BMJ Journal Retracts Stent Study Nine Years After Journalist Exposed Hidden Conflict of Interest, Undisclosed Death

A BMJ Group journal has retracted a clinical trial paper on cardiac stents nearly nine years after a veteran cardiology journalist exposed undisclosed financial conflicts and the omission of a patient death from the published study. The case highlights persistent vulnerabilities in peer review oversight and medical journal accountability.

The study, published in Open Heart in May 2017, described results of a trial testing commercially available stents with microengineered grooves produced by Abbott Vascular. However, journalist Larry Husten documented that the clinical trial registration described an entirely different protocol: the researchers had planned to test stents made by Palmaz Scientific, a company owned by one of the authors that also funded the work. Husten further reported that trial records indicated one patient died from pancreatitis during the study—a death not mentioned in the published paper. "It seems unlikely that this was related to the stent but shouldn't this information have been reported?" Husten wrote at the time.

The retraction notice confirms that researchers excluded the patient's death and that discrepancies existed between the trial registration and the published manuscript regarding device manufacturers and financial interests. The nine-year gap between Husten's detailed allegations and the eventual retraction raises questions about post-publication review mechanisms at medical journals. The case intensifies scrutiny of conflicts of interest in device research, the adequacy of trial registration requirements, and whether similar discrepancies persist undetected in other published work. Open Heart, published by BMJ Group, has not commented on what prompted the delayed action or whether other articles by the same authors warrant review.