Journal Editors Research Articles

RETRACTION: Risk Factors and Healing Factors for Pharyngocutaneous Fistula after Total Laryngectomy for Laryngeal Cancer: An Epidemiological Study.

Y. Tai, F. Liu, T. Liu, J. Ma, L. Qin, Y. Ji, H. Dai, G. Wang, L. Ma, and Y. Zang, "Risk Factors and Healing Factors for Pharyngocutaneous Fistula after Total Laryngectomy for Laryngeal Cancer: An Epidemiological Study," International Wound Journal 21, no. 4 (2024): e14706, https://doi.org/10.1111/iwj.14706. The above article, published online on 25 April 2024, in Wiley Online Library (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/), has been retracted by agreement between the journal Editor in Chief, Professor Keith Harding; and John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Following an investigation by the publisher, all parties have concluded that this article was accepted solely on the basis of a compromised peer review process. In addition, the authors did not disclose the details regarding the ethical approval and patient consent for the study. The editors have therefore decided to retract the article. The authors disagree with the retraction.

RETRACTION: Effect of Hydrocolloid Dressing on Pressure Ulcer in Patients with Non-Invasive Positive Pressure Ventilation: A Meta-Analysis.

Y.-L. Luo, S.-F. Luo, L. Luo, M. Ou, and M.-L. Tang, "Effect of Hydrocolloid Dressing on Pressure Ulcer in Patients with Non-Invasive Positive Pressure Ventilation: A Meta-Analysis," International Wound Journal 21, no. 2 (2024): e14442, https://doi.org/10.1111/iwj.14442. The above article, published online on 19 October 2023, in Wiley Online Library (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/), has been retracted by agreement between the journal Editor in Chief, Professor Keith Harding; and John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Following an investigation by the publisher, all parties have concluded that this article was accepted solely on the basis of a compromised peer review process. In addition, the investigation found there was significant unattributed textual overlap between this article and a previously-published article (Lin etal. 2023 [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iccn.2023.103453]). The editors have therefore decided to retract the article. The authors did not respond to our notice regarding the retraction.

RETRACTION: Effects of Predictive Nursing Interventions on Pressure Ulcer in Elderly Bedridden Patients.

G.-L. Deng, Y.-L. Lei, H. Tan, B.-C. Geng, and Z. Liu, "Effects of Predictive Nursing Interventions on Pressure Ulcer in Elderly Bedridden Patients," International Wound Journal 21, no. 3 (2024): e14690, https://doi.org/10.1111/iwj.14690. The above article, published online on 07 March 2024, in Wiley Online Library (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/), has been retracted by agreement between the journal Editor in Chief, Professor Keith Harding; and John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Following an investigation by the publisher, all parties have concluded that this article was accepted solely on the basis of a compromised peer review process. In addition, the authors provided incomplete ethical approval and patient consent information for the study. The editors have therefore decided to retract the article. The authors did not respond to our notice regarding the retraction.

RETRACTION: Enhanced Recovery After Surgery Care to Reduce Surgical Site Wound Infection and Postoperative Complications for Patients Undergoing Liver Surgery.

Y.-L. Wang, F.-B. Zhang, L.-E. Zheng, W.-W. Yang, and L.-L. Ke, "Enhanced Recovery After Surgery Care to Reduce Surgical Site Wound Infection and Postoperative Complications for Patients Undergoing Liver Surgery," International Wound Journal 21, no. 4 (2024): e14832, https://doi.org/10.1111/iwj.14227. The above article, published online on 22 May 2024, in Wiley Online Library (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/), has been retracted by agreement between the journal Editor in Chief, Professor Keith Harding; and John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Following an investigation by the publisher, all parties have concluded that this article was accepted solely on the basis of a compromised peer review process. The editors have therefore decided to retract the article. The authors did not respond to our notice regarding the retraction.

RETRACTION: Effect of Wound Irrigation on the Prevention of Surgical Site Infections: A Meta-Analysis.

C. Fu, L. Meng, M. Ma, N. Li, and J. Zhang, "Effect of Wound Irrigation on the Prevention of Surgical Site Infections: A Meta-Analysis," International Wound Journal 19, no. 7 (2022): 1878-1886, https://doi.org/10.1111/iwj.13794. The above article, published online on 16 March 2022, in Wiley Online Library (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/), has been retracted by agreement between the journal Editor in Chief, Professor Keith Harding; and John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Following an investigation by the publisher, all parties have concluded that this article was accepted solely on the basis of a compromised peer review process. The editors have therefore decided to retract the article. The authors did not respond to our notice regarding the retraction.

Unproofing expectations: confronting partial pasts and futures

To start: I thank the responding authors for their generosity and thoughtfulness in engaging in this debate about ‘Attending to unproof: an archaeology of possibilities’ (Frieman 2024) and also the journal's editors for facilitating this discussion.

Obituary—Prof. Wolf Beiglböck (1939–2024): Reminiscences on the architect of the European Physical Journal and Founding Editor of EPJ H

Obituary—Prof. Wolf Beiglböck (1939–2024): Reminiscences on the architect of the European Physical Journal and Founding Editor of EPJ H

Lactose intolerance – A practical approach, Part 1

The toxicology, immunology and gastroenterology aspects of food remain important in clinical practice, as anyone treating food related anaphylaxis, or chronic intolerance syndromes can attest. Although entire editions of journals could focus on any one aspect of adverse effects from food, the following review addresses the important and prevalent gastrointestinal condition lactose intolerance and gastrointestinal (GI) conditions that have similar presentation but require different treatment.

To Thine Own Self Be True: A Geologist’s Journey

Geologists wear many hats—several of which may be practically invisible to the general public. Between studies, research, field work, sample preparation and analysis, applications, outreach, teaching, and so much more, a large number of geologists also spend countless hours each year peer-reviewing scientific articles or serving on journal Editorial Boards. Professor J. Gregory Shellnutt of National Taiwan Normal University has served as a leader of numerous geoscience journals, including recently joining as co-editor of The Canadian Journal of Mineralogy and Petrology (CJMP). Greg’s story—and his new book—caught our eye and we were lucky enough to connect with him for this Elements Life in Science interview.

Influence of the extension of the anchorage surface of mandibular overdentures on patient's quality of life and satisfaction: 5-year follow-up of a randomized clinical trial

To evaluate the impact of extending the anchorage surface of mandibular overdentures on oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) and degree of satisfaction (SD) of edentulous patients. Edentulous patients were randomly assigned to receive a mandibular overdenture with 2 interforaminal implants (Control) or, in addition, 2 extra-short (4-mm) implants distal to the mental foramen (Experimental), all splinted with a non-cantilevered bar. The Oral Health Impact Profile for Edentulous (OHIP-EDENT) questionnaire and a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) were used to measure OHRQoL and SD with treatment at 3- and 60-month follow-ups. Intraindividual comparisons at 3- and 60-months were analyzed using the Wilcoxon test. The Mann-Whitney U test was applied to compare different groups (Control vs. Experimental) at a significance level of 5%. The results for mandibular overdenture remained consistent during the 5-year follow-up period. However, the addition of implants in the posterior region to increase the anchorage surface (Experimental) had a smaller positive impact on the "Functional limitation" (p=0.009), "Psychological disability" (p=0.032) and "Overall score" (p=0.036) dimensions of the OHIP-EDENT, as well as on the "Cleaning ability" domain (p=0.018) of the VAS compared to the Control group. The addition of implants distally to the mental foramen to increase the anchorage surface did not significantly influence patient-centered outcomes when compared to the use of only 2 implants in an approach with anchorage limited to the interforaminal region. The current study was not registered in a public database as required. It is important to note that the recommendation for registration was introduced by the Committee of Medical Journal Editors in 2017, while patient inclusion in the research began in 2016. Since the data in this manuscript covers a follow-up period of up to 5 years after surgical intervention, late registration was not possible. The addition of implants in the regions distal to the mental foramen, increasing the anchorage surface without cantilever, did not bring additional and significant patient-centered benefits compared to the installation of implants only in the interforaminal region.

Immunotherapy for metastatic gastric cancer

This editorial discusses the article written by Chen et al that was published in the latest edition of the World Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery . The current study found that programmed cell death 1 ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression is considered as one of the pan-cancer biomarkers of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) treatment response. Four molecular subtypes are widely used to guide and evaluate the prognosis and diagnosis and treatment of gastric cancer (GC) patients. Clinical trials of ICI treatment including Nivolumab, Pembrolizumab, Avelumab have been conducted for metastatic GC (mGC). The effects of various single agent ICIs on mGC therapy varied. ICIs combined with chemotherapy can indeed bring survival benefits to patients with mGC. Combining ICIs with chemotherapy can give more patients the chance of surgery in the treatment of GC transformation. However, not all PD-L1 positive patients can benefit from it. It is urgent to find better biomarkers to predict the response of ICIs for more precise clinical treatment.

Reporting of Search Strategy Among Systematic Reviews in Leading Dental Specialty Journals: A Research-On-Research Study.

Literature searching is one of the main determinants of a systematic review (SR)'s reliability. Thus, adequate reporting of search strategy is essential for the critical appraisal of SRs and evidence-based practice. To assess the reporting quality of search strategy among SRs in leading dental specialty journals, and to identify factors associated with quality of reporting. Six leading dental journals with the highest 5-year impact factors in their respective specialty were included. A hand search was undertaken to identify SRs published between 2017 and 2022. Full texts were reviewed by two authors to identify eligible SRs. Reporting quality was assessed and scored using a modified 15-item checklist based on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses literature search extension (PRISMA-S). Univariable and multivariable linear regression analyses were then performed. A total of 152 reviews were included and assessed. As for information sources, only 'citation searching' was adequately reported in most reviews 110 (72.4%). Only 23 (15.1%) of the included reviews clearly reported search strategies. Information about peer review was provided in only 10 reviews (6.6%). Only 91 (59.9%) of the included reviews documented the total records clearly. According to multivariable regression analysis, industrial funding (p = 0.012), registration (p = 0.013) and librarian involvement (p = 0.004) were significantly associated with higher reporting quality. The reporting quality of search strategy among SRs in leading dental specialty journals is suboptimal. Researchers, librarians, reviewers and journal editors in dentistry need to be familiar with the PRISMA-S checklist, and make concerted efforts to improve the reporting of search strategy in SRs.

Journal Editors Look to Artificial Intelligence to Spot Recycled Images Before Publication

Journal Editors Look to Artificial Intelligence to Spot Recycled Images Before Publication

Erroneous and Incomplete Reporting of the Pelvic Organ Prolapse Quantification System.

Accurate and complete reporting of the Pelvic Organ Prolapse Quantification (POP-Q) system is essential for reporting research outcomes in POP. We aimed to assess the accuracy and completeness of POP-Q reporting in studies published from selected journalsin 2023 and evaluate the validity of available POP-Q calculators. A systematic search of Medline and Embase was conducted following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines to identify eligible studies from selected journals in 2023 that utilised the POP-Q system. An assessment of available POP-Q calculators was also performed. Of the 134 studies identified, 18 (13.4%) met the inclusion criteria. Twelve studies reported complete quantitative POP-Q data of which 9 (75%) contained identifiable POP-Q reporting errors. These included 5 studies reporting mean Aa > Ba, 2 reporting mean Ap > Bp, 6 reporting C > Bp, 5 reporting mean C > Ba, 1 reporting mean Aa > + 3, and 1 reporting mean D > C. The remaining 6 of the 18 studies reported incomplete POP-Q measurements, which restricted our ability to identify further reporting errors, except for 2 studies reporting C > Ba and C > Bp respectively. The evaluated POP-Q calculator permitted the input of inaccurate POP-Q data. Erroneous and/or incomplete quantitative POP-Q data were identified in 15 of the 18 studies reviewed (83.3%). Our findings highlight the need for improved POP-Q data reporting. Journal editors and reviewers should ensure that publications provide complete and accurate quantitative POP-Q data. POP-Q calculators should be based on algorithms that ensure complete and accurate data inputs and outputs.

A child-centred research checklist to improve the design and reporting of paediatric research studies: A descriptive mixed methods study

BackgroundNo internationally developed child-centred research checklist is currently available to enhance the quality and transparency of the development, reporting and evaluation of research undertaken with children. ObjectiveTo develop an internationally relevant, expert informed child-centred research checklist. DesignA descriptive mixed methods study was undertaken in five sequential phases, including a Delphi component. Setting(s)Academic/international context. MethodsThis study involved five sequential stages:1. Literature review using four databases (CINAHL, MEDLINE, Scopus, PsycINFO) and analysis to identify key themes in child-centred research (January 2020).2. Generate a questionnaire based on the key themes for international experts in child research to provide their opinions on what should be included in a child-centred research checklist (March 2020).3. Inductive thematic analysis of the experts' responses to generate the initial draft checklist (June 2020).4. The checklist progressed through three rounds of Delphi study for a wider range of experts to provide their consensus on what a child-centred research checklist should contain (August 2020–February 2021).5. Refinement of the child-centred research checklist based on the Delphi study (March 2021–November 2022). ResultsA total of 160 articles met the inclusion criteria for review and were considered in the development of a 10-item open-ended questionnaire, adapted for four age-brackets (0-1 yrs., 2-4 yrs., 5-10 yrs., >11 yrs). Responses from 14 experts across 10 countries generated 205 generic statements and 76 examples to inform a child-centred research checklist. Following this, 158 experts from eleven disciplines across 18 countries participated in the three round Delphi study (38 % retention rate over the three rounds). The final checklist includes 11 statements and 17 examples represented under three categories of “child-parent consent, assent and dissent”, “code of conduct” and “child focused methods”. ConclusionThe child-centred research checklist was generated from a mixed methods study undertaken in five sequential phases, with input by 172 experts from 11 disciplines across 19 countries. The child-centred research checklist is the first international, expert informed tool to support good quality and transparent child-centred research. We call on researchers, clinicians, journal editors, organisations, and ethics committees to use this checklist for future research with children. The next phase of this project is engagement with children and their families to refine the checklist. Tweetable abstractNew checklist to support good quality child research practices @IFNAorg.

Fraudulent Participation in Online Qualitative Studies: Practical Recommendations on an Emerging Phenomenon.

Fraudulent participation is defined in the following as participation in research by individuals who, for one reason or another, intentionally provide false responses. Qualitative studies are at an increased risk of fraudulent participation when online recruitment and participation are used, and monetary incentives offered. Fraudulent participation threatens data quality and subsequent evidence-based practice, yet validated guidance on how to tackle it is lacking. This paper offers a critical reflection thereon by three separate qualitative research groups that experienced fraudulent participation in collaboration with a patient representative, a bioethicist, a legal expert, a journal deputy editor, and a chief executive of a national charity. The Prevent FRaudulent Online STudy participation (P-FROST) recommendations provide advice on (1) Study set-up (including team members and study design), (2) Monetary incentives and recruitment, (3) Data collection (screening and interview considerations), and (4) Analysis, reporting, and support. The reflection which balances the diverse perspectives of patients, researchers, funders, ethics boards, and legal teams puts forward the P-FROST recommendations to identify and prevent fraudulent participation throughout the design, ethical approval, and implementation of online qualitative research.

Scholarship takes many forms – even journal editorials? In memory of a dear colleague

Scholarship takes many forms – even journal editorials? In memory of a dear colleague

Roles and responsibilities of the editor of a scientific journal

Roles and responsibilities of the editor of a scientific journal

L.E.L. in and out of the Birkbeck Album: Poetics and Politics

Letitia Elizabeth Landon’s contributions to Anna Birkbeck’s album may seem out of place among entries by radicals and reformers associated with the London Mechanics’ Institution, among them John Bowring, William Hone, Robert Owen, and John Thelwall. Yet contrasting sentimental poetics with radical politics fails to capture the radical aesthetics of the 1820s. Thelwall, for instance, placed Landon, whom he called ‘Sappho’, among ‘Poets and Poetry of the Age’. The album authors include editors of journals that shaped Landon’s career: William Jerdan, editor of the Literary Gazette, where Landon made her reputation in the 1820s; and Samuel Carter Hall, the editor of The Amulet and the New Monthly Magazine, which were important venues for her later poems. This article analyses the Landon poems entered into the Birkbeck album after being published in the Literary Gazette, together with later poems published in Fisher’s Drawing Room Scrap Book (1832) and the New Monthly Magazine (1836), teasing out the poetics and politics of her poetry in challenging an egotistical, Wordsworthian strand of Romantic writing, and arguing instead for ‘the public circulation of affect and the necessity of dreaming as a social need’.

Sotorasib Treatment Could Worsen the Prognosis of Advanced KRASG12C-Mutated Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Sotorasib, the first RAS inhibitor FDA-approved drug for advanced, KRASG12C-mutated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), was approved in May 2021 under the FDA-Accelerated Approval program. This commentary critically reviews the results on progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) of the CodeBreaK 200 trial, a randomized, open-label, phase 3 trial published in The Lancet in 2023. The study reported increased PFS with sotorasib based on a reduced hazard ratio (HR). Despite the FDA's rejection of regular approval for sotorasib in October 2023, the accelerated approval status is maintained pending further confirmatory trials. We stress the crucial role of journal editors in ensuring the comprehensive reporting of statistical analyses in RCTs, particularly for publications in highly-ranked journals like The Lancet, which can heavily influence the clinical practice of oncology. Their role in upholding the highest scientific integrity and transparency standards is essential for informing oncologists, patients, and decision-makers of public health systems.