COVID-19

Lancet Retracts Hydroxychloroquine Study

The authors of a recent study published in Lancet that questioned the safety of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, drugs suggested as potential treatment options for COVID-19, have requested that their article be retracted.1

“[S]everal concerns were raised with respect to the veracity of the data and analyses conducted by Surgisphere Corporation and its founder and our co-author, Sapan Desai, in our publication,” wrote study author Mandeep R Mehra, MD, in their retraction.

In response to the concerns, the authors sought to launch an independent, third-party peer review of their data. The peer reviewers were to investigate the origination of the database elements used in the study in order to confirm their completeness, with the hopes of replicating the study’s results.

However, the peer reviewers reported that they were unable to obtain access to the full dataset from Surgisphere.

“We always aspire to perform our research in accordance with the highest ethical and professional guidelines. We can never forget the responsibility we have as researchers to scrupulously ensure that we rely on data sources that adhere to our high standards. Based on this development, we can no longer vouch for the veracity of the primary data sources,” Mehra wrote.

“We all entered this collaboration to contribute in good faith and at a time of great need during the COVID-19 pandemic. We deeply apologise to you, the editors, and the journal readership for any embarrassment or inconvenience that this may have caused.”

Shortly after, a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine that shares authors and a data source with the Lancet article has also been retracted.2

“Because all the authors were not granted access to the raw data and the raw data could not be made available to a third-party auditor, we are unable to validate the primary data sources underlying our article, ‘Cardiovascular Disease, Drug Therapy, and Mortality in Covid-19,’” wrote Mehra.

—Michael Potts

References:

  1. Mehra MR, Ruschitzka F, Patel AN. Retraction—Hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine with or without a macrolide for treatment of COVID-19: a multinational registry analysis. Published online June 5, 2020. Lancet. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(20)31324-6
  2. Mehra MR, Desai SS, Kuy S, Henry TD, Patel AN. Retraction: Cardiovascular disease, drug therapy, and mortality in COVID-19. Published online June 4, 2020. NEJM. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMc2021225