Relatos de casos em Alergia e Imunologia: relevância e estruturação
Case reports in Allergy and Immunology: relevance and structure
Ekaterini Simões Goudouris
Resumo
Os relatos de caso, embora estejam na base da pirâmide de evidências científicas, constituem um formato clássico da literatura médica, fundamentais para o avanço do conhecimento e para a educação em saúde. Este artigo revisa a importância e as limitações dos relatos de caso, apresenta diretrizes de estruturação e propõe recomendações práticas para a especialidade de Alergia e Imunologia. Trata-se de uma revisão narrativa apoiada em ferramentas de inteligência artificial e com curadoria humana. Embora apresente limitações metodológicas e haja um viés de publicação de dados positivos, os relatos de casos são vitais para a educação médica, tanto no processo de formação quanto na educação continuada. São importantes também na farmacovigilância, no estudo de condições raras, na descoberta de novas doenças e de novos tratamentos, bem como na geração de hipóteses a serem testadas por meio de métodos de estudo mais rigorosos. A inconsistência na qualidade levou ao desenvolvimento das diretrizes CARE, em 2013, cujo uso é crucial para garantir a precisão, a completude e a transparência dos relatos de casos. Na Alergia e na Imunologia, os relatos são essenciais para descrever erros inatos da imunidade, novos alérgenos e desfechos da imunoterapia, entre outros. Quando conduzidos e relatados com rigor metodológico, seguindo diretrizes estruturadas, os relatos de caso em Alergia e Imunologia mantêm elevado valor científico e educacional, sendo uma fonte indispensável de inovação e aprimoramento da prática clínica.
Palavras-chave
Abstract
Although they are at the bottom of the scientific evidence hierarchy, case reports remain a classic format in medical literature and play a key role in advancing knowledge and health education. This article reviews the importance and limitations of case reports, presents guidelines for their structure, and proposes practical recommendations for the specialty of allergy and immunology. This is a narrative review developed with the support of artificial intelligence tools and human curation. Although they have methodological limitations and are subject to publication bias toward positive data, case reports are vital for medical education, both during training and in continuing education. They also play a crucial role in pharmacovigilance, the study of rare conditions, the discovery of new diseases and treatments, and the generation of hypotheses to be tested using more rigorous study methods. Inconsistent reporting quality led to the development of the CARE guidelines in 2013, which are fundamental for ensuring the accuracy, completeness, and transparency of case reports. In allergy and immunology, case reports are essential for describing inborn errors of immunity, novel allergens, and immunotherapy outcomes, among others. When conducted and reported with methodological rigor and adherence to structured guidelines, case reports in allergy and immunology have high scientific and educational value, serving as an indispensable source of innovation and improvement in clinical practice.
Keywords
References
1. Alsaywid BS, Abdulhaq NM. Guideline on writing a case report. Urol Ann. 2019;11(2):126-31.
2. Carey JC. The importance of case reports in advancing scientific knowledge of rare diseases. Adv Exp Med Biol. 2010;686:77-86.
3. Cagnier JJ, Kienle G, Altman D, Moher D, Sox H, Riley D, et al. The CARE guidelines: consensus-based clinical case reporting guideline development. Journal of Medical Case Reports. 2013;7:223-8.
4. Parums DV. Editorial: The Increasing Relevance of Case Reports in Medical Education and Clinical Practice - and How to Write Them. Am J Case Rep. 2023;24:e942670.
5. Taha MJJ, Abuawwad MT. Integrating case reports into systematic reviews: methodological strategies and challenges. Syst Rev. 2025;14(1):208-17.
6. Murad MH, Sultan S, Haffar S, Bazerbachi F. Methodological quality and synthesis of case series and case reports. BMJ Evid Based Med. 2018;23(2):60-3.
7. Caban-Martinez AJ, Beltran WF. Advancing medicine one research note at a time: the educational value in clinical case reports. BMC Res Notes. 2012;5:293-5.
8. Thoumazet F, Léauté-Labrèze C, Colin J, Mortemousque B. Efficacy of systemic propranolol for severe infantile haemangioma of the orbit and eyelid: a case study of eight patients. Br J Ophthalmol. 2012;96(3):370-4. doi:10.1136/bjophthalmol-2011-300047.
9. Nissen T, Wynn R. The clinical case report: a review of its merits and limitations. BMC Res Notes. 2014;7:264-70.
10. Vandenbroucke JP. In defense of case reports and case series. Annals of internal medicine. 2001;134(4):330-4.
11. Suvvari TK. Are case reports valuable? Exploring their role in evidence based medicine and patient care. World J Clin Cases. 2024;12(24):5452-5.
12. Albrecht J, Werth VP, Bigby M. The role of case reports in evidencebased practice, with suggestions for improving their reporting. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. 2009;60(3):412-8.
13. Sayre JW, Toklu HZ, Ye F, Mazza J, Yale S. Case Reports, Case Series - From Clinical Practice to Evidence-Based Medicine in Graduate Medical Education. Cureus. 2017;9(8):e1546.
14. Carleton HA, Webb ML. The case report in context. Yale J Biol Med. 2012;85(1):93-6.
15. Packer CD, Katz RB, Iacopetti CL, Krimmel JD, Singh MK. A Case Suspended in Time: The Educational Value of Case Reports. Acad Med. 2017;92(2):152-6.
16. Florek AG, Dellavalle RP. Case reports in medical education: a platform for training medical students, residents, and fellows in scientific writing and critical thinking. J Med Case Rep. 2016;10:86-8.
17. Calvache JA, Vera-Montoya M, Ordonez D, Hernandez AV, Altman D, Moher D. Completeness of reporting of case reports in high-impact medical journals. Eur J Clin Invest. 2020;50(4):e13215.
18. Albrecht J, Meves A, Bigby M. Case reports and case series from Lancet had significant impact on medical literature. J Clin Epidemiol. 2005;58(12):1227-32.
19. Neely JG, Karni RJ, Nussenbaum B, Paniello RC, Fraley PL, Wang EW, et al. Practical guide to understanding the value of case reports. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2008;138(3):261-4.
20. Riley DS, Barber MS, Kienle GS, Aronson JK, von Schoen-Angerer T, Tugwell P, et al. CARE guidelines for case reports: explanation and elaboration document. J Clin Epidemiol. 2017;89:218-35.
21. CARE Guidelines. CARE Checklist online. Disponível em: https://www.care-statement.org/checklist. Acessado em: 30/11/2025.
Submitted date:
11/27/2025
Accepted date:
12/11/2025


