World Journal of Clinical Cases
Publisher: Baishideng Publishing Group Format: Open Access, English-language Frequency: Three issues per month Review Process: Single-blind peer review Scope: Case reports, clinical research, reviews, guidelines
Impact and Metrics
- Impact Factor (2023): ≈ 1.0 (5-year IF ~1.1)
- H-index: ~30
- SCIE-indexed: Yes
- Ranking: Q3 (Medicine, General & Internal)
- Average Citations per Article: < 2
- Article Volume (2021): ~1,300 (up from ~70 in 2017)
Strengths
- ✅ Open access with rapid publication cycles (~1 month)
- ✅ Indexed in SCIE and PubMed Central
- ✅ Declared adherence to COPE ethical guidelines
- ✅ Useful for early-career authors needing visibility or academic credits
Weaknesses
- ⚠️ Quantity over Quality: Rapid growth has diluted scientific value
- ⚠️ Minimal Peer Review Rigor: Many articles accepted with superficial scrutiny
- ⚠️ Low Citability: Most case reports have minimal academic influence
- ⚠️ Middling Prestige: Q3 ranking limits institutional recognition
- ⚠️ Predatory Optics: Expansion strategy and APC model raise concerns, despite technical indexing
- ⚠️ Lack of Editorial Selectivity: Frequent publication of anecdotal, non-hypothesis-generating reports
Summary Table
| Attribute | Evaluation |
|---|---|
| Visibility | ★★★☆☆ (SCIE-indexed, PubMed Central) |
| Scientific Rigor | ★★☆☆☆ (Single-blind, often superficial) |
| Citation Impact | ★☆☆☆☆ (Low citations per article) |
| Ethical Standing | ★★★★☆ (COPE-compliant, no major misconduct reported) |
| Ideal For | Rapid dissemination of low-impact clinical observations |
Final Assessment
World Journal of Clinical Cases offers a fast-track, open-access outlet for case reports, but at the cost of academic rigor and long-term influence. Its role is primarily archival and descriptive rather than investigational or hypothesis-generating. It is best seen as a platform for documentation, not for advancing the scientific frontier.
Use cautiously. Suitable for descriptive cases, but inappropriate for research intended to shift clinical paradigms.