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How to give a clinical case presentation: the oral order, a 12-slide case conference template and a worked example

This guide covers patient case presentations for medicine, nursing and pharmacy: the oral order on rounds, daily SOAP updates, a 12-slide case conference template with 15-minute timing, the CARE checklist for case report talks, a Safe Harbor de-identification checklist and a fictional case with its arithmetic.

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Clinical case presentation — NOXI guide cover: one patient case told in order, from the one-liner and history to a 12-slide case conference deck with de-identified data and learning points

Disclosure: NOXI publishes this guide and is one of the tools it mentions; the method works in any presentation software.

Quick answer: A clinical case presentation reports one patient in a fixed order: one-liner, chief complaint, history of present illness, background history, examination, data, assessment and plan. On rounds you say it without slides in under five minutes. At a case conference it becomes about 12 slides in 15 minutes, ending with learning points. De-identify everything first.

This guide is for medical students on clerkships, residents preparing a morning report or case conference, and nursing, pharmacy, dental and allied-health students asked to "present a case". It separates the formats people confuse (rounds, the daily SOAP update, the slide case conference), then gives a 12-slide template with 15-minute timing, the CARE checklist mapped to slides, a de-identification checklist built on the HIPAA Safe Harbor list, and one fictional case with its arithmetic. Nothing here is medical advice. If you are presenting someone else's published study rather than your own patient, our journal club presentation guide is the page you need.

In short

  • One orderOne-liner, chief complaint, history of present illness (HPI), past history, medications and allergies, social and family history, pertinent review of systems, examination, data, assessment (problem list and differential) and plan.
  • Three formatsNew patient on rounds: spoken, under 5 minutes. Daily SOAP update: about a minute, overnight events first. Case conference: slides, about 15 minutes plus questions.
  • 12 slidesTitle, one-liner, HPI timeline, background, exam, labs, imaging, differential, diagnosis and severity, course, outcome, learning points.
  • De-identify firstRemove names, record numbers, every date element except the year, places smaller than a state, full-face photos and scan labels; write ages over 89 as "90 or older". Never upload identifiable patient data to any tool.
  • Case reportsA case report talk follows the 13-item CARE checklist, including a timeline, the patient's perspective and consent.
  • ExampleA fictional 67-year-old man: creatinine 2.0 vs a baseline of 1.1 mg/dL (1.82 times, KDIGO stage 1), CURB-65 score 2, told in 15 minutes.

What a clinical case presentation is

A clinical case presentation is a structured spoken or slide report of one patient's illness, from the presenting problem through the findings to the assessment and plan, given to colleagues who need to make a decision or learn from the case. The same order serves the attending on rounds, the team at the morning update and the department at a case conference.

Definition What is an oral case presentation? An oral case presentation is a concise, spoken summary of a patient's history, examination, data, assessment and plan, given to the supervising clinician or team, usually on ward rounds and usually without slides. It is an edited argument for the presenter's assessment, not a reading of the written admission note: it keeps the facts that support or challenge the diagnosis and leaves out the rest.

A handout on case presentations hosted by Ohio State University's College of Medicine puts it plainly: an oral presentation is a concise, edited presentation of the essentials, not a recitation of your write-up, and the listener should be able to build a differential as the story unfolds (OSU College of Medicine, A Guide to Case Presentations). The Society of Hospital Medicine describes an effective presentation as one that guides listeners to the same conclusion as the speaker (SHM, A Guide to Effective Oral Case Presentations).

One order, four settings: rounds, SOAP update, case conference, case report

Every clinical case presentation uses the same order; the setting decides how much of it you say and whether you use slides: spoken on rounds, SOAP for daily updates, slides at case conference, the CARE checklist for case reports.

SettingAudience and lengthSlides?What changes
New admission, oral on roundsAttending and team; under 5 minutes, no more than 3 on walk rounds (OSU handout)NoFull order, but pertinent positives and negatives only; ends with your assessment and plan
Daily update (SOAP)Team; about 60 to 90 seconds per stable patientNoOvernight events first, then subjective, objective, assessment and plan by problem
Case conference, morning report, grand rounds caseDepartment, students; about 15 minutes for the case, plus questionsYesTold in the order you learned it; ends with learning points
Case report talk (conference or journal)Conference audience; the slot the organisers give, often shortYesCARE items, a timeline slide, a literature comparison and a consent statement
The order of a clinical case presentation shown as a row of steps: one-liner, chief complaint, history of present illness, background, examination, data, assessment and plan. Below it, three cards compare the settings. Rounds: spoken, pertinent findings only, under 5 minutes. Daily SOAP update: overnight events first, about a minute. Case conference: slides in the order of reasoning, about 15 minutes, ending with learning points.
One order for every setting; the setting decides how much of it you say and whether there are slides.

Ask before you prepare. Case Western Reserve University's student template says all oral presentations follow one basic outline, with parts omitted or expanded by setting (Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Student Oral Presentation Template). A surgical team at 6 a.m. wants a different cut of the same patient from a geriatrics team at noon; ask the senior resident on day one.

The full order of a patient case presentation

The full order of a patient case presentation is: identifying statement (the one-liner), chief complaint, history of present illness, past medical and surgical history, medications and allergies, family and social history, pertinent review of systems, physical examination with vital signs, laboratory and imaging data, assessment with a problem list and differential diagnosis, and plan.

#SectionWhat it holds
1One-liner (identifying statement)Age, sex, relevant active problems, complaint and duration
2Chief complaintThe problem in the patient's terms, with duration
3History of present illnessOnset to arrival, pertinent positives and negatives, earlier evaluation
4Past historyActive problems relevant to this illness, most important first
5Medications and allergiesCurrent medicines; allergies with the type of reaction
6Social and family historyLiving situation, work, support, substances; relevant family history
7Review of systemsOnly the pertinent items not already in the HPI
8ExaminationGeneral appearance, all vital signs, pertinent findings
9DataLabs against baseline, imaging, ECG and other results that matter
10AssessmentSummary sentence, problem list, ranked differential and why
11PlanBy problem: what refines the diagnosis and what treats it

The order mirrors the written admission note, so the team can follow it without the chart. The OSU handout adds a one-line summary just before the assessment; the CWRU template ends with a research question the case raises, a useful habit in teaching settings.

The one-liner: age, sex, key history and the problem in one sentence

The one-liner is the first sentence of a case presentation: age, sex, the two to four active problems that matter for this illness, and the presenting complaint with its duration. It tells the listener which story to expect, so every later fact lands in the right place.

Definition What is a one-liner in a case presentation? A one-liner, or identifying statement, is a single opening sentence that names the patient's age and sex, the relevant active medical problems and the presenting problem with its duration, for example "a 67-year-old man with type 2 diabetes and hypertension presenting with three days of productive cough and fever". A second, updated one-liner often opens the assessment, adding the key findings.

The OSU handout suggests no more than four active problems, named by diagnosis only; race or ethnicity belongs only when it changes the diagnostic weighting. Three fictional examples:

  • Medicine: "A 67-year-old man with type 2 diabetes and hypertension presenting with three days of productive cough and fever."
  • Surgery: "A 45-year-old woman with no significant past history presenting with 18 hours of right lower quadrant pain and vomiting."
  • Psychiatry: "A 29-year-old man with bipolar disorder, previously stable on lithium, presenting with two weeks of reduced sleep and pressured speech."

If the listener has forgotten the chief complaint by the time you reach the HPI, the one-liner was too long.

The history of present illness: tell it as a story, in relative time

The history of present illness is the core of a case presentation: a chronological story of the main symptom from onset to arrival, with its attributes, the pertinent positives and negatives, and any evaluation before admission. On rounds it takes a third to half of your speaking time, and every event is timed relative to admission, not by calendar date.

Two habits separate a story from a list.

  • Characterise the main symptom fully. The CWRU template lists location, quality, quantity, chronology, setting, aggravating and alleviating factors, and associated symptoms; the OSU handout offers the CLEARAST mnemonic (character and circumstances, location, exacerbating and alleviating factors, radiation, associated symptoms, severity, temporal features). Pick one and use it every time.
  • Use relative time. Say "three days before admission", not "on Saturday" or "on 25 May". The OSU handout calls these parallel reference points; they also remove calendar dates, which matters for privacy.

Open with "He was in his usual state of health until three days before admission, when he developed…", move forward day by day, and stop when the patient met you. Pertinent negatives belong here when they argue against a diagnosis on your differential: "no leg swelling, no recent immobility" is a sentence about pulmonary embolism, and the attending will hear it that way. The OSU handout's time rule (a third to a half of the presentation) and its warning against a too-brief HPI apply on every service.

What to cut on rounds: the focused presentation

A focused presentation on rounds keeps the one-liner, the HPI, the findings that support or challenge your leading diagnosis, and your assessment and plan; it cuts the full review of systems, irrelevant past diagnoses and unrequested normal results. Test every sentence: does it change what the listener thinks or does?

  1. Review of systems: pertinent items only.Pass if every item relates to the complaint or your differential; fail if you recite organ systems.
  2. Past history: active and relevant problems only.Pass if each problem affects this admission's diagnosis or plan; fail if remote, resolved problems appear.
  3. Examination: all vital signs, then pertinent findings.Pass if vital signs are complete and findings are described, not diagnosed ("a murmur of mitral regurgitation" fails).
  4. Data: what changed and what matters.Pass if abnormal values come with the baseline and trend; fail if you read out a normal panel value by value.

Cutting is not hiding: know everything you left out, because the attending will ask. Present from notes, not your write-up; the OSU handout recommends practising two or three times beforehand, ideally with a classmate who can give you feedback.

Assessment and plan: argue for your diagnosis

The assessment is an argument, not a list: state the main problem in one positive sentence, give a ranked differential, say why the leading diagnosis leads, and then give a plan by problem that follows from it. A plan that does not match the assessment tells the attending you have not committed to one.

The OSU handout's template sentence, in paraphrase: the main problem is X; the differential includes A, B and C; A is most likely because of these findings. The SHM guide frames the whole presentation with the SOAPS mnemonic: Story, Organization, Argument, Pertinence and Speech. "Argument" is the part trainees skip, but an assessment listing six unranked diagnoses gives the team nothing to correct.

  • Say the problem positively. "Acute dyspnoea with a right lower lobe consolidation", not "rule out pneumonia".
  • Rank the differential. Most likely first, then the dangerous one you must not miss, then the rest. Give one reason for and one against for the top two.
  • Plan by problem. What confirms or excludes the diagnosis, what treats it, what you monitor; then disposition.

Daily SOAP updates in about a minute

A daily update follows the SOAP order: overnight events, then subjective (how the patient feels), objective (vital signs, exam changes, new results), and an assessment and plan for each active problem. For a stable patient it should take about 60 to 90 seconds; a patient who changed overnight gets more time, and you say so first.

Definition What is a SOAP note? SOAP is a structure for progress notes and daily updates: Subjective (the patient's symptoms and concerns in their words), Objective (vital signs, examination, laboratory and imaging results), Assessment (the clinician's interpretation, by problem) and Plan (the next steps for each problem). A spoken SOAP update is the short daily form of the case presentation, given after the full presentation on admission.

The minute: overnight events or "no events overnight" (5 seconds), how the patient feels (10), vital-sign trend and anything new on examination or in results (20), then each active problem with today's plan (25 to 55). Lead with the change: "febrile to 39.1 overnight, now hypotensive" comes before "feels a bit better", because the team decides on the first.

The case conference: a 12-slide template and 15-minute timing

A case conference presentation fits 12 slides in 15 minutes: title, one-liner, HPI timeline, background, examination, labs, imaging, differential, working diagnosis and severity, hospital course, outcome, and learning points. Unlike rounds, you tell the case in the order you learned it, revealing results as they came, so the room reasons along with you.

#SlideWhat it must showMinutes
1TitleThe case as a question ("Fever, cough and a rising creatinine"), presenter, service0.5
2One-liner and chief complaintThe opening sentence, large, and the complaint with its duration0.5
3HPI as a timelineDays before admission to day 1, pertinent positives and negatives3
4BackgroundRelevant past history, medicines, allergies, social and family history1.5
5ExaminationAll vital signs with units, then pertinent findings1.5
6Laboratory dataAbnormal values against baseline and reference range, with units1
7ImagingOne cropped, de-identified image with an arrow and a one-line read1
8Problem list and differentialRanked differential; the pause where you ask the room1.5
9Working diagnosis and severityThe diagnosis, the reasoning, and any score with its components1.5
10Management and courseDay-by-day course with the key decisions and why1
11Outcome and follow-upTrend back to baseline, discharge day, follow-up plan1
12Learning pointsOne to three points, each with a current guideline or paper1

By slide that is 0.5 + 0.5 + 3 + 1.5 + 1.5 + 1 + 1 + 1.5 + 1.5 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 15 minutes; by block, 1 + 3 + 1.5 + 1.5 + 2 + 3 + 2 + 1 = 15, and most case conferences leave time for questions after that. Two blocks carry the case: the HPI (3 minutes) and the reasoning on slides 8 and 9 (3 minutes). If you run long, cut background and course detail, never those two.

A 15-minute case conference drawn as a bar split into eight blocks: opening with the title and one-liner 1 minute, HPI 3 minutes, background 1.5, examination 1.5, labs and imaging 2, differential and reasoning 3, management and outcome 2, and learning points 1. Checkpoints sit at 4 minutes after the HPI and at 12 minutes after the reasoning.
Spend the time on the story and the reasoning; background and course are where you cut if you run late.

Four rules make the template work.

  • Pause on slide 8. Show the problem list and ask the room for its differential before you reveal yours. It turns the audience into participants.
  • Reveal in sequence. Admission results on slide 6, later results on slide 10. A final diagnosis on slide 2 removes the reason to listen.
  • Write titles as findings. "Creatinine was 1.82 times his baseline" can be read from the back of the room; "Labs" cannot. For how many slides a slot can carry, see our slides-per-minute guide.
  • End on learning points that stand alone. One to three, each specific and sourced: "Compare creatinine with the patient's own baseline: 2.0 vs 1.1 mg/dL is 1.82 times, KDIGO stage 1" teaches; "AKI is common" and "interesting case" do not. The test: would a colleague act differently next week because of it?

For a 10-minute slot, merge the title into the one-liner slide, imaging into the labs slide, and outcome into the course slide (9 slides). For a 20-minute slot, keep the 12 slides and add a short discussion of the evidence behind your main learning point.

Labs, imaging and scores on slides

Data slides in a case presentation should show trends against the patient's baseline, with units and reference ranges, not a full table of every value; images should be cropped to the finding, stripped of labels and marked with an arrow; and any clinical score should show its components so the room can check the total.

  • Baseline first. A creatinine of 2.0 mg/dL means little without the patient's usual value. Show "2.0 mg/dL (baseline 1.1)" and the ratio.
  • Units on every number. For mixed audiences, give the second unit in brackets (mg/dL and µmol/L).
  • Trends as small charts. Three or more values over time read better as a line than as a table. Our guide on how to present data covers chart choice and labelling.
  • Scores with components. Show each item and its points, the total and the source, so the room can question an item rather than the total.
  • Images cropped and described. Crop to the finding, remove the label strip, add an arrow and a one-line read ("right lower lobe consolidation"). Describe it aloud too. Our accessibility checklist for slides covers contrast, alt text and reading order.

Cite the definition you used. A score or staging system is only meaningful with its source: KDIGO's 2012 guideline stages acute kidney injury by the creatinine ratio to baseline, with stage 1 at 1.5 to 1.9 times baseline or a rise of at least 0.3 mg/dL (26.5 µmol/L) within 48 hours (KDIGO 2012 Clinical Practice Guideline for Acute Kidney Injury). KDIGO lists an updated 2026 AKI and acute kidney disease guideline in preparation, so check which version your department uses (KDIGO, Acute Kidney Injury guideline page). The CURB-65 score for community-acquired pneumonia gives one point each for confusion, urea above 7 mmol/L, respiratory rate of 30 per minute or more, low blood pressure (systolic below 90 mmHg or diastolic 60 mmHg or less) and age 65 or older (Lim WS, et al., Thorax 2003).

Case report talks: the CARE checklist mapped to slides

A case report presentation at a conference or hospital meeting follows the CARE guidelines, a 13-item checklist for reporting a single case: title, keywords, abstract, introduction, patient information, clinical findings, timeline, diagnostic assessment, therapeutic intervention, follow-up and outcomes, discussion, patient perspective and informed consent. Each item maps to a slide.

Definition What is the CARE checklist? CARE (CAse REport) is a reporting guideline for case reports, developed by an international group of experts and endorsed by many medical journals. Its 2013 checklist has 13 items, from a de-identified patient description and a timeline to outcomes, the patient's perspective and informed consent.
CARE itemWhat it asks forSlide in a case report talk
1–3 Title, keywords, abstractThe diagnosis or intervention of focus with "case report"; what is unique and the main lessonTitle slide and a one-sentence "why this case"
4 IntroductionWhy the case is unique, optionally with references to the literatureBackground slide
5a–5d Patient informationDe-identified information, main concerns, history, past interventionsOne-liner and background slides
6 Clinical findingsSignificant examination and clinical findingsExamination slide
7 TimelineThe episode of care organised as a timelineOne timeline slide in relative days
8a–8d Diagnostic assessmentTesting, diagnostic challenges, the diagnosis and alternatives considered, prognosisData, imaging and differential slides
9a–9c Therapeutic interventionType, administration and changes, with rationaleManagement slide
10a–10d Follow-up and outcomesOutcomes, follow-up tests, adherence, adverse eventsOutcome slide
11a–11d DiscussionStrengths and limitations, literature, rationale, take-away lessonsLiterature comparison and learning-points slides
12 Patient perspectiveThe patient's view of the treatmentOne short quoted line, with consent
13 Informed consentWhether the patient gave informed consentA consent statement on the title or last slide

Items are from the CARE checklist itself (CARE checklist, 2013). Two change a talk most. The timeline (item 7) deserves its own slide: one line in relative days with the presentation, each test, each treatment change and the outcome. And the discussion (item 11) asks for strengths and limitations; a small table comparing your case with published cases answers "is this really unusual?" before anyone asks.

Consent is not only a checkbox. The ICMJE recommendations say identifying information, including names, initials or hospital numbers, should not be published unless essential and the patient gives written informed consent, and they note that masking the eye region in photographs is inadequate protection of anonymity (ICMJE, Protection of Research Participants). Ask the journal or conference for its consent form before you build the slides. For the conference-talk craft itself, see our guide to turning a research paper into a conference presentation.

De-identify before you build slides or upload anything

De-identify a case before the first slide exists: remove names, record and account numbers, every date element except the year, places smaller than a state, full-face photographs and labels burned into scans, and write any age over 89 as "90 or older". Never upload identifiable patient data to an AI tool or any other online service; give it a de-identified summary instead.

Definition What is de-identification under HIPAA Safe Harbor? Under the US HIPAA Privacy Rule, health information is de-identified by Expert Determination (a qualified expert documents that the risk of identification is very small) or by Safe Harbor: removing 18 listed identifiers of the patient and of relatives, employers and household members, such as names, places smaller than a state, all date elements except the year and full-face photographs, with no actual knowledge that what remains could identify the person.

The Safe Harbor list is set out in 45 CFR 164.514(b) (eCFR, 45 CFR 164.514), and the HHS Office for Civil Rights explains both methods in its guidance (HHS, Guidance Regarding Methods for De-identification of PHI). It is a US legal standard for data sets; this guide uses it as a practical checklist for slides because it is the most explicit public list. Outside the US, and for internal teaching, your institution's policy and your country's law decide; for a case report, the journal's consent form decides too.

On a slide, look forDo thisWhy (Safe Harbor item)
Names, initials, nicknamesRemove; say "the patient" or "a 67-year-old man"Names (A); the ICMJE also lists initials
Record, account, device numbersRemove from tables, screenshots and file namesMedical record, account, device serial numbers (H, J, M)
DatesReplace with "day 1", "3 days before admission"All date elements except the year (C)
Ages over 89Write "90 or older"; check dates that imply the ageAges over 89 aggregated as 90 or older (C)
PlacesRemove city, county, street, ward, ZIP codeGeographic units smaller than a state (B)
Faces and distinctive marksRemove, or use only with written consentFull-face photographs and comparable images (Q)
Scans and screenshotsCrop or re-export without the header and label stripNames, dates and numbers burned into the image
Relatives and employersRemove "his daughter, a nurse on our ward"Identifiers of relatives, employers, household members
Rare combinationsGeneralise one element of a rare disease plus town plus occupationAny other unique characteristic (R); actual knowledge test
Before and after mock of a case slide. Before: admission on a calendar date, a ward and hospital name, a record number in a lab screenshot, and a chest X-ray with a label strip. After: hospital day 1, the place removed, the record number removed, and the X-ray cropped to the right lower lobe with an arrow. The age of 67 stays because it is under 90.
De-identify the slide, not only the notes: dates, places, numbers and the label strip on every image.

Two details are often misread. The ZIP code rule lets a data set keep the first three digits only when the area they cover holds more than 20,000 people, and changes the rest to 000; on a slide, drop the ZIP code entirely. And the date rule covers every element except the year: HHS's guidance says a date can be reported as the year alone, and ages stated or implied as over 89 must be recoded as 90 or above. Relative days ("day 3") remove the problem and read better anyway.

The same care applies to tools. A de-identified one-page summary you wrote yourself is the right input for any AI presentation tool; a chart export, a discharge letter or a screenshot of the record is not. Check your institution's policy on AI tools first, and see our guide to confidential material and AI presentation tools for the hidden-data checks (file names, metadata, comments) that catch what the slide does not show.

Nursing, pharmacy and other professions

Nursing and pharmacy case presentations keep the patient story and the examination but organise the second half around their own process: the nursing process (assessment, diagnosis, outcomes and planning, implementation, evaluation) for nursing, and the Pharmacists' Patient Care Process (collect, assess, plan, implement, follow up) for pharmacy.

ProfessionFramework for the second halfSlides to expandCommon miss
NursingThe nursing process (ANA)A care-plan table: nursing diagnosis, goal, interventions with rationale, evaluationMedical diagnoses listed as nursing diagnoses
PharmacyThe Pharmacists' Patient Care Process (JCPP)A medication review: drug, indication, dose against kidney function, interactionsNo monitoring plan for the change recommended
DentalHistory, examination, special investigations, diagnosis and a sequenced treatment planCharting and radiographs, cropped and labelledIntraoral photos shown without consent
Psychology, mental health, social workPresenting problem, history, formulation, plan and riskThe formulation slide that links history to the current problemIdentifying social detail (employer, town, family roles)

The nursing process steps are from the American Nurses Association (ANA, The Nursing Process); the pharmacy steps from the Joint Commission of Pharmacy Practitioners, which first published the process in 2014 and has since updated it (JCPP, Pharmacists' Patient Care Process). Give the nursing care plan its own slide with evaluation against each goal; in pharmacy, put kidney function next to each renally cleared drug. Mental health and social work cases carry the highest re-identification risk, because the story is the social detail: generalise the town, the employer and the family roles first.

Grand rounds: from one case to a topic talk

Grand rounds usually use a case as the opening of a longer teaching talk: present the case in 5 to 10 minutes, stop at the question it raises, then spend the rest of the session on the evidence and practice around that question, and come back to the patient at the end. The case is the hook; the topic is the talk.

  • Choose the question first. One question the audience cares about: when to stop a drug, how to read a borderline test, what a new guideline changes.
  • Shrink the case. Use slides 1 to 3 and 6 to 8, stop at the differential, and return to the patient at the end with the answer and the learning points.
  • Present the evidence like a journal club. Appraise the key studies as a journal club would: question, design, result in absolute numbers, limitations. Our journal club guide has the effect-size slide and the appraisal checklists.

Worked example: a 15-minute case conference

The worked example applies the template to one fictional patient at an internal medicine case conference. The patient, hospital, presenter and every number are invented for teaching; the arithmetic is real. Nothing in it is medical advice.

Example Presenter: Dr Lina Farouk, first-year internal medicine resident (PGY-1) at Fairhaven Teaching Hospital (fictional). Session: weekly case conference, 15 minutes for the case plus questions, about 25 attendees. Title: "Case conference: fever, cough and a rising creatinine". Lina builds 10 slides: she merges imaging into the labs slide and outcome into the course slide, two of the merges the template allows for a simple case.

One-liner. "A 67-year-old man with type 2 diabetes and hypertension presenting with three days of productive cough and fever."

HPI in relative time. Usual state of health until 3 days before admission, when he developed a cough productive of yellow sputum and fever; 2 days before admission, right-sided chest pain on deep breathing; on the day of admission, breathlessness walking across a room. Pertinent negatives: no haemoptysis, no recent travel, no leg swelling, no recent immobility.

Background. Type 2 diabetes for 12 years and hypertension; takes metformin and lisinopril; no known drug allergies; non-smoker; lives with his wife and is independent.

Examination. Temperature 38.9 °C, heart rate 104 per minute, respiratory rate 24 per minute, blood pressure 118/72 mmHg, oxygen saturation 92% on room air; alert and oriented; crackles at the right lung base.

Kidney function. Baseline creatinine 1.1 mg/dL (97 µmol/L) from a clinic visit 3 months earlier; admission creatinine 2.0 mg/dL (177 µmol/L). The ratio is 2.0 ÷ 1.1 = 1.82 times baseline, a rise of (2.0 − 1.1) ÷ 1.1 = 0.9 ÷ 1.1 = 81.8%. KDIGO's other stage 1 test, a rise of at least 0.3 mg/dL within 48 hours, does not apply to a baseline from 3 months earlier, so the stage comes from the ratio. A ratio of 1.82 falls in KDIGO 2012's band of 1.5 to 1.9 times baseline, so the slide reads acute kidney injury, KDIGO stage 1. (µmol/L = mg/dL × 88.4, the factor behind KDIGO's 0.3 mg/dL = 26.5 µmol/L.)

Severity score. Urea 9.2 mmol/L; chest X-ray: right lower lobe consolidation. CURB-65 components: confusion 0 (alert and oriented), urea above 7 mmol/L 1 (9.2), respiratory rate 30 or more 0 (24), low blood pressure 0 (118/72), age 65 or older 1 (67). Total 0 + 1 + 0 + 0 + 1 = 2. The slide shows the components, the total and the source, and the management decision is discussed by the team, not read off the score.

Timing. Title and one-liner 1 minute, HPI 3, background 1.5, examination 1.5, data and imaging 2, differential and severity 3 (she asks the room first), management and outcome 2, learning points 1: 1 + 3 + 1.5 + 1.5 + 2 + 3 + 2 + 1 = 15 minutes, with checkpoints at 4:00 after the HPI and 12:00 after the reasoning.

Differential. Community-acquired pneumonia with pre-renal acute kidney injury leads: productive cough, fever, focal crackles and a lobar consolidation. Pulmonary embolism was considered (pleuritic pain, tachycardia) and is less likely with a productive cough, focal crackles, no leg swelling and no immobility. Heart failure was considered (breathlessness, diabetes and hypertension) and is less likely without oedema or a raised jugular venous pressure.

Course and outcome. Antibiotics per the hospital's pneumonia guideline, intravenous fluids, and metformin and lisinopril held, all from day 1. Creatinine 1.3 mg/dL on day 4, which is 1.3 ÷ 1.1 = 1.18 times baseline; discharged on day 5 with clinic follow-up.

Learning points. (1) Read creatinine against the patient's own baseline: 2.0 vs 1.1 mg/dL is 1.82 times, KDIGO 2012 stage 1. (2) Review every regular medicine against kidney function on the day of admission; in this case metformin and lisinopril were held on day 1. (3) Show a severity score with its components: CURB-65 2 came from urea (1) and age (1), not from the vital signs.

De-identification pass. Lina checked her draft against the table above and changed five things: the admission date became "day 1"; the ward name came off the title slide; the record number was cropped out of the lab screenshot; the chest X-ray was re-exported without its label strip; and a file name carrying the patient's surname became "case-conference-cap-aki". The age of 67 stays, because only ages over 89 are restricted. Her one-page de-identified summary, not any part of the record, is what went into her slide tool.

Here are two slides from this article's worked example, as NOXI built them, unedited.

NOXI slide from a fictional case conference: temperature 38.9 C, heart rate 104, respiratory rate 24, blood pressure 118/72 and oxygen saturation 92% on room air, with crackles at the right lung base.
The examination slide: every vital sign with its unit, then the one focused finding that matters.
NOXI slide from a fictional case conference: CURB-65 table with each component, the patient value and the points, urea 9.2 mmol/L and age 67 giving a total of 2.
The severity slide: each component of the score with the patient's value, so the room sees where the points came from.

Using AI to draft a case presentation

AI can turn your own de-identified case summary into a first-draft case conference deck in minutes, leaving your time for the parts that need clinical judgement. Give it only the de-identified summary, never the record.

Three habits keep AI drafts safe. The summary is the single source: ask the tool to use only its numbers. Check every value, unit and day on every slide, because a rounded creatinine changes the ratio and the stage. And write the differential and learning points yourself; they are what the room is there to judge, and your programme may require them to be your own work. If you start from a Word document, our guide to turning Word into PowerPoint with AI compares the routes.

The prompts below work in NOXI or any AI presentation tool. Replace the brackets.

Prompt 1 · 12-slide case conference from your summary

Create a 12-slide case conference presentation for a [15]-minute slot from the attached de-identified case summary. Slide order: title as a question with presenter [name, role] and service; one-liner and chief complaint; HPI as a timeline in relative days (days before admission to day 1) with pertinent positives and negatives; background (relevant history, medicines, allergies, social); examination with all vital signs and units; laboratory results against baseline with units; imaging with a one-line read; problem list and ranked differential; working diagnosis and severity score with each component; management and course by hospital day; outcome; learning points. Use only facts and numbers from the summary, use no calendar dates, and write every title as a full-sentence finding.

Prompt 2 · The data and severity slides

On the laboratory slide, show [creatinine] as admission value against baseline: [2.0] vs [1.1] mg/dL, the ratio [1.82] times baseline and the stage [KDIGO 2012 stage 1], with µmol/L in brackets. On the severity slide, show [CURB-65] as a five-row table, one row per component with its value and points ([urea 9.2 mmol/L, 1 point]; [age 67, 1 point]; the other three 0), the total [2], and the source line [Lim WS et al., Thorax 2003]. Title: "[CURB-65 of 2 came from urea and age]". Do not change any other slide.

Prompt 3 · Case report talk mapped to CARE

Turn this case conference deck into a [10]-minute case report talk that follows the CARE checklist: title with the diagnosis and the words "case report"; why this case is unique; de-identified patient information; clinical findings; a timeline slide in relative days with presentation, tests, treatment changes and outcome; diagnostic assessment with alternatives considered; intervention; follow-up and outcomes; discussion comparing this case with [number] published cases I will list; lessons; and the consent statement "[Written informed consent was obtained from the patient]". Keep my wording for the lessons.

How to build the case conference deck in NOXI

NOXI turns a de-identified case summary you upload into a structured case conference deck, which you then check against your own notes and finish with your reasoning. It is free, with no card and no watermark; uploading needs a free account, and a deck uses about 25 of the 1,000 monthly credits. Upload only de-identified material, within your institution's AI policy.

Step 1: Write a de-identified case summary

Work through the de-identification table, then write a one-page summary in Word or plain text: one-liner, HPI in relative days, background, examination, results with baselines and units, differential, course and learning points. No names, record numbers, calendar dates, places or images from the record.

Step 2: Upload the summary with Create from file

On Home, choose Create from file and attach the summary. NOXI builds the deck from the files you attach; it accepts PDF, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, CSV, text and image files up to 200 MB each.

Step 3: Review the outline against the 12-slide template

Paste Prompt 1 into the brief and choose Plan mode to review the outline before anything is generated. Check the order and the relative days, then generate and watch each slide being built.

Step 4: Check every value against your notes

Compare each number, unit and day with your summary, edit text right on the slide, and correct chart numbers in NOXI's chart data editor. Click any element and tell the AI what to change, or ask for changes to one slide or the whole deck in plain English or Arabic.

Step 5: Add the data, severity and learning-point slides

Use Prompt 2 for the creatinine and severity slides, then rewrite the differential and learning points in your own words. Invite your supervisor by email to edit together in real time, and restore an earlier version if a change goes wrong.

Step 6: Rehearse, export and present

Present full-screen from NOXI to rehearse against the 4-minute and 12-minute checkpoints, then download an editable PowerPoint (.pptx) with real text boxes and embedded fonts, or a PDF, for the conference-room computer.

Frequently asked questions

How do you present a patient case?
Use a fixed order: a one-liner with age, sex, relevant problems and the complaint; the history of present illness in relative time; relevant background; examination with all vital signs; key results against baseline; then your assessment with a ranked differential and a plan by problem. Keep only what supports or challenges your diagnosis.
What is the order of an oral case presentation?
The order is identifying statement (one-liner), chief complaint, history of present illness, past medical history, medications and allergies, family and social history, pertinent review of systems, physical examination, laboratory and imaging data, assessment with problem list and differential diagnosis, and plan. It mirrors the written admission note.
How long should a case presentation be?
On rounds, a full new-patient presentation should usually take under 5 minutes, and no more than 3 minutes on walk rounds; a daily SOAP update about a minute per stable patient. A slide case conference usually gives the case about 15 minutes plus questions. Ask your team or organiser for the local norm.
What is a one-liner in a case presentation?
A one-liner is the opening sentence of a case presentation. It gives the patient's age and sex, the two to four active problems relevant to this illness, and the presenting complaint with its duration, for example "a 67-year-old man with type 2 diabetes and hypertension presenting with three days of productive cough and fever".
What should be included in a clinical case presentation?
Include the one-liner, chief complaint, history of present illness, relevant background, examination with vital signs, key results with baselines and units, a ranked differential with your reasoning, management and outcome, and one to three sourced learning points. Exclude every identifier: names, record numbers, dates, places and faces.
How do you present a case in nursing?
Present the patient story and assessment as in medicine, then organise the rest around the nursing process: assessment, nursing diagnosis, outcomes and planning, implementation and evaluation. Put the care plan on its own slide: nursing diagnoses, goals, interventions with rationale and evaluation against each goal.
How do you make a case presentation in PowerPoint?
Use about 12 slides for a 15-minute case conference: title, one-liner, HPI timeline, background, examination, labs, imaging, differential, diagnosis and severity, course, outcome and learning points. Write titles as findings, show labs against baseline with units, crop and de-label images, and pause on the differential slide.
What is the difference between a case presentation and a case report?
A case presentation is a spoken or slide report of a patient for clinical care or teaching, given on rounds or at a case conference. A case report is a publication, or a talk based on one, describing an unusual or instructive case for the literature. Case reports follow the CARE checklist and need the patient's informed consent.
What is the CARE checklist?
The CARE checklist is a 13-item reporting guideline for case reports, published in 2013 by an international expert group and endorsed by many journals. It covers title, keywords, abstract, introduction, patient information, clinical findings, timeline, diagnostic assessment, intervention, follow-up and outcomes, discussion, patient perspective and informed consent.
Can I use AI to make a case presentation?
Yes, if your institution allows it, and only with de-identified material. Write a one-page de-identified case summary, let the AI tool draft the slides from it, then check every value and day against your notes. Write the differential and learning points yourself. Never upload records, discharge letters, screenshots or images that could identify the patient to any online tool.

Sources & methodology

How this guide was made: the order of the oral presentation, its timing on rounds, relative time and the assessment sentence come from the Case Western Reserve University template and the Ohio State University handout; the SOAPS framing from the Society of Hospital Medicine; the Safe Harbor identifiers, the ZIP code and age rules from 45 CFR 164.514(b) on eCFR and the HHS Office for Civil Rights guidance; the case report items from the CARE checklist; consent and photograph rules from the ICMJE recommendations; the AKI staging from KDIGO's 2012 guideline; CURB-65 from Lim et al. (2003); and the nursing and pharmacy processes from the ANA and JCPP. The setting table, the 12-slide template, the timings and the learning-point test are editorial recommendations, not a standard. Dr Lina Farouk, Fairhaven Teaching Hospital, the patient and every number in the example are fictional; every calculation was checked by hand. Nothing in this guide is medical or legal advice. All sources were checked on 19 October 2026.

Build your case conference deck in NOXI, free: upload your de-identified case summary, review the outline, add your reasoning and export an editable PowerPoint or PDF for the conference room.

Written by Aidar Akmaev

Founder and designer of NOXI, an AI presentation maker for professional, consulting-grade decks. NOXI is one of the tools mentioned here; see the disclosure at the top.