Poldermans update: Magazine cites lack of informed consent, bogus patient surveys, invented data and more

Larry Husten at CardioBrief has an update on the case of Don Poldermans, a leading Dutch cardiologist who was accused of various iterations of research misconduct. Poldermans was fired last November by Erasmus Medical Center, where he had been head of perioperative cardiac care before the scandal. According to Husten, Jeroen Bax, another prominent Dutch cardiologist … Continue reading Poldermans update: Magazine cites lack of informed consent, bogus patient surveys, invented data and more

193 papers could be retracted: Journal consortium issues ultimatum in Fujii case

A group of editors representing nearly two dozen medical journals has issued an ultimatum of sorts to officials at seven Japanese institutions that once employed Yoshitaka Fujii: Validate the papers of the disgraced anesthesiologist or they will be retracted. Fujii, as we have reported, was fired by Toho University in late February, putatively for failing … Continue reading 193 papers could be retracted: Journal consortium issues ultimatum in Fujii case

Major fraud probe of Japanese anesthesiologist Yoshitaka Fujii may challenge retraction record

We have learned that a widely published Japanese anesthesiologist is under investigation by his university over concerns that he engaged in repeated fraud for decades that has tainted roughly 180 articles—many of which may be retracted as a result. In a related move, the journal Clinical Therapeutics is retracting papers by the researcher, Yoshitaka Fujii, most … Continue reading Major fraud probe of Japanese anesthesiologist Yoshitaka Fujii may challenge retraction record

The Anil Potti retraction record so far

A 60 Minutes segment Sunday on Anil Potti has drawn national attention to the case, so we thought this would be a good time to compile all of the retractions and corrections in one place. Duke has said that about a third of Potti’s 40-some-odd papers would be retracted, and another third would have “a … Continue reading The Anil Potti retraction record so far

Coming clean: A major figure in cardiology publishes a lengthy conflict of interest correction in JAMA

Authors’ financial disclosures can be a thorny issue for scientific journals.  There’s often confusion over just what should be listed as a conflict of interest, and when relationships are revealed after papers are published, lack of disclosure sometimes leads to corrections. For example, the Journal of Cell Science recently published this:

Anesthesia journal editor says “if you blow us off, it will be retracted,” and sticks to his word

The Journal of Clinical Anesthesia has retracted a paper by a group of Israeli authors whose study may not have had appropriate ethical approval — or even collected the reported data. The article, “Accidental venous and dural puncture during epidural analgesia in obese parturients (BMI > 40 kg/m2): three different body positions during insertion,” was … Continue reading Anesthesia journal editor says “if you blow us off, it will be retracted,” and sticks to his word

The Year of the Retraction: A look back at 2011

If Retraction Watch was actually a business, as opposed — for the moment, anyway — to a labor of love for two guys with day jobs, 2011 would have been a very good year for business. It was a year that will probably see close to 400 retractions, including a number of high-profile ones, once … Continue reading The Year of the Retraction: A look back at 2011

Bulfone-Paus retraction count grows to 13 with one in Transplantation

Silvia Bulfone-Paus, the Borstel Institute researcher who was forced to step down as institute director and has already retracted 12 papers, has retracted another, this one in Transplantation. Here’s the text of the notice:

Lack of ethical approval leads to JCO retraction

The Retraction Watch category for “lack of IRB approval” as a reason for retraction — a subject we covered in our most recent Lab Times column — is growing. First there were the 90-odd retractions by Joachim Boldt, then three by Australian researchers studying Aussie-rules football players. Now, we learn that the Journal of Clinical … Continue reading Lack of ethical approval leads to JCO retraction

Should authors have to retract papers based on data obtained unethically?

Careful Retraction Watch readers may have noticed that one of the categories in our right-hand column under “by reason for retraction” is “lack of IRB approval.” That’s because in just over a year, we’ve written a number of posts about two cases of retractions for that reason. One was the now-infamous case of Joachim Boldt, who has … Continue reading Should authors have to retract papers based on data obtained unethically?