The Archives of Case Reports (ACR) is committed to upholding the highest ethical standards in medical publishing. Authors submitting case reports must adhere to established ethical guidelines to ensure the integrity, transparency, and credibility of their work.

Authorship and Responsibility

Authorship should be based on substantial contributions to the study. All listed authors must:

• Have directly contributed to the case study, data interpretation, or manuscript preparation.
• Review and approve the final manuscript before submission.
• Agree to be accountable for the accuracy and integrity of the published work.

Individuals who contributed but do not meet authorship criteria should be acknowledged appropriately.

Patient Consent and Confidentiality

The ACR prioritizes patient privacy and confidentiality. Authors must:

• Obtain written informed consent from patients or their legal guardians before submitting a case report.
• Ensure that identifying details (e.g., names, images, and personal information) are anonymized unless explicit consent is provided.
• Adhere to HIPAA, GDPR, or other relevant data protection regulations.

Failure to provide appropriate consent will result in manuscript rejection.

Originality and Plagiarism

All submissions to the ACR must be original and free from plagiarism. Authors must:

• Ensure their case report has not been published elsewhere.
• Properly cite and attribute previously published data or images.
• Avoid data fabrication, falsification, or duplicate submission.

Plagiarism in any form, including self-plagiarism, will lead to rejection or retraction.

Conflicts of Interest

Authors must disclose any conflicts of interest that could influence their case report. This includes:

• Financial ties to pharmaceutical companies or medical device manufacturers.
• Personal or institutional affiliations that may bias the study.
• Any sponsorships or funding sources related to the research.

Transparency in conflicts of interest is crucial to maintaining credibility.

Ethical Compliance and Institutional Approval

Authors must ensure that their case report adheres to ethical standards, including:

• Approval from an institutional ethics review board, if required.
• Compliance with ethical guidelines such as the Declaration of Helsinki.
• Proper justification for any deviations from standard medical protocols.

Submissions that do not meet ethical compliance standards will not be considered for publication.

Corrections and Retractions

The ACR maintains a policy for correcting errors and addressing ethical concerns. Authors must:

• Inform the journal immediately if they discover errors in their published work.
• Cooperate with the editorial board in issuing corrections or retractions as necessary.
• Report any research misconduct related to their case study.

Articles found to contain ethical violations or inaccuracies may be retracted.

Submission Declaration

By submitting a manuscript to the ACR, authors confirm that:

• The case report has not been submitted or published elsewhere.
• All authors have reviewed and approved the manuscript.
• The work adheres to ethical publishing standards.

For further ethical inquiries or concerns, authors are encouraged to contact the editorial office.