Corresponding author: Srujana Mohanty, srujana_micro@yahoo.co.in
DOI: 10.31662/jmaj.2025-0538
Received: November 14, 2025
Accepted: January 21, 2026
Advance Publication: March 19, 2026
Published: May 15, 2026
Cite this article as:
Mohanty S. Letter in Response to “Reconsidering Case Reports: A Modest Call from a Seasoned Clinician”. JMA J. 2026;9(3):703-704.
Key words: case, case report, concept, journal, original article
I read with interest the article by Matsubara entitled “Reconsidering Case Reports: A Modest Call from a Seasoned Clinician” in the October 2025 issue of JMA Journal (1). The views of the author on the importance of case reports in medical literature truly drive home the point and have been expressed at an extremely opportune time, when as medical researchers we are encountering many emerging diseases because of either increasing awareness or being fortunate enough to be working with new cutting-edge technology and medical equipment enabling us to identify newer diseases. Somehow, a published report of a rare or uncommon clinical entity by oneself does unleash or trigger a thinking process to be vigilant for more cases, beckoning a deeper exploration of more such experiences leading to an original study.
I would like to share some of my own experiences, in my more than 25 years as a clinical microbiologist, to emphasize that case reports sow the seeds of imagination for bigger, more systematically planned research projects and are the stepping stones for a more fruitful scientific outcome. Some such examples include a single case report of Enterococcus species brain abscess being followed by more expansive work on characterization of clinical Enterococcus isolates (2), (3) and a single case study of melioidosis leading to a more complex work on localized melioidosis cases over a 2-year period (4), (5).
The importance of case reports in expanding our knowledge of the medical literature cannot be overemphasized because it alerts the clinician to subtle variations in the routine findings, triggering an interest in deeper exploration of the idea/concept in question, often yielding impactful outcomes. Efforts should be made to acknowledge the case report as an important scientific contribution, if not as alluring a publication option as an original article.
Srujana Mohanty designed the study, wrote, edited, and approved the final manuscript, and met the ICMJE criteria for authorship.
None
The All India Institute of Medical Sciences Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India does not demand institutional review board approval for this type of study. Patient anonymity preservation and informed consent for reporting are not applicable.
Data sharing is not applicable to this article because no new data were created or analyzed in this study.
Matsubara S. Reconsidering case reports: a modest call from a seasoned clinician. JMA J. 2025;8(4):1478-9.
Mohanty S, Dhawan B, Kapil A, et al. Brain abscess due to Enterococcus avium. Am J Med Sci. 2005;329(3):161-2.
Mohanty S, Behera B. Antibiogram pattern and virulence trait characterization of Enterococcus species clinical isolates in Eastern India: a recent analysis. J Lab Physicians. 2022;14(3):237-46.
Mohanty S, Pradhan G, Panigrahi MK, et al. A case of systemic melioidosis: unravelling the etiology of chronic unexplained fever with multiple presentations. Pneumonol Alergol Pol. 2016;84(2):121-5.
Purushotham P, Mohanty S, Chappity P, et al. Identification and characterization of Burkholderia pseudomallei from localized pyogenic infections in Eastern India: a clinico-microbiological study. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2021;104(4):1252-9.
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