"Diagnostic certainty is a component of all cases and reflects how well the diagnosis has been established. It ranges from "Possible" to "Certain," and it is very important that diagnostic certainty not be overstated. Doing so only reduces the utility of the Radiopaedia case library and undermines your credibility as a contributor."
""Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.""
"Well-established diagnostic criteria exist for many conditions and these should be followed to set the diagnostic certainty (rarely, there is divergence; for example, the Boston criteria 2.0 requires post-mortem evidence for a "Certain" diagnosis, which is not practicable in clinical practice)."
"And remember, just because you feel certain does not mean you are right. This is particularly the case if you are straying outside of your comfort zone (you are relatively junior, an unusual case, it is outside of your area of expertise, etc). Whatever you do, don't forget the Dunning-Kruger effect 1,2, which is all too alive and well in medicine."
"be prepared for your case to be rejected for publication; that's ok, you can always keep it as one of your unlisted cases"
""Would a pedantic, high-end peer-reviewed journal accept the diagnosis if you submitted it as a case report?""
""Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.""
"And remember, just because you feel certain does not mean you are right. This is particularly the case if you are straying outside of your comfort zone (you are relatively junior, an unusual case, it is outside of your area of expertise, etc). Whatever you do, don't forget the Dunning-Kruger effect 1,2, which is all too alive and well in medicine."
"Possible (red dot)"
"Probable (orange dot)"
"Almost certain (yellow dot)"
"Certain (green dot)"
"Not applicable (grey dot)"
"a secondary source states the diagnosis (e.g. the referral, or the treating unit or a colleague tells you the result of a biopsy) but you cannot upload the histology report"
Expected headings
"Which diagnostic certainty level applies?"
"Where is diagnostic certainty located?"
"Diagnostic certainty levels"
"How diagnostic certainty is used"
"In other words, would a cynical and sceptical third party agree that there was no doubt about the diagnosis? Only if your honest answer is "yes" then, and only then, can the diagnosis be considered "Certain". This is especially true for rare, atypical or generally unusual cases. Remembering a saying popularised by Carl Sagan 3:"
"Well-established diagnostic criteria exist for many conditions and these should be followed to set the diagnostic certainty (rarely, there is divergence; for example, the Boston criteria 2.0 requires post-mortem evidence for a "Certain" diagnosis, which is not practicable in clinical practice)."
"the preferred diagnosis (reflected in the case title) is one of a number of possible diagnoses; to be eligible for publication, a robust case discussion is required including why the preferred diagnosis is favoured"
"be prepared for your case to be rejected for publication; that's ok, you can always keep it as one of your unlisted cases"
"the preferred diagnosis is most likely (>90% certain) than any alternative, but the diagnosis has not been established; a robust case discussion is required including why the preferred diagnosis is favoured"
"Thirdly, search results may be filtered to only show cases of a minimum diagnostic (e.g. "Almost certain")."