How to write a case report: from clinical observation to scientific report

Resumo

Case reports have always played a fundamental role in the advancement of medicine, serving as a starting point for the generation of new hypotheses. However, the quality and completeness of these reports vary widely, which has led to the creation of international guidelines, such as the CARE Guidelines (CAse REport), that propose a standardized framework to ensure ethics, transparency, and reproducibility. The objective of this editorial is to guide authors, reviewers, and young researchers on how to produce high-quality case reports in the field of mastology. The editorial presents the 13 items of the CARE Guidelines adapted to the reality of mastology, illustrating each step with published cases and discussing ethical, structural, and narrative aspects. Writing a case report is more than just recording a rare clinical event; it is about transforming individual experience into shared knowledge. Mastology encourages the submission of well-structured reports that illustrate complex therapeutic decisions, innovative conducts, surgical techniques and ethical reflections, contributing to the improvement of practice and the training of new generations of specialists.