Herd of Zebras! Case-con at ACEP

We’ve all had the experience of seeing a notable patient case in the ED; whether it’s that diagnostic mystery that has puzzled you since your first EM medical school rotation, or that unusual presentation of what turned out to be a staple EM diagnosis that you saw as a resident last week. Seeing new things (or familiar things presenting in novel ways) is one of the rewarding aspects of practicing EM at any career stage.

Turn your interesting experience into a chance to present original research on a national stage!  Case Reports are among the most accessible forms of research, whether you’re a seasoned researcher or hoping for your first publication.

What is a Case Report?

Case reports are based upon an interesting patient encounter.  They are brief descriptions of uncommonly documented disease processes, rarely reported presentations (or treatments) of known diseases, or previously unreported complications of established treatments.

For examples, check out the Case Report section of the Annals of Emergency Medicine site, or browse winning cases from past CaseCon events via links below!  If you are not sure whether your case qualifies as interesting, feel free to email the Case-con team.

How do I submit a case to Case-con?

The first step is to submit a page-long abstract of your Case Report.  The deadline by July 14, 2023.

What is Case-con?

Case-con is a poster presentation contest of interesting/notable emergency medicine cases. Presentations will include a 5-minute presentation followed by 2 minutes of group discussion. Presentations will be judged by a panel of EM residents and faculty. Three winners will be selected from each group of students and residents.

Guide for Presenters

• Authors are asked to submit a word document (3000 character limit) with a description of their proposed case presentation.
• Subtitles to include:
  • Introduction
  • Case Description
  • Discussion (with notable learning points)
  • Conclusion
• Authors selected for case presentation will then submit a .pdf version of their case presentation poster.
• Presentations will be judged based on the Case-con Rubric.

Judging Abstracts

Abstract submissions and presentation rubrics will be used to select abstracts for the competition and during the competition by the judges.

Topics of Interest

• Uncommon presentations of common illnesses
• Interesting (de-identified) clinical pictures
• Any case that you think has an interesting teaching point
• Novel treatments / techniques