JOURNAL INFORMATION · PUBLISHING POLICIES
Article Retraction & Withdrawal
Safeguarding medical research integrity through ethical withdrawal procedures, mandatory retraction of invalid findings, and transparent preservation of the scientific record.
Article Retraction & Withdrawal
The journal establishes formal procedures for manuscript withdrawal and article retraction to protect scientific integrity, maintain the reliability of published medical evidence, and prevent clinical reliance on invalidated research.
Withdrawal Protocol
Formal withdrawal requests require a signed statement from all authors citing verified grounds for withdrawal.
Withdrawal requirements:
- A formal written withdrawal request must be submitted.
- The statement must be signed by all authors.
- The request must cite verified grounds for withdrawal.
Ethical Requirement: Unilateral withdrawal after peer review has commenced is considered unethical.
Retraction Mandate
Published articles will be formally retracted if their findings are proven scientifically invalid or compromised by serious violations of research and publication integrity.
Mandatory grounds for retraction:
- Scientifically invalid findings.
- Proven ethical violations.
- Fabricated research data.
- Plagiarized scientific content.
Formal retraction is required when verified evidence establishes that published research is scientifically invalid or compromised by the specified forms of misconduct.
Preservation of Record
A formal Retraction Notice detailing the investigative conclusions will be published and linked to the original document.
The original PDF will be watermarked "RETRACTED" on all pages to protect patient care and prevent clinical reliance on invalidated science.
Preservation requirements:
- Publish a formal Retraction Notice detailing the investigative conclusions.
- Link the Retraction Notice directly to the original published document.
- Apply a visible "RETRACTED" watermark to every page of the original PDF.
- Preserve the publication record to protect patient care and prevent clinical reliance on invalidated scientific findings.
Patient Safety & Scientific Integrity: Retraction notices and clearly watermarked original documents ensure that invalidated medical findings remain identifiable and are not inadvertently used to guide clinical decisions.