Importancia de los reportes de caso en anestesiología / Importance of case reports in anaesthesia

ABSTRACT

A case (from the Latin casus) is defined as something that occurs (occurrence), an event or happening. According to the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy, to report is the action of conveying, communicating or giving notice. Although the case could be assimilated to the individual or patient, the term refers in fact to the disease or the clinical condition at hand. Case reports present clinical observations in a form that is particular to healthcare-related sciences. More specifically, they are a formal summary of a patient and his/her disease, including the presence or absence of signs and symptoms, diagnostic tests, treatment and outcomes.