[Fraudulent publication in medical journals]

Fraud can be present in some scientific medical publications; however, the magnitude of this situation is unknown. One of the associated factors for this transgression of the good practice of investigation is the need to publish and obtain recognition and benefits, regardless of the means. The deliberate fabrication and falsification of data, plagiarism and duplication of publications are some of the scientific misconducts. Many cases of fraud in publications are known, and they have reached public opinion and have been a matter of legal sanctions (the names of Woo Suk Hwang, Jon Sudbo, Joachim Blodt, Robert Slutsky, and William Summerlin reminds us a few known cases). In the last decades, national and international regulatory organisms have been created in order to intervene against this scientific misconduct. Currently, we can rely on several effective software programs, whose function is to detect plagiarism and falsification of data. The prevention of scientific misconduct through information and education of the investigators could lead to the decrease of the presence of this problem, which damages scientific credibility and put at risk the patient's safety.