Diagnosis Please

These submissions are for the monthly feature of cases that are the basis of the annual Diagnosis Please competition. Each case is presented as an “unknown” and is published in two parts. Part 1 has only the patient history and images with brief captions. Part 2 includes the diagnosis, discussion of the diagnosis, and the major considerations in differential diagnosis. If you are interested in submitting a Diagnosis Please case, you must first complete a questionnaire which is then sent to Debbie Hogan (dhogan@rsna.org). Maximums for part 2: word count, 1500 words (including original history); number of references, 10 (no references for part 1); number of figure parts, six; there are no tables and no abstract.

Directions

Diagnosis Please original submission: contact editor for approval of case:

Cases published in this section are to be challenging, and one should be able to make the most likely diagnosis on the basis of the imaging findings and the history, since that is all that will be available to the reader when the case is presented. Prior to submitting an article to Diagnosis Please, the topic must be approved by the editor via e-mail. Your e-mail to the editor should supply the following information:

(a) Why is the case challenging?

(b) Why should one make the most likely diagnosis based on the history and the imaging findings?

(c) What is the differential diagnosis?

(d) Are you able to say the other differential diagnostic considerations are less likely, based on what the reader will read and see (the history and the images)? Also, are you able to support your reasons with information from the published literature?

(e) By what date would you be able to submit this case?

If your case is approved via e-mail, you will then be directed to submit the case in two parts for peer review. Part 1 will be published in a given month to allow our readers to submit the one most likely diagnosis. Part 2, published 4 months later, gives and discusses the actual diagnosis. At the end of part 2, we also list the names of those who submitted the correct most likely diagnosis. Although parts 1 and 2 are published at different times, it is essential that you submit both parts of your case at the same time by using Manuscript Central (http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/rad). Part 1 and part 2 should be uploaded as separate manuscripts.

Assembly and Submission

Part 1: This represents the material that is initially published. It consists of the history and four to six unlabeled images. However, each image is identified as to its type (eg, posteroanterior chest radiograph, contrast-enhanced CT scan of the abdomen, conventional radiograph of the ankle, MR image of the elbow [with pulse sequence information]). With the history and images, the reader is to conclude what is the most likely diagnosis.

Part 2: The text of this part is composed of several sections. History: This is the same history as in part 1. Imaging Findings: Give a narrative description of the imaging findings (the figure captions alone do not suffice for this section), with figures cited in the text. Discussion: Provide a description of how the imaging findings when coupled with the history result in the most likely diagnosis. If a differential diagnosis is to be considered, each differential item should be excluded on the basis of the nuances of imaging findings or the historical information. Give a brief summary of the entity illustrated by this case, and indicate the proof of the most likely diagnosis. References: Provide the salient references. Figures: The same illustrations as in part 1 should be provided, but they should display labels identifying the salient features that are described in the figure captions that you also provide for these illustrations. If you wish to provide additional important illustrations (two or three) to support your discussion, you may do so.

Before preparing your case, please review several examples of Diagnosis Please cases (parts 1 and 2) found in recent issues of Radiology.