Case series

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A case series (also known as a clinical series) is a medical research descriptive study that tracks patients with a known exposure given similar treatment[1] or examines their medical records for exposure and outcome. It can be retrospective or prospective and usually involves a smaller number of patients than more powerful case-control studies or randomized controlled trials. Case series may be consecutive[2] or non-consecutive,[3] depending on whether all cases presenting to the reporting authors over a period were included, or only a selection.

Case series may be confounded by selection bias, which limits statements on the causality of correlations observed; for example, physicians who look at patients with a certain illness and a suspected linked exposure will have a selection bias in that they have drawn their patients from a narrow selection (namely their hospital or clinic).

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Definition of case series - NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms". 
  2. ↑ "Definition of consecutive case series - NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms". 
  3. ↑ "Definition of nonconsecutive case series - NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms". 

External links

Overview
Controlled study
(EBM I to II-1; A to B)
Observational study
(EBM II-2 to II-3; B to C)
Epidemiology/
methods
Trial/test types
Analysis of clinical trials
Interpretation of results


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