Case Reports and Reviews: Open Access

The rapid adoption of artificial intelligence tools in academic research and writing presents both opportunities and significant ethical considerations. Case Reports and Reviews: Open Access has developed this policy to provide clear guidance on the acceptable and unacceptable uses of AI in manuscript preparation, peer review, and editorial processes. This policy applies to all authors, reviewers, and editors engaging with the journal and is informed by internationally recognised publication ethics best practices, where appropriate.

Acceptable Use of AI in Manuscript Preparation
Authors may use AI-assisted tools to support specific aspects of manuscript preparation, including:

• Grammar checking and language refinement
• Improving sentence clarity and readability
• Translation assistance for non-native English speakers
• Reformatting references or checking citation style
• Generating initial section outlines for author review and revision

Such use is acceptable provided that the author has reviewed and taken full intellectual responsibility for the AI-assisted output, and that the use is disclosed in accordance with this policy.

Unacceptable Use of AI
AI tools must not be used to:

• Generate scientific data, clinical findings, or results
• Fabricate, paraphrase, or misrepresent literature citations
• Substitute for clinical reasoning, diagnostic interpretation, or expert scientific judgement
• Draft content that the named authors have not substantively reviewed and verified
• Circumvent the journal's plagiarism detection processes

Disclosure Requirements
Authors who have used AI tools in the preparation of their manuscript must disclose this in the Methods section or in a dedicated AI Disclosure statement. The disclosure should identify the specific tool(s) used and describe the nature of the AI assistance. For example: "The authors used [tool name] for grammar checking and language editing of the final manuscript. All scientific content, clinical interpretation, and conclusions were generated and verified by the authors." Failure to disclose AI use may be treated as a breach of publication ethics.

AI Cannot Be Listed as an Author
AI tools and large language models cannot meet the authorship criteria applied by this journal and cannot be listed as authors on any manuscript. Authorship carries legal and ethical accountability; AI systems are incapable of accepting such responsibility. Any attempt to attribute authorship to an AI system will result in immediate rejection of the manuscript.

AI-Generated References
Authors must not include references generated by AI tools unless each reference has been independently verified as accurate, complete, and correctly attributed. AI-generated references that do not correspond to real, verifiable publications constitute fabrication. Authors bear full responsibility for the accuracy of all citations in their manuscripts.

Reviewer Use of AI
Reviewers must not submit peer review reports that have been drafted or substantially generated by AI tools. Peer review requires expert human judgement, and the submission of AI-generated reviews may violate confidentiality obligations. Submitted manuscripts are confidential documents and must not be shared with any external system, including AI platforms, without the author's consent.

Confidentiality and AI Platforms
Submitting manuscript text to third-party AI platforms may expose confidential information. Editors and reviewers must not input manuscript content into AI systems. Authors are advised to exercise caution and to ensure that any AI tools used comply with applicable data protection requirements.

Human Responsibility
Regardless of the extent to which AI tools are used in manuscript preparation, all named authors bear full and sole responsibility for the accuracy, integrity, and ethical compliance of their published work. The use of AI does not diminish or transfer the authors' accountability. The journal will hold authors responsible for any errors, inaccuracies, or ethical breaches arising from AI-generated content.