Author Guideline
Author Guidelines
To facilitate the preparation and submission of manuscripts to Optimal Journal of Clinical Case Report, authors are required to follow the guidelines below.
Format
- Manuscripts must be typed in single spacing, arranged in two columns, with margins of at least 2.5 cm, and formatted on A4 paper (21 cm × 29.7 cm).
- Manuscripts must be submitted in Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) format. Optimal Journal of Clinical Case Report does not accept manuscripts submitted only in LaTeX or PDF format.
- Manuscripts must use Times New Roman font. The article title should be written in 14 pt, while the main body text should use 12 pt font.
- Authors are strongly encouraged to use the official manuscript template provided by Optimal Journal of Clinical Case Report.
- Manuscripts should be prepared in clear, concise, and academically appropriate language.
Article Length
- Clinical case reports should generally contain approximately 2,000–3,500 words, excluding the title, author information, abstract, tables, figures, and references.
- The recommended manuscript length is approximately 6–10 pages, although longer manuscripts may be considered when clinically justified.
- Authors should present only information that is relevant to understanding the clinical case and its educational or scientific significance.
Article Structure
Clinical case reports should be prepared in accordance with the principles of the CARE (CAse REport) Guidelines.
The manuscript should include the following sections, where applicable:
- Title
- Abstract
- Keywords
- Introduction
- Patient Information
- Clinical Findings
- Timeline
- Diagnostic Assessment
- Therapeutic Intervention
- Follow-up and Outcomes
- Discussion
- Patient Perspective (optional, where appropriate)
- Conclusion
- Informed Consent Statement
- Conflict of Interest Statement
- Funding Statement, if applicable
- References
Introduction
The Introduction should briefly explain the background of the condition, clinical problem, or phenomenon presented in the case. Authors should clearly describe why the case is important, unusual, educational, or relevant to clinical practice.
The Introduction should be concise and supported by appropriate scientific references.
Patient Information
Authors should provide relevant patient information, including:
- Age and sex of the patient;
- Main complaints or symptoms;
- Relevant medical, family, and psychosocial history;
- Previous interventions or treatments, when relevant;
- Relevant comorbidities or risk factors.
Information that may directly identify the patient must not be disclosed.
Clinical Findings
This section should describe significant clinical findings obtained from:
- Physical examination;
- Clinical assessment;
- Vital signs;
- Relevant laboratory findings;
- Imaging or diagnostic examinations;
- Other clinically significant findings.
Only findings relevant to understanding the case should be included.
Timeline
Authors are encouraged to provide a clear chronological summary of important events related to the case, including the onset of symptoms, diagnostic procedures, interventions, follow-up, and outcomes.
The timeline may be presented in narrative or tabular form.
Diagnostic Assessment
This section should describe the diagnostic process, including:
- Diagnostic examinations;
- Laboratory and imaging findings;
- Differential diagnoses;
- Diagnostic reasoning;
- Challenges or limitations encountered during diagnosis;
- Final diagnosis.
Authors should explain the clinical reasoning supporting the diagnosis whenever appropriate.
Therapeutic Intervention
Authors should clearly describe the intervention or clinical management provided to the patient, including:
- Pharmacological treatment;
- Surgical treatment;
- Nursing interventions;
- Midwifery interventions;
- Rehabilitation;
- Nutritional interventions;
- Other relevant clinical interventions.
Information regarding dosage, duration, frequency, or modifications to treatment should be provided when relevant.
Follow-up and Outcomes
Authors should describe:
- Clinical outcomes;
- Changes in symptoms or clinical findings;
- Follow-up examinations;
- Treatment adherence and tolerability;
- Adverse or unexpected events;
- Long-term outcomes, when available.
The relationship between intervention and patient outcome should be clearly presented.
Discussion
The Discussion should interpret the clinical significance of the case rather than merely repeat the case presentation.
Authors should:
- Compare the case with relevant published literature;
- Explain unusual or important clinical findings;
- Discuss diagnostic or therapeutic challenges;
- Describe the strengths and limitations of the case report;
- Explain the clinical or educational implications;
- Highlight the key lessons that can be learned from the case.
Claims should be supported by appropriate and current scientific references.
Conclusion
The Conclusion should briefly summarize the principal clinical lessons derived from the case.
The conclusion should be consistent with the information presented in the manuscript and should not make claims that cannot be supported by a single case.
Article Title
- The title should be clear, concise, informative, and relevant to the clinical case.
- The title should generally consist of approximately 12–16 words.
- Unnecessary abbreviations should be avoided.
- The title should preferably identify the primary clinical condition, intervention, complication, or -- educational value of the case.
- Authors are encouraged to include the words “Case Report” in the title when appropriate.
Example:
Rare Presentation of Postpartum Cardiomyopathy in a Young Woman: A Case Report
Author Details
- The full names of all authors must be provided without academic or professional titles.
- Authors must be listed in the correct order for publication.
- Each author's institutional affiliation must be clearly stated.
- The corresponding author must provide an active email address.
- The full name of each author must be written exactly as it should appear in the published article.
- All individuals listed as authors must meet appropriate authorship criteria and have made substantial contributions to the manuscript.
Structured Abstract
Authors must provide structured abstracts in Indonesian and English, accompanied by keywords.
Each abstract should contain no more than 250 words.
For clinical case reports, the structured abstract should contain:
- Background
- Case Presentation
- Conclusion
The abstract should briefly describe the clinical problem, important patient findings, diagnosis, intervention, outcome, and major lesson derived from the case.
References, tables, figures, and undefined abbreviations should not be included in the abstract.
Keywords
- Authors must provide 3–5 relevant keywords or phrases.
- Keywords should accurately represent the clinical condition, intervention, diagnosis, or major topic - discussed in the manuscript.
- Keywords should be arranged alphabetically.
- Unnecessary abbreviations should be avoided.
- Authors are encouraged to use internationally recognized terminology, such as terms available in - Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) when appropriate.
Article Categories
Manuscripts submitted to Optimal Journal of Clinical Case Report should fall within article categories relevant to clinical case reporting, such as:
- Clinical Case Report
- Case Series
- Clinical Images / Images in Clinical Medicine, if applicable
The Editorial Team reserves the right to determine the most appropriate article category based on the manuscript content.
Submitted manuscripts must be original, unpublished, and not simultaneously under consideration by another journal.
Cases should provide meaningful clinical, scientific, or educational value to readers.
Patient Consent and Ethical Considerations
Because clinical case reports involve individual patient information, authors must pay particular attention to patient privacy, confidentiality, and informed consent.
Authors must obtain written informed consent for publication from the patient or, when applicable, the patient's parent, legal guardian, or authorized representative.
Patient names, initials, medical record numbers, addresses, exact dates of birth, or other unnecessary identifying information must not be included.
Clinical photographs or other images that could reveal patient identity may only be published when appropriate consent has been obtained.
- Authors must ensure that the presentation of clinical information does not unnecessarily compromise patient confidentiality.
- When ethical approval is required by an institution or applicable regulations, authors must provide the relevant ethical approval information.
- When formal ethical approval is not required for an individual clinical case report, this should be stated when appropriate.
- The journal may request documentation confirming informed consent before publication.
Authors are responsible for ensuring that all ethical requirements have been fulfilled before manuscript submission.
CARE Guidelines
Authors are strongly encouraged to prepare clinical case reports according to the CARE Guidelines (CAse REport Guidelines) to promote accurate, transparent, and complete reporting of clinical cases.
Authors may be requested to submit a completed CARE Checklist as supplementary material during the submission or revision process.
Compliance with the CARE Guidelines may be considered as part of the editorial and peer-review evaluation.
- Headings and Subheadings
- Headings and subheadings should be concise, informative, and consistently formatted.
- The hierarchy of headings should be clearly distinguishable.
- Excessive subdivision of manuscript sections should be avoided.
- Headings should follow the structure specified in the journal's official manuscript template.
Figures and Tables
- All figures and tables must be submitted electronically and placed in appropriate locations within the manuscript.
- Clinical photographs, radiological images, histopathological images, diagnostic images, and other figures should be of sufficient quality for publication.
- Figures should preferably be submitted in JPEG or PNG format with adequate resolution.
- Tables must remain editable and should not be submitted as images.
- Figures and tables should provide clinically relevant information and should not unnecessarily duplicate information already described in the text.
- Each table and figure must have a clear and informative title or caption.
- Abbreviations and necessary explanatory information should be described in the corresponding table footnote or figure legend.
- Each table and figure must be cited in the main text.
- Tables and figures must be numbered consecutively using Arabic numerals, for example Table 1, Table 2, Figure 1, and Figure 2.
- A clinical case report should generally contain no more than three tables and five figures, unless additional materials are considered essential to understanding the case.
- Authors must remove identifying patient information from photographs, diagnostic images, and other visual materials unless explicit permission for publication has been obtained.
References
- References must be relevant, reliable, and directly related to the clinical problem discussed in the manuscript.
- Authors should prioritize scientific journal articles from reputable sources.
- The majority of references should preferably have been published within the last five years, while older references may be included when they represent important or fundamental literature.
- Textbooks should preferably have been published within the last ten years, except for recognized foundational references.
- Authors are encouraged to use reference management software such as Mendeley.
- In-text citations must follow the reference style adopted by Optimal Journal of Clinical Case Report.
- If the journal continues to use the existing system, citations and references should follow APA 6th Edition.
- The reference list must be arranged alphabetically according to the journal's specified reference style.
- Authors are responsible for ensuring the accuracy and completeness of all references cited in the manuscript.
- References should primarily consist of original research articles, systematic reviews, clinical guidelines, and other authoritative scientific sources relevant to the reported case.
