BMJ okay on statins
August 6, 2014
AN INDEPENDENT panel of
experts has advised that the British
Medical Journal’s (BMJ) handling
of, and processes around, two
controversial articles about statins
were appropriate, timely and
reasonable.
The articles involved a figure
for side effects of statins which
was incorrect, with corrections
published and the editor in chief
asked the panel to decide whether
to retract the articles or not, after
calls to do so (PD 16 May).
The panel said it was unanimous
in its decision that the two papers
did not meet any of the criteria
for retraction and that the error
did not compromise the principal
arguments made in the papers.
These involved interpretations of
evidence regarding proposals to
extend the routine use of statins to
people at low risk of cardiovascular
disease, BMJ said.
The panel said the patient data
in the studies should be made
available to inform current debates.
For the panel report, CLICK HERE.
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