Informed consent for surgical case reports

Informed consent for surgical case reports
Mohamed Onyango, Brian Kariuki
The Annals of African Surgery, 30 June 2022
Open Access
Excerpt
Informed consent is one of the most essential pillars of medical research ethics (1). It encompasses the medical ethical principle of autonomy which enables the participants to decide on whether or not to partake in a study without any coercion (2). It also enables patients to make informed decisions after critically analyzing the implications of the facts presented by the surgeon (3). It is of great importance that surgeons apply specific informed consent rules for specific study designs they undertake. The majority of studies submitted to surgical journals are case reports, but the process for obtaining quality informed consent is still insufficient. In addition, some journals do not have well-defined informed consent protocols for case report studies. This editorial thus aims to highlight case report specific rules for informed consent for surgeons to employ prior to commencement of their research…