Persuading by citation: An analysis of the references of fifty-three published reports of phenylpropanolamine's clinical toxicity

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
References cited in scientific articles may be used as data to characterize a body of reports. We examined the references and citations in 53 articles reporting adverse reactions to phenylpropanolamine. We classified the type of reference (case report, human or nonhuman experimental, editorial, or review) and read frequently cited articles to compare their content to their citational use. We searched the references for articles that we thought pertinent including the prospective clinical trial literature and studies comparing phenylpropanolamine with amphetamine. We learned that writers of these reports relied on other case reports and generally ignored experimental literature. These authors also often cited articles so that the original intent was not reflected. Publications presenting an alternative view were largely ignored. This analysis produces some evidence of bias against phenylpropanolamine and that the phenylpropanolamine adverse reaction literature may reflect chiefly social and clinical opinion.