.

Case Reports

Synapse is pleased to accept case reports from practitioners, that provide information which will encourage other practitioners to improve or make changes in their own practice or clinical reasoning of how to influence a change or plan a treatment for that condition. The maximum length is 2000 including references. An outline is given as follows:

INTRODUCTION
State the purpose of the report and why the case is worth reading about to include in short sentences:

• The patient and the condition.
• How the case came to your attention.
• What is new or different about it.

• The main features worth reporting.

THE PATIENT
Give a concise description of the patient and condition that shows the key physiotherapeutic, biomedical and psychosocial features. The patient's perspective on the problem and priorities for treatment are important. Give the patient a name in the interests of humanity, but not the real name. Do not include any other identifying details or photographs without the patient's permission.

INTERVENTION
Describe what you did, how the patient progressed, and the outcome. This section should cover:

• Aims of physiotherapy.
• Treatment, problems and progress.
• Outcomes, including any changes in impairment and disability.
• Justification of your choice of treatment; clinical reasoning

• The patient’s level of satisfaction and the outcome and the impact on quality of life.

METHOD
This should clarify what intervention took place and what measurements were taken. It should include:

• Description(s) of outcome measures used and reference

• Interventions carried out (where, when, by whom if relevant)

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE
Discuss the knowledge gained, with reference to published research findings and/or evidence about clinical effectiveness. For example:

• Outcome for the patient.
• Drawbacks.
• Insights for treatment of similar patients.

• Potential for application to other conditions.

SUMMARY
List the main lessons to be drawn from this example.

REFERENCES
These should be in the Harvard style (see below).

Further guidelines for writing case reports were published in the Spring 2001 issue of Synapse, page 19.

Abstracts of thesis and dissertations
Abstracts from research projects, including those from undergraduate or postgraduate degrees, audits or presentations. They should be up to 500 words and where possible the conventional format: introduction, purpose, method, results, discussion, conclusion.

Audit Report
A report which contains examination of the method, results, analysis, conclusions and service developments of audit relating to neurology and physiotherapy, using any method or design. This could also include a Service Development Quality Assurance Report of changes in service delivery aimed at improving quality. These should be up to 2000 words including references.

Review of Articles

A critical appraisal of primary source material on a specific topic related to neurology. Download the ACPIN information sheet Reviewing research articles for further guidance.

Product News
A short appraisal of up to 500 words, used to bring new or redesigned equipment to the notice of the readers. ACPIN and Synapse take no responsibility for these assessments, it is not an endorsement of the equipment. If an official trial has been carried out this should be presented as a technical evaluation. This may include a description of a mechanical or technical device used in assessment, treatment, management or education to include specifications and summary evaluation.

Review of books, software and videos
Short reviews of up to 500 words to include details of availability, price and source for purchasing.

Letters to Synapse
These can be about any issue pertinent to neurological physiotherapy or ACPIN. They may relate to material published in the previous issue(s) of Synapse.

PREPARATION OF EDITORIAL MATERIAL
Copy should be produced in Microsoft Word. Wherever possible diagrams and tables should be produced in electronic form, eg Excel, and the software used clearly identified.

Hard copies should be as close to journal style as possible, on one side of A4 paper with at least a 25mm margin all around, consecutively numbered.

The first page should give:

• The title of the article
• The names of the author(s)
• A complete name and address for correspondence
• Professional and academic qualifications for all authors, and their current positions
• For research papers, a brief note about each author which indicates their contribution and a summary of any funds supporting the work

All articles

• The text should be well organised and written in simple, clear correct English. The positions of tables, charts or photographs should be appropriately titled and numbered consecutively in the text.
• All abbreviations must be explained.
• Any photographs or line drawings should be in sharp focus with good contrast for best reproduction.

• References should be listed alphabetically, in the Harvard style with punctuation as follows:

Bloggs A, Collins B (1998) The use of bandages in treating head injuries Physiotherapy 67,3 pp12-13.

• In the text, the reference should be quoted as the author(s) names followed by the date: Bloggs A (1994)

• Acknowledgements are listed at the end.

Measurements

As the International System of Units (SI) is not yet universal, both metric and imperial units are used in the United Kingdom in different circumstances. Depending on which units were used for the original calculations, data may be reported in imperial units followed by the SI equivalent in parentheses, or SI measurements followed by imperial measurements in parentheses.

If the article mentions an outcome measure, appropriate information about it should be included, describing measurement properties and where it may be obtained.

Permissions and ethical certification

Protection of subjects: Either provide written permission from patients, parents or guardians to publish photographs of recognisable individuals, or obscure facial features. For reports of research involving people, written confirmation of informed consent is required. The use of names for patients is encouraged in case studies for clarity and humanity, but they should not be their real names.

Submission of articles

The disk and two hard copies of each article, should be sent with a covering letter from the principal author stating the type of article being submitted, releasing copyright, confirming that appropriate permissions have been obtained, or stating what reprinting permissions are needed.

For further information, please contact the Synapse co-ordinator:

Louise Dunthorne
Manor Farm Barn
Manor Road
Clopton
Woodbridge
Suffolk
IP13 6SH
t 44 (0) 1473 738421

The Editorial Board reserves the right to edit all material submitted. Likewise, the views expressed in this journal are not necessarily those of the Editorial Board, nor of ACPIN. Inclusion of any advertising matter in this journal does not necessarily imply endorsement of the advertised product by ACPIN.

Whilst every care is taken to ensure that the data published herein is accurate, neither ACPIN nor the publisher can accept responsibility for any omissions or inaccuracies appearing or for any consequences arising therefrom.

ACPIN and the publisher do not sponsor nor otherwise support any substance, commodity, process, equipment, organisation or service in this publication. Note: all material submitted to the administrator is normally acknowledged within two weeks of receipt.

Back to top