|
 
 |
| FROM EDITOR’S DESK |
|
| Year : 2022 | Volume
: 2
| Issue : 2 | Page : 67 |
|
What is so special about Indian Pediatrics Case Reports?
Sharmila Banerjee Mukherjee
Department of Pediatrics, Lady Hardinge Medical College and Associated Kalawati Saran Children's Hospital, New Delhi, India
| Date of Submission | 03-May-2022 |
| Date of Decision | 04-May-2022 |
| Date of Acceptance | 04-May-2022 |
| Date of Web Publication | 30-May-2022 |
Correspondence Address:
Dr. Sharmila Banerjee Mukherjee
Department of Pediatrics, Lady Hardinge Medical College and Associated Kalawati Saran Children's Hospital, Bangla Sahib Marg, New Delhi - 100 001
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None
DOI: 10.4103/ipcares.ipcares_113_22
How to cite this article:
Mukherjee SB. What is so special about Indian Pediatrics Case Reports?. Indian Pediatr Case Rep 2022;2:67 |
In recent months, several senior- and middle-tier faculty members expressed interest in sending their cases to our journal. This was not to increase their number of publications, but because they felt that the quality of our case reports was “pretty good” and wanted to share their own experiences. They were not referring to the medical condition being discussed but rather the style of presentation in the Journal. Personally, I feel there are many reasons for this, but the most important one is positive ongoing collaboration between the author and the editorial team. Let me dissect each step of the editorial process, which cumulatively contributes to make Indian Pediatrics Case Reports (IPCaRes) special.
The fact that our Journal is dedicated to case reports (CRs) means that the permissible word count, number of tables and figures, etc., are more liberal than journals intended primarily for publishing research. As of now, around 90%–95% of our journal space is for case series, CRs, case videos, and case images. In contrast, only 0%–5% space is assigned for CRs in research journals. That translates to higher likelihood of acceptance for publication if the article has sufficient merit, despite us being a quarterly journal. Therefore, the time interval between acceptance and publication also becomes less, when compared to the research oriented journals.
More important, the USP of the editorial team is to try to ensure that each CR gets written impeccably. All the dimensions expected in a case presentation are covered; history (presenting complaints, history of present illness, history, etc.), clinical examination (vital signs, anthropometry, and general physical and systemic examination), synthesis of clinical information (to appreciate the clinical phenotype), and enumeration of differential diagnoses in order of likelihood, with rational justification. We insist that the authors elaborate upon the rationale used to plan investigations and eliminate contenders at each step until the final diagnosis is reached. This is followed by a description of the management and outcomes. The grand finale is the “pearls” that the treating team has gleaned from the case and which they feel should be shared with the readers. Pretty old school, right? Although you would expect any pediatrician to be able to do this, nothing can be further from the truth.
Allow me to digress for a moment. Recently, we conducted the “sent-up examinations” for our 3rd-year postgraduate students. All the examiners had the common grouse that the residents were unable to present a decent history and examination. I have heard similar complaints aired by colleagues in other institutions. Competency in clinical skills and presentation is slowly fading out. Add to that the poor(er) writing skills of our tech-savvy younger generation who can type a WhatsApp message bi-dexterously but struggle with framing an organized paragraph. This deadly combination contributes to the usual sub-optimal quality of the initial draft.
Hence, where do we come in? At the risk of sounding immodest, over the last 15 months, after having sifted, sieved, and edited numerous submissions, we have developed the ability to envision the end product at the outset. Compare it with the way a sculptor can picture the finished statue in the block of untouched marble. Therefore, we do not give up until the manuscript reaches the high standard that we have set for our journal. After many author-editorial team hand-holding cycles of appraisal, feedback, and correction (by mail and telephone), an article emerges that is not only of scientific merit and educational, but also a pleasure to read. A few authors who admitted to submitting to IPCaRes because they were rejected by more reputed journals have gratefully acknowledged the transformation to their work after our mentorship. We provide nurturing care, for early authorship development, and that is what makes our Journal special!
Financial support and sponsorship
Nil.
Conflicts of interest
There are no conflicts of interest.
|
Search Pubmed for