Correcting the literature

Publication date: Available online 8 November 2017
Source:Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology
Author(s): Dirk M. Elston
We make important therapeutic decisions based on the best available evidence and it is important to correct the literature when results are in question. Appropriate actions may include publication of a correction, links to previously cited data to avoid double counting of outcomes, expressions of concern about study methods or integrity, and retraction of a published article. Corrections should be published as soon as possible, appear in a prominent position on a numbered page in the journal that originally published the article, and include the complete original citation to help ensure that an appropriate reference to the published erratum will be added to the MEDLINE citation. A retracted work should still be searchable, but should bear a clear indication that it was retracted and a statement regarding why the retraction occurred. As others may have acted upon the published data, it is important that corrections are appropriately visible and that the work doesn't simply disappear from literature searches.