(1122) Retraction of Publications in Otolaryngology: 1990–2022

Introduction: Retracted publications have been increasing across scientific and medical literature and pose a significant risk to public trust, scientific progress, and patient care. The scope of this problem is not well-defined in otolaryngology.

Methods: Retracted otorhinolaryngology articles published from 1990-2022 were identified using Retraction Watch Database, the largest database of retracted peer-reviewed publications. Reasons for retraction were categorized using established methodology. Total and annual retraction rates were calculated using the number of overall articles published within the otolaryngology literature, as estimated from a PubMed search using otolaryngology MeSH terms.

Results: We identified 349 retracted otorhinolaryngology articles between 1990-2022. These are estimated to represent 0.11% of all otolaryngology publications, with the annual retraction rate increasing from 0.02% in 1990 to 0.2% in 2022. Of the total, 161 publications (46.1%) had multiple reasons for retraction, the most common being falsification/fabrication (n = 220, 63%), lack of adherence to journal policies or ethical violations (176, 50.4%), plagiarism (78, 22.3%), duplication/self-plagiarism (78, 22.3%), and errors (72, 20.6%). Additionally, 89 publications (29.5%) were cited as much or more after retraction as they were before, raising concerns regarding the persistence of misinformation despite retraction.

Conclusions: Though rare, the number and rate of retractions in otolaryngology have increased over the last 30 years. The relative rate of retraction in otolaryngology is higher than other surgical fields and has grown tenfold from 1990-2022, highlighting a need for further research to understand the underlying drivers of these trends.