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Policy

Cochrane Reviews

From July 2019, Cochrane Reviews should only be withdrawn under exceptional circumstances (i.e. for reasons other than those that could be described using the Updating Classification System), for example, if there is a concern about the conduct or reporting of the Cochrane Review:

Examples of reasons for withdrawing a Cochrane Review
  • Serious error in a Cochrane Review. Following the recommendations of the published review could result in harm to patients or populations of interest (other than known adverse effects); and/or the reported treatment effect is inconsistent with the real effect shown in the reported data.
  • Confirmed serious error in a Cochrane Review as a direct result of the retraction of an included study. This could occur if studies included in a Cochrane Review are retracted from publication, and an analysis shows that the removal of the retracted studies from the analyses in the Cochrane Review could lead to a serious error (defined above). See related policy on [scientific misconduct]
  • Scientific misconduct in the Cochrane Review. This could refer to fraud or other scientific misconduct in the preparation of the review. See related policies on [scientific misconduct], and [plagiarism].

Withdrawing a Cochrane Review generates a new citation version. For Cochrane Reviews, this includes a new entry in PubMed.

Protocols for Cochrane Reviews

Protocols that have not been converted into full Cochrane Reviews within two years of publication should generally be withdrawn from the CDSR.

Withdrawing a protocol for a Cochrane Review generates a new citation version.

Up to 16 December 2014, withdrawn protocols were removed from the CDSR after one issue of publication. From this date onwards, withdrawn protocols remain published to maintain the public record of publication and to complement the inclusion in PROSPERO.

Withdrawal followed by republication

The Editors may accept for publication a revised version of a Cochrane Review that addresses the issues raised in the withdrawn notice. Any such version will be re-evaluated using standard Cochrane editorial process, and may then be approved for publication (as a separate, subsequent version) in consultation with the Editor in Chief.

Display of published withdrawn articles

Published 'withdrawn' Cochrane Review or protocol for a Cochrane Review

When a protocol or review is withdrawn, it will be flagged in the published version in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR) as ‘withdrawn’.

Published Cochrane Reviews (including protocols) are not removed from the CDSR. Published versions that precede a withdrawn version are available via the 'History' section of the Cochrane Review.

The following information is included in the withdrawn version:

  • Reason for withdrawing the protocol/review (as inserted in the “Published Notes” section in the RevMan file), preceded by "Reason for withdrawal from publication".
  • Standard publication information: title, authors (as listed on previous citation version), citation, DOI, publication date, editorial group name, Sources of support (as listed on previous citation version), and publishing events (What’s new and History).
  • The following text is inserted automatically at the end of the “Reason for withdrawing this protocol/review” text: “The editorial group responsible for this previously published document have withdrawn it from publication.”
  • Citations for the withdrawn version, as available via Crossref Cited-by Linking.
  • Published versions that precede a withdrawn version are available in the CDSR by clicking on the ‘Version History’ tab in the article.

PubMed record for a 'withdrawn' Cochrane Review

  • Article title preceded by "WITHDRAWN:".
  • Abstract of the version that has been withdrawn.

Steps to withdraw a Cochrane Review

When withdrawing a Cochrane Review, three steps need to be taken: (1) notify the authors; (2) draft the withdrawn statement; and (3) notify the Editorial & Methods Department.

Step 1. Notify authors

The Managing Editor should notify the contact author (with copies to all co-authors) of the intention to withdraw the Cochrane Review – and give the opportunity for discussion (unless authors are not contactable) –  before proceeding with publication of the withdrawn statement.

If contactable, the authors must be asked if they agree with the proposed withdrawal, as this information can be included in the withdrawn statement.

Step 2. Draft the retraction/archive statements

In keeping with the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Guidelines for retracting articles, the published reason for withdrawal must not be potentially defamatory or libelous. Also see “What should an ideal retraction notice look like?”from Retraction Watch for further reading.

Note that the Editor in Chief must approve all retraction statements before publication. See Step 3 below.

Statement to accompany the withdrawn Cochrane Review

The withdrawn statement must include the following information:

  1. Reason(s) for withdrawal, starting with: “This Cochrane Review has been withdrawn from publication.”
  2. Which section(s) of the review is/are affected.
  3. Who is withdrawing the review (and whether the authors agree).
  4. Whether the Cochrane Review will be revised and re-published in future.

Statement to accompany the retracted (withdrawn) protocol for a Cochrane Review

The withdrawn statement must include the following information:

  1. Reason(s) for withdrawal, starting with: "This protocol for a Cochrane Review has been withdrawn”.
  2. Who is withdrawing the protocol (and whether the authors agree).
  3. Whether the protocol will be revised and republished in future.

Step 3. Notify Editorial & Methods Department

The Editor in Chief (ceu@cochrane.org) must approve all retraction notices before publication. Provide the:

  • Title
  • DOI of the version being withdrawn
  • Reason for withdrawal






The decision to withdraw a published Cochrane Review (or protocol) should generally be made between the authors and the Cochrane Review Group (CRG) editorial team. The reason for the withdrawal should be given in the Published Notes section of the protocol or review. When a protocol or review is withdrawn, it will be flagged in the published version in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR) as ‘withdrawn’ and only the title, coversheet, and reason for withdrawal will be published.

Published Cochrane Reviews (including protocols) are not removed from the CDSR. (Up to 16 December 2014, withdrawn protocols were removed from the CDSR after one issue of publication. From this date onwards, withdrawn protocols remain published to maintain the public record of publication and to complement the inclusion in PROSPERO.) A review may be withdrawn temporarily (suspended) and can be reinstated once it is considered satisfactory by the authors and the CRG's editorial team; otherwise it should remain withdrawn. Published versions that precede a withdrawn version are available in the CDSR by clicking on the ‘Other versions’ tab in the article.

Protocols that have not been converted into full Cochrane Reviews within two years of publication should generally be withdrawn from the CDSR.

Reasons for withdrawing Cochrane Protocols and Reviews from the CDSR

Protocols for a Cochrane Review

  • The authors have requested this protocol to be withdrawn. The reason/s is/are [insert reason(s)].
  • The protocol is out of date and does not meet the current methodological standards of The Cochrane Collaboration.
  • Authors have made no progress with this protocol in XX months/years. New authors are being sought to take over this protocol.
  • The protocol has been republished as a Diagnostic Test Accuracy Protocol (provide full reference).
  • The protocol has been split into these protocols (provide full references).
  • The protocol has been merged with another (provide full reference).
  • Title reassignment: A new protocol will be published by the review authors (provide list of authors).
  • The Cochrane Review Group was unable to maintain contact with the contact author. The co-authors are unable to take over this protocol. New authors are being sought to take over this protocol.

Cochrane Reviews

  • The Editor/CRG withdrew this review as of Issue X, 20XX. The review will be reinstated following a substantive update.
  • Potentially relevant studies may have been excluded from this review and it has been withdrawn pending further investigation.
  • The statistical analysis may have been inappropriate and this review has been withdrawn pending further investigation.
  • There may be errors with data presentation and this review has been withdrawn pending further investigation.
  • Major errors in the review have been identified (e.g. through the Feedback mechanism). These errors are: [insert]. The review will be re-published following revision and peer review.
  • Non-compliance with The Cochrane Collaboration’s Commercial Sponsorship Policy.
  • The review has been combined with [insert number] an/other published Cochrane Review(s) and the new combined review has been published as [insert full reference].
  • The review has been split into [insert number] reviews that will be/have been published as [insert full references if known].
  • This review is being updated and replaced following the publication of a new protocol [insert full reference]. It will remain withdrawn when the new review is published.
  • The review has been republished as a Diagnostic Test Accuracy Review [insert full reference].
  • The authors have requested this review to be withdrawn. The reason/s is/are [insert reason(s)].
  • Authors are unable to update the review. New authors are being sought to update this review.The review has been withdrawn while the authors update aspects of its methodology ([list these]).
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