Risks associated with the citation of retracted medical literature

If ever there was any field of research that carried weight within society, it would most certainly and arguably be medical research. The validity of medical research, transmitted via the medical literature and propagated as having been validated by robust peer review, tends to be associated with bibliometric platforms such as PubMed or databases such as Web of Science or Scopus. An unknown fraction of the existent medical literature is likely unreliable, either due to errors, fraud or misconduct, and in extreme cases, such papers are retracted. A general rule of thumb is that such papers should not be cited, but for several reasons, the citation of retracted medical literature is not always avoidable. This paper reflects on the citation of the medical literature, using several case studies to draw readers’ awareness to some of the issues, discussion points, and risks – bibliometric and practical – associated with the citation of retracted medical literature. The primary objective of this paper is to draw the attention of academics in the field of medicine to the risks associated with citing retracted literature.