Barw Barw Medical Journal 2960-1959 2024 06 19 CaReL Guidelines: A Consensus-Based Guideline on Case Reports and Literature Review (CaReL) 10.58742/bmj.v2i2.89 eng Sakshi Prasad Bronxcare Health System, New York City, USA. sakshi.prasad@gmail.com Mahmoud Nassar Endocrine fellow PGY4, Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, New York, USA. Mahmoud.Nassar@gmail.com Ahmed Y. Azzam Montefiore-Einstein Cerebrovascular Research Lab, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, USA. Ahmed.Azzam@gmail.com Francisco García-Muro-San José Department of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, University San Pablo-CEU, Urbanización Montepríncipe, Boadilla del Monte, Spain. Francisco@gmail.com Mahnaz Jamee Pediatric Nephrology Research Center, Research Institute for Children's Health, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. mahnaz@gmail.com Rim Kasem Ali Sliman Department of Pediatrics, Carmel Medical Center, Carmel Hospital, 7 Michal St., Haifa, Israel. Rim@gmail.com Giuseppe Evola Department of Surgery, Division of Surgery, “Garibaldi” Hospital, Catania, Italy. Giuseppe@gmail.com Ayman M. Mustafa Smart Health Tower, Madam Mitterrand Street, Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan, Iraq. Ayman@gmail.com Hiwa O. Abdullah Smart Health Tower, Madam Mitterrand Street, Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan, Iraq. Hiwa@gmail.com Berun A. Abdalla Smart Health Tower, Madam Mitterrand Street, Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan, Iraq. berun.anwer95@gmail.com Shvan H. Mohammed Kscien Organization for Scientific Research (Middle East Office), Hamid Street, Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan, Iraq. shvanh80@gmail.com Fahmi H. Kakamad College of Medicine, University of Sulaimani, Madam Mitterrand Street, Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan, Iraq. fahmi.hussein@univsul.edu.iq Abdulwahid M. Salih College of Medicine, University of Sulaimani, Madam Mitterrand Street, Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan, Iraq. abdulwahd.salih@gmail.com Nicola Tartaglia Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences - University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy. Nicola@gmail.com Giovanna Pavone Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences - University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy. Giovanna@gmail.com Giuliano D’Onghia Department of Surgery, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy. Giuliano@gmail.com Silviu Daniel Preda University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova, Department of Surgery, Craiova, Romania. Silviu@gmail.com Sofia Maraki Department of Clinical Microbiology and Microbial Pathogenesis, University Hospital of Heraklion, Crete, Greece. Sofia@gmail.com Ivona Butorac Ahel Department of Pediatrics, Clinical Hospital Center Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia. Ivona@gmail.com Carlo Pietro Campobasso Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli”, via Luciano Armanni, Naples, Italy. Carlo@gmail.com Jacek K. Szymański Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education, Warsaw, Poland. Jacek@gmail.com Andrea Bottari UOC Chirurgia Generale e d’urgenza, Ospedale Valdarno, Arezzo, Italy. Andrea@gmail.com Laura Fortuna Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Florence, AOU Careggi, Largo Brambilla, Florence, Italy. Laura@gmail.com Stefano Giuseppe Caraffi Medical Genetics Unit, Azienda USL-IRCCS di Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia, Italy. Stefano@gmail.com Ilaria Mormile Department of Translational Medical Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy. Ilaria@gmail.com Gaetano Riemma Department of Woman, Child and General and Specialized Surgery, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Naples, Italy. Gaetano@gmail.com Emmanuel Roilides Infectious Diseases Unit, 3rd Dept Paediatrics, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University and Hippokration General Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece. Emmanuel@gmail.com Serena Xodo Clinic of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Santa Maria della Misericordia hospital, Udine, Azienda Sanitaria Universitaria Friuli Centrale,, Udine, Italy. Serena@gmail.com Nives Pecina-Slaus School of Medicine University of Zagreb, Department of Biology, Salata, Zagreb, Croatia. Nives@gmail.com Matteo Paganini Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padova, Padova, Italy. Matteo@gmial.com Giacomo Brisca Division of Neonatal and Pediatric Critical Care and Semi-Intensive Care, IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Genoa, Italy. Giacomo@gmail.com Giorgia Perniola Department of Maternal and Child Health and Urological Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy. Giorgia@gmail.com Matteo Frigerio Gynecology Department, Fondazione IRCCS San Gerardo dei Tintori, Monza, Italy. Matteo@gmail.com Rok Civljak University Hospital for Infectious Diseases ‘Dr. Fran Mihaljevic’ Zagreb, Croatia. Rok@gmail.com Salvatore Sardo Department of Medical Sciences and Public Health, University of Cagliari, Monserrato, Italy. Salvatore@gmail.com Marco Colizzi Unit of Psychiatry, Department of Medicine (DMED), University of Udine, Italy. Marco@gmail.com Luminita Iliuta Medical Informatics and Biostatistics Department, University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Carol Davila”, Bucharest, Romania. Luminita@gmail.com Eric Chun-Pu Chu New York Chiropractic and Physiotherapy Centre, EC Healthcare, 41/F Langham Place Office Tower, 8 Argyle Street, Kowloon, Hong Kong. Eric@gmail.com Tummidi Santosh Department of Pathology & Lab Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Kalyani, West Bengal, India. Tummidi@gmail.com Ahmed El Shamarka General Surgery Department, Main University Hospital, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt. Ahmed@gmail.com Hossam Tharwat Ali Qena Faculty of Medicine, South Valley University, Qena, Egypt. Hossam@gmail.com Reşat Özaras İstanbul University-Cerrahpaşa, Cerrahpaşa Faculty of Medicine, Department of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology, İstanbul, Turkey. Reşat@gmail.com Alparslan Dilsiz Department of Periodontology, Faculty of Dentistry, Atatürk University, Erzurum, Turkey. Alparslan@gmail.com Baha’eddin A. Muhsen Neurosurgery Unit, Department of Surgery, Islamic Hospital, Amman, Jordan. Baha’eddin@gmail.com Maysa Al-Hussaini Pathology, King Hussein Cancer Centre (KHCC), Amman, Jordan. Maysa@gmail.com Ricardo Grillo Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Faculdade Patos de Minas, Brasília, Brazil. Ricardo@gmail.com G.V. Oliveira Medical Sciences University of Minas Gerais (FCMMG), Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Oliveira@gmail.com Neil H. Riordan MediStem Panama Inc., Panama City, Panama. Neil@gmail.com Ishag Adam Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, College of Medicine, Qassim University, Buraydah, Saudi Arabia. Ishag@gmail.com Abdulqadir J. Nashwan Nursing & Midwifery Research Department (NMRD), Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar. Abdulqadir@gmail.com Nima Rezaei Research Center for Immunodeficiencies, Children's Medical Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Nima@gmail.com Rasoul Goli Department of Medical-surgical Nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran. Rasoul@gmail.com Abhigan Babu Shrestha M Abdur Rahim Medical College, Dinajpur, Bangladesh. Abhigan@gmail.com Sajina Shrestha KIST Medical College Teaching Hospital, Imadol, Patan, Nepal. Sajina@gmail.com Jairo Corchuelo-Ojeda Community Department, School of Dentistry, Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia. Jairo@gmail.com Imen Ben Ismail Department of General Surgery, Traumatology and Severe Burns Center, University of Tunis El Manar, Ben Arous, Tunisia. Imen@gmail.com Umaharan Thamotharampillai Department of Psychiatry, University of Jaffna, Jaffna, Sri Lanka. Umaharan@gmail.com 2024 04 07 Introduction Clinical case reports enrich medical literature by presenting rare medical issues. However, case reports that do not adhere to a standard template often lack rigor and limit their usefulness in clinical guidance. Several guidelines for reporting case reports have been structured, while further improvements are still required. The current guideline (CaReL) aims to enhance the comprehensiveness of case reports by integrating a detailed literature review. Methods In total, 56 researchers were selected based on specific publication criteria for structuring the guidelines. The guideline development was based on a two-step consensus process, including a literature review and survey distribution. Responses underwent scrutiny to ensure reliability and validity. Content validity was assessed, with revisions made to achieve a content validity index exceeding 0.78.  The guideline's feasibility and effectiveness were evaluated by pilot testing, with feedback incorporated for finalization, ensuring the robustness and practicality of the guideline. Results The CaReL guidelines can improve the quality of case reports through a comprehensive checklist with an increased emphasis on literature review. In addition to traditional sections with their subsections discussed in previous guidelines, the checklist also focuses on literature review in the abstract and discussion. Conclusion The CaReL guidelines offer a comprehensive structure for documenting case reports. They highlight the importance of incorporating a literature review to better introduce medical issues to readers and scholars and embedding reported cases into the current scientific state of the art. Implementing these guidelines can promote knowledge sharing and improve patient care