Dear Readers,
The editorial office of the Journal of Cellular & Molecular Anesthesia has been alerted by a whistleblower (#661115) to significant concerns regarding the reliability of data reported in one of the published articles (1).
The article reports a randomized clinical trial involving three study groups of 20 patients each: ketamine, magnesium sulfate, and control. Concerns have been raised about the mathematical plausibility of several reported results, particularly in Tables 2 and 3. Table 2 reports mean Visual Analog Scale scores for integer pain scores in groups of 20 participants, while Table 3 reports percentages for the same group sizes. It has been brought to our attention that multiple values in these tables may not be arithmetically compatible with the stated sample sizes and outcome scales.
These concerns may affect the reliability of the reported results and conclusions. The journal has therefore initiated an editorial assessment in accordance with accepted publication ethics procedures.
This Expression of Concern is issued to inform readers while the matter is under investigation. The journal will update the article record when the assessment has been completed and will take further editorial action as appropriate.
Prof. Ali Dabbagh
Department of Anesthesiology, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
The Editor in Chief of the Journal of Cellular & Molecular Anesthesia
