Clinical Case Reports [Neurosurgery Wiki]

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====== Clinical Case Reports ======

===== 🧾 Journal Overview =====
  * **Publisher**: Wiley
  * **ISSN**: 2050-0904 (Online)
  * **Scope**: Broad-spectrum open-access journal focused on the publication of clinical case reports across all areas of medicine.
  * **Impact Factor**: Not indexed in Journal Citation Reports (JCR); relies on alternative metrics such as **CiteScore** (Scopus: ~0.8 as of 2024).

===== 🧠 Strengths =====
  * **Wide Accessibility**:
    * Open access model facilitates global dissemination.
    * Useful for clinicians in low-resource settings.
  * **Inclusive Scope**:
    * Accepts submissions from all specialties.
    * Encourages interdisciplinary and early-career submissions.
  * **Rapid Publication**:
    * Turnaround time ~4–6 weeks.
    * Emphasis on dissemination over prestige.
  * **Educational Utility**:
    * Real-world cases useful for clinical training and teaching.

===== ⚠️ Limitations and Criticisms =====
  * **Low Scientific Rigor**:
    * Mostly anecdotal reports with limited generalizability.
    * Sparse discussion of differential diagnoses or mechanisms.
  * **Editorial Selectivity**:
    * Low threshold for acceptance.
    * Potential for case inflation and publication volume over quality.
    * APC ($1,800 USD) may bias acceptance policy.
  * **Not Indexed in Major Rankings**:
    * Not listed in Web of Science (SCIE).
    * Limited value for academic CVs or research grants.
  * **Reproducibility and Ethical Oversight**:
    * Often lacks imaging, diagnostic work-up, or explicit consent.
    * Ethical review rarely mentioned.

===== 🧩 Comparison with Peer Journals =====

^ Journal                        ^ Strength                               ^ Weakness                                ^
| ''BMJ Case Reports''          | Strong editorial guidance, peer-review | Subscription-based, limited access      |
| ''Clinical Case Reports''     | Open access, rapid publishing          | Low academic impact, weak filtering     |
| ''Cureus''                    | Fast, PubMed-indexed                   | Perceived low editorial standards       |
| ''Case Reports in Neurology''| Specialty focus, PubMed-indexed        | Narrower audience                       |

===== 🧭 Final Verdict =====
''Clinical Case Reports'' serves a niche role in:
  * Showcasing rare or illustrative clinical cases
  * Offering publication opportunity for early-career authors
  * Providing educational material for teaching rounds

However, its:
  * **Low impact**
  * **Lack of indexing**
  * **Minimal critical review**

...limit its use in high-level evidence synthesis or academic advancement.

**Recommendation**:

  * ✅ Suitable for: 
    * Unique or instructive cases
    * Didactic sharing within departments
    * First-time clinical authors

  * ❌ Not suitable for:
    * Impactful academic CV building
    * Meta-analyses or guideline citation
    * Competitive research funding portfolios