Quality of Case Reports and Adherence to the CARE (Case Report) Guidelines: Protocol for a Scoping Review

Background Objectives: The use of reporting guidelines aims to enhance the completeness and transparency of biomedical publications. The CARE guideline was developed in 2013 to assist researchers in improving the reporting of their case reports. In this study, drawing on evidence from studies that have evaluated the reporting quality of case reports based on the CARE guideline, we aim to conduct a scoping review focusing on the state-of-the-art adherence to the CARE guidelines in case reports and identifying factors associated with adherence to this guideline. Materials Methods: The protocol for this scoping review follows the Arksey and O’Malley framework. We searched for meta-research studies indexed in four databases (Web of Science, PubMed, Embase, and Scopus) from 2013 to 2023, for studies primarily aimed at evaluating the reporting quality of case reports based on the CARE guidelines. Study selection was performed in duplicate. This study report followed the PRISMA-ScR. Results: Our database searches retrieved 35 studies, of which 14 were included for full-text analysis. The publication rate has increased sharply in recent years; seven articles (50%) were published in 2020 and 2021. Further analysis is in progress and scheduled for completion by July 2024. Conclusions: By conducting this scoping review, we attempted to gain a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of the quality of case reports based on the CARE guideline, identify gaps, and provide recommendations for the more efficient and meaningful use of the CARE reporting guideline in the future.