In August, 2025 a reader alerted the editor of a medical journal to a recent case report. The paper, about a woman who allegedly suffered an aortic aneurysm rupture three days after giving birth, stated that written “informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication.” But the woman died less than two hours after arriving in the emergency room, according to the report.

The email went on to list a litany of concerns, the most glaring of which perhaps was the report’s statement that, ”Cardiac monitoring revealed PEA [pulseless electrical activity] with a heart rate of 120 beats per minute, and with blood pressure of 90/60 mmHg.” During PEA, the heart is unable to contract despite showing electrical discharges and so, by definition, there is no detectable pulse or blood pressure. Other problems included contradictory timelines, an “implausible surgical narrative,” made-up medical terminology and irrelevant references.

The erratum states informed consent “was obtained from the patient’s legally authorized representative” rather than the dead patient herself. It also corrects “Feinstein incision,” a non-existent procedure, to “Pfannenstiel incision,” and replaces a reference. But it makes no mention of all the other concerns in the email.

Source https://retractionwatch.com/2026/02/09/journal-tags-impossible-case-report-with-short-erratum/

Another high-profile case has interested scientists. Read now