 36 analysed papers, reporting of patients’ consent for the publication of case reports was explicitly assessed, ranging between 0 to 23%. Conclusions: Although there are many points of consensus, more research is still needed, namely among patients and their relatives, to elucidate which is the best way to deal with the patient’s consent for the publication of case reports versus the doctors’ duty of publishing on behalf of the progress of medicine and of the public interest.

Keywords : Case report; consent; publication.

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