Medical journal says the case reports it has published for 25 years are fiction

7 hours ago

A Canadian journal, Paediatrics & Child Health, issued corrections on 138 case reports published over 25 years to clarify they are fictional.
The corrections followed a New Yorker article revealing a 2010 case, 'Baby boy blue,' was fabricated.
The journal's editor-in-chief stated future case reports will explicitly mention they are fictional.
David Juurlink, a professor, criticized the lack of transparency, especially for the 'Baby boy blue' case, calling for retraction.
The journal's author guidelines now specify case reports are fictional, but earlier versions did not.
One author, Farah Abdulsatar, was surprised her real case was included in the corrections, highlighting editorial oversight.
The Canadian Paediatric Society updated its website to include disclaimers about the fictional nature of the cases.
Juurlink argued that publishing fictional cases without disclosure is akin to fabrication in scientific records.
The journal's corrections cover two series names and include notes about the fictional nature of the cases.
The case reports have been cited 218 times across 61 articles, despite being fictional.

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