RETRACTION: Comparative effectiveness of low-level laser therapy and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation in symptomatic Temporomandibular Disorders: A Randomised Control Trial

Abstract

Batra, S. Srivastava, A., Shivakumar, G. C., Marrapodi, M. M., Herford, A. S., Cicciù, M., Minervini, G. (2023) Comparative effectiveness of low-level laser therapy and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation in symptomatic Temporomandibular Disorders: A Randomised Control Trial. Journal of Oral Rehabilitation, 50: 1185-1193. https://doi.org/10.1111/joor.13555 The above article, published online on 05 July 2023 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com), has been retracted by agreement between the journal Editor in Chief, Peter Svensson, and John Wiley and Sons Ltd. The retraction has been agreed following concerns raised by a third party about the ethical approval for the study described. The publisher contacted the authors, who provided a letter of ethical approval from People's College of Dental Sciences & Research Center, People's University, which did not match the ethical approval reported in the article. The authors reported that the study was initiated at Banaras Hindu University, but were not able to provide evidence of ethical approval from this institution. In addition, the authors did not provide an explanation for why the clinical trial was registered with Clinical Trial Registry-India retrospectively, which violates the journal's author guidelines that require authors to provide an explanation for retrospective registration of clinical trials. Following the investigation by the publisher, the journal has concluded this article did not follow the journal's requirements regarding ethical approval of clinical trials and registration of clinical trials, and so the journal must issue a retraction. Shivakumar, G. C. has stated that Marrapodi, M. M., Herford, A. S., Cicciù, M., and Minervini, G. were not involved in the investigation, data curation, conceptualization, methodology, or formal analysis of the clinical study. The authors disagree with this retraction.