A group of authors in Korea has lost their 2013 paper on treating vision loss after one of the two cases they’d reported turned out to have been fatally flawed.
The paper, “Isolated central retinal artery occlusion as an initial presentation of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria and successful long-term prevention of systemic thrombosis with eculizumab,” had appeared in the Japanese Journal of Ophthalmology.
According to the abstract:
PURPOSE: To report on isolated central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO) as an initial presentation in two patients with undiagnosed paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH).
METHODS: CRAO related to the aggravation of PNH was observed in 2 of 98 consecutive PNH patients for 10Â years. Ocular and systemic manifestations were evaluated before and after systemic steroid, eculizumab and anticoagulant administration with adjuvant ocular treatments.
RESULTS: Two young patients presented with complaints of acute painless monocular vision loss. In both cases, fundus examination revealed retinal edema and a cherry-red spot in the macula, consistent with CRAO. On systemic evaluation, severe anemia and thrombocytopenia were observed, and simultaneously thrombogenic processes were suggested by increased D-dimers, fibrinogen degradation products and/or portal vein thrombosis. PNH testing of red blood cells revealed a CD55 and CD59 deficiency consistent with PNH in both cases. The systemic complications typically associated with thrombosis were not observed for the following several months with early conservative treatments including eculizumab.
CONCLUSIONS: Acute blindness from CRAO can be a unique manifestation of undiagnosed PNH and its subsequent aggravation. Systemic evaluations including PNH testing, especially in young CRAO patients, are strongly recommended for early detection of the further systemic thrombogenic processes.
But as the retraction notice states:
The article ‘‘Isolated central retinal artery occlusion as an initial presentation of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria and successful long-term prevention of systemic thrombosis with eculizumab’’ by Hyun Seung Yang, So Hyun Park, Jung Ran Choi and June-Gone Kim was published in the Japanese Journal of Ophthalmology in 2013;57:424–428. (DOI 10.1007/s10384-013-0252-x). Dr. Yang and co-authors have informed the Editors of this Journal that critical data in the article were not valid. Specifically, major errors were found in Case 2, which formed a key component of the article. Accordingly, the article is hereby retracted, with apologies from the authors.
The paper has yet to be cited, according to Thomson Scientific’s Web of Knowledge.
Finally, one retraction about eculizumab. These doctors who are publishing articles on PNH are citing Helsinki Declaration as part of being humane with administering the biologics. According to article, patient is supposed to be asked by the doctor to agree with acceptance of drug.