Dear Readers,
The article entitled Magnesium Gargle versus Ketamine Gargle in Postoperative Sore Throat Pain; A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial, published in the Journal of Cellular and Molecular Anesthesia, is hereby retracted (1).
Following concerns regarding the reliability and validity of the reported data, the Editorial Office of the Journal of Cellular and Molecular Anesthesia conducted a post-publication assessment in accordance with the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and its guidance for handling concerns about unreliable published findings.
The editorial assessment included a detailed evaluation of the reported data, statistical analyses, tables, and the information available to support the published results.
During this assessment, substantial inconsistencies were identified in the reported statistical analyses. Specifically, several values presented in Tables 2 and 3 were found to be mathematically incompatible with the reported sample sizes and measurement characteristics. These inconsistencies raised serious concerns regarding the reliability of the reported dataset and, consequently, the validity of the study’s findings.
During the course of the investigation, the authors requested retraction of the article after acknowledging analytical inaccuracies in the statistical processing of certain subgroups and indicating their intention to repeat the statistical analyses using corrected methodology. However, after careful editorial evaluation, the reliability of the published data could not be adequately verified.
Accordingly, the Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Board have decided to retract this article in order to preserve the integrity of the scientific record and to ensure that readers are not misled by findings whose reliability cannot be confirmed.
This retraction is issued solely because the published data are considered unreliable. The journal makes no determination regarding the authors’ intentions or the presence of research misconduct.
The Editorial Office sincerely regrets that these concerns were not identified during the original peer-review and publication process. The journal remains committed to maintaining the highest standards of research integrity, transparency, and publication ethics.
Prof. Ali Dabbagh, MD
Editor-in-Chief
Journal of Cellular and Molecular Anesthesia
Department of Anesthesiology, School of Medicine
Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences
Tehran, Iran
