{
  "id": 11090756,
  "title": "Journal investigating paper on heart device with registration number for wrong trial",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/30/journal-investigating-paper-on-heart-device-with-registration-number",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-09-30T19:13:42.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Retraction Watch",
    "slug": "retraction-watch",
    "url": "https://retractionwatch.com/2026/09/30/journal-investigating-paper-on-heart-device-with-registration-number-for-wrong-trial/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The publisher of the European Heart Rhythm Association journal EP Europace is investigating a paper that incorrectly listed a registration number for a clinical trial of the Watchman FLX heart implant. The paper, published in May, described a prospective study of the device in 400 people with abnormal heart rhythms and concluded it was \"feasible, safe, and resource efficient.\" However, the registration number cited in the paper corresponds to a trial on high-power atrial fibrillation radiofrequency ablation, not the Watchman device. The study's authors and co-corresponding author did not respond to requests for comment. The investigation was prompted by a sleuth who notified the journal of their concerns on June 11. The journal's editor-in-chief stated that the ethics committee at Oxford University Press, which publishes the journal, is evaluating the issue and will provide feedback soon.",
  "summary": "The publisher of a European Heart Rhythm Association journal is investigating a paper that lists the incorrect registration number for a clinical study of a widely used but controversial heart implant. The paper, published in EP Europace in May, described a prospective study of the Watchman FLX, from Boston Scientific, for a procedure called left … Continue reading Journal investigating paper on…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}