Post-Publication Policy

The published medical literature serves as a permanent, immutable record of scientific evidence that directly informs clinical practice and future research. In accordance with the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) guidelines, the journal maintains the integrity of this record by prohibiting silent edits to published articles; all post-publication changes are handled via formal, indexed, and bi-directionally hyperlinked notices.

-Permanent Scientific Record & Ineligibility for Minor Changes

Once an article is published online and assigned a Digital Object Identifier (DOI), it becomes part of the permanent scientific record.

• Minor Errors (Rejected): Requests to correct minor typographical errors, formatting issues, minor spelling mistakes, or personal style preferences will be rejected to prevent downstream discrepancies.
• Substantive Corrections: Only changes that affect scientific clarity, data interpretation, or clinical safety—without invalidating the article’s core conclusions—will be considered.

 

-Post-Publication Notice Classifications

Notice Type	Origin / Trigger	Criteria & Examples
Corrigendum	Author Error	Corrects significant errors made by authors (e.g., misstated drug dosages, dosage calculation typos, sample size misstatements, figure panel swaps, or omitted author affiliations/names) that do not alter the main findings.
Erratum	Publisher Error	Corrects errors introduced during typesetting, proofing, layout, or production by journal staff.
Addendum	Author Clarification	Adds critical omitted context, methodology details, missing datasets, or ethics documentation necessary for study reproducibility or evaluating clinical safety.
Retraction	Data / Research Misconduct	Issued when errors undermine primary outcomes, invalidate statistical significance, involve irreproducible central data, or present evidence of plagiarism, duplicate publication, unreliable findings, or unethical research.
Expression of Concern	Ongoing Investigation	Issued at the editor's discretion while a serious allegation or potential study invalidation is actively under formal investigation.

 

-Submission & Editorial Review Process

4. Notification & Submission: Authors must notify the journal via the online Contact Us portal or submit a formal request using the official Author Request Template via the editorial management system.
5. Co-Author Consensus: Requests must include a statement signed by all listed co-authors approving the requested changes.
6. Editorial & Peer Review: The Editor-in-Chief and relevant Section Editors evaluate the request. Requests involving clinical safety or core scientific claims may be sent for external peer review.
7. Approval & Publication: All post-publication notices are published at the journal’s discretion as soon as possible

 

-Article Updates, Indexing, and Content Removal

• Indexing & Linking: Approved correction and retraction notices are assigned a DOI, printed in the next available issue (or continuous publication flow), bi-directionally hyperlinked to the original article, and deposited in major indexing databases (e.g., PubMed Central, Scopus, Web of Science).
• PDF Handling: The original article PDF remains accessible but is watermarked to indicate its corrected or retracted status.
• Legal Removal: In rare circumstances where content must be removed for legal reasons, the article text will be replaced with an official removal notice, while article metadata (title, authors) will remain publicly accessible.