Retracted publications in infectious diseases and clinical microbiology literature: an analysis using the retraction watch database

We aimed to examine the rate and characteristics of retracted articles in infectious diseases (ID) and clinical microbiology (CM).Using the Retraction Watch Database we conducted a cross-sectional study for retracted publications categorized as "Infectious Disease" "or "Microbiology" until June 30th, 2022. We included publications for which citation information was available through the Web of Science database. Study characteristics, retraction trends and number of citations before and after the retraction year were analyzed.Overall, 1004 retracted publications were included, retracted between August 1968 and June 2022. The number of retractions climbed through the years, peaking in 2020-2021. 614 retractions originated from USA, China, and India, out of total 183,736 PubMed publications from these countries. Overall, 378 (38%) were retracted due to errors; 182 (18%) due to plagiarism; and 142 (14%) due to falsification/fabrication. Specific reasons included 'concerns/issues about data' (158, 16%)'; duplication of image' (127, 13%); and 'unreliable results' (116, 12%). Of the 347 retractions during 2020-June 2022, 91 (26%) were COVID-19 related. Fifty of 895 (5.6%) first authors had 2 retracted papers, and 14 (1.6%) had ≥ 2 retractions. Of 824 publications cited at least once, 466 (57%) were cited more often after retraction.Retractions of ID and CM publications are increasing. Concerning reasons such as plagiarism, falsification/fabrication and errors are not uncommon. Nonetheless, these publications continue to be commonly cited after being retracted.