Plagiarism and data falsification are the most common reasons for retracted publications in obstetrics and gynaecology

Objective: To determine the number of retracted articles and to examine the reasons for retraction within the obstetrics and gynaecology literature.

Design: Retrospective review of the PubMed database.

Setting: N/A.

Population: Obstetrics and gynaecology articles published from indexation until June 2018.

Methods: Articles were identified using keywords for retracted articles in obstetrics and gynaecology. Descriptive statistics were performed.

Main outcome measures: Incidence of article retraction, the reasons given for retraction, and article demographics.

Results: A total of 176 articles were identified with a median time to retraction of 2 years; over three-quarters were retracted within the last decade (n = 136; 77.3%). The median journal impact factor was 2.5 (range of 0.26-52.67). Subspecialties with the highest number of retractions were gynaecological oncology (n = 76; 43.2%), gynaecology (n = 36; 20.5%), and obstetrics (n = 31; 17.6%). Among 176 first authors, 18 authors (10.2%) had two or more retracted articles. Clinical research articles accounted for approximately one-half of the retracted articles (n = 87; 49.4%). Among the clinical studies, 10.2% (n = 18) were randomised control trials, 16.5% (n = 29) were prospective trials and 13.1% (n = 23) were retrospective studies. Plagiarism (n = 40; 22.7%) and data falsification (n = 37; 21.0%) were the most common reasons given for retraction.

Conclusion: Article retraction within the obstetrics and gynaecology literature is increasing. The most frequently cited reasons for article retractions were plagiarism, errors in data, fabricated results, article duplication, and compromised peer review. Consequences of article retractions to patient care and the scientific community can be significant. The thorough screening of manuscripts prior to publication should be prioritised.

Tweetable abstract: The rate of retraction in obstetrics and gynaecology is increasing; the most common reason for retraction is plagiarism.