Case Report
A detailed description of the diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes of an individual patient. Case reports are the lowest level of clinical evidence but can provide the first signal of a potential drug effect, adverse reaction, or novel use that warrants further investigation.
Technical Context
Case reports follow the CARE (CAse REport) guidelines for reporting quality and are typically structured as: introduction, patient information, clinical findings, diagnostic assessment, therapeutic intervention, follow-up/outcomes, and discussion. In the peptide research space, case reports may document: unexpected adverse effects of approved peptide drugs, novel off-label applications, unusual drug interactions, or clinical observations in patients using research compounds. While case reports cannot establish causality, they have historically been the source of many important drug safety signals. The BMJ Case Reports and Journal of Medical Case Reports are prominent outlets. PubMed indexes case reports alongside other publication types.