In cohort study, published in JAMA Network Open, of 367 authors and 1330 retracted randomized clinical trials, 6 superretractors, from anesthesiology as well as endocrinology and metabolism, coauthored one-fifth of all retracted trials, while 18 top-cited scientists with more than 10 retractions coauthored one-quarter of them. Articles coauthored by superretractors or by top-cited scientists with multiple retractions were published and retracted earlier, took longer to retract, and accumulated more citations.

Concerns about one superretractor, Yoshihiro Sato, MD, had been raised almost 10 years before the first retractions occurred, coming in the form of letters to the editor and a systematic investigation of his work by other researchers that took almost 3 years to get published, the researchers noted. Investigation of multiple articles from Sato led to the discovery of another superretractor, Jun Iwamoto, MD, who was a frequent co-author on Sato's work. Another frequent co-author, Kei Satoh, MD, was among the top-cited authors who had at least 10 retractions in their career.

Source https://www.medpagetoday.com/publichealthpolicy/generalprofessionalissues/120796

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