Publication retraction in spine surgery: a systematic review

Area of Science:

• Spine Surgery Literature Analysis
• Bibliometric Study of Retracted Publications
• Scientific Integrity and Publication Ethics

Background:

• The frequency of retractions in peer-reviewed journals has notably increased.
• This systematic review focuses on retracted publications specifically within the spine surgery literature.

Approach:

• A comprehensive search was conducted across PubMed MEDLINE, Ovid EMBASE, Retraction Watch, and 15 spine surgery journal websites up to September 2022.
• PRISMA guidelines were adhered to, involving independent duplicate screening of titles, abstracts, and full texts.
• Study characteristics and bibliometric data were systematically extracted for analysis.

Key Points:

• Data error (21.13%), plagiarism (19.72%), and dual submission (19.72%) were the most frequent reasons for retraction.
• Retracted articles most commonly concerned degenerative spinal pathologies (80.00%).
• A significant portion (36.92%) of retracted articles lacked clear retraction notices within the manuscript.

Conclusions:

• The incidence of retractions in spine surgery publications is escalating, necessitating increased researcher vigilance.
• Factors such as time from publication to retraction and journal impact factor correlate positively with citation counts of retracted papers.
• Enhanced collaboration between institutions and journals is recommended to bolster publication transparency and uphold scientific integrity.