Medicine is plagued by untrustworthy clinical trials. How many studies are faked or flawed? Investigations suggest that, in some fields, at least one-quarter of clinical trials might be problematic or even entirely made up, warn some researchers. They urge stronger scrutiny. (July 2023) Article

[Michael Harrop]

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-02299-w

Covers this study, and more:
False individual patient data and zombie randomised controlled trials submitted to Anaesthesia (Oct 2020) https://associationofanaesthetists-publications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/anae.15263

 

[Michael Harrop]

I'll probably make a bigger list later, but here are some other recent & related ones:

There is a worrying amount of fraud in medical research and a worrying unwillingness to do anything about it (Feb 2023) https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2023/02/22/there-is-a-worrying-amount-of-fraud-in-medical-research

“Almost every trial" published in five high-impact med journals over a 6-week period had engaged in outcome switching. The authors sent correction letters to the journals and most were rejected. https://archive.fo/W1MdX. COMPare: a prospective cohort study correcting and monitoring 58 misreported trials in real time (Feb 2019).

8% of researchers in Dutch survey have falsified or fabricated data. Study of nearly 7,000 scientists also finds that more than half engage in ‘questionable research practices’. (Jul 2021) https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02035-2

Scientific journals prefer to publish positive results and this can lead to false claims ending up being regarded as true facts, finds new research from the Niels Bohr Institute. (Dec 2016) https://archive.fo/H5zc4 Research: Publication bias and the canonization of false facts.