Correction Log
Public, dated record of factual updates, numerical corrections, and editorial revisions.
Organizational / legal referenceInstitutional documentation
Maintaining a transparent correction record is a core element of evidence-based medical communication. Every factual or regulatory update we apply to a published page is logged below with date, scope, type, and a plain-language summary of what changed.
Entries are listed most recent first. The log is updated whenever a correction is merged into the production site.
Our Correction Policy
We treat every claim about clinical evidence, regulatory status, or organizational facts as load-bearing. When we discover an error, we correct it, log it, and (where it changes the meaning of advice) apply a visible note on the affected page.
Each correction is reviewed by an Editorial reviewer before publication. Corrections to FDA-cleared indications, contraindications, or safety information are escalated to the Clinical Director.
Types of Corrections We Track
- Factual — names, dates, organizational facts, IRS filings
- Numerical — study counts, percentages, statistics
- Regulatory — FDA classification, regulatory pathway, jurisdictional details
- Clinical — terminology, dosage references, contraindications wording, patient-safety phrasing
- Editorial — attribution, clarifications, cross-page consistency, formatting
- Citation — PMID accuracy, author/journal/year attribution, removing references that do not match the cited claim
Correction History
Most recent corrections appear first.
| Date | Type | Scope | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 22, 2026 | Citation | /research/evidence-reconstructive-surgery-2024 | Removed three citations and eight "reference pending editorial verification" markers from the 2024-era reconstructive-surgery evidence update. PubMed verification of the listed PMIDs (33894022, 32011498, 34983215) showed that each PMID resolves to an unrelated article (psoriasis biologics during COVID; alcohol and diverticular disease; autism healthcare adjustments), not the leech-therapy outcomes described on this site. The block has been rewritten to rest on the canonical evidence foundation already cited throughout the site — Whitaker et al. (2012, Microsurgery, n=277); Herlin et al. (2017, J Plast Reconstr Aesthet Surg); Nguyen et al. (2012); Mumcuoglu (2014) — and unsupported numeric salvage rates (60–70% VCA, 65–72% obese, 72–80% digital-replantation) have been replaced with honest statements about limited stratified data and the absence of controlled trials in those subgroups. |
| April 28, 2026 | Factual | /annual-report, /governance, /documents, /editorial-policy | Updated tax-filing references from generic "Form 990" to "Form 990-N (e-postcard)," matching the actual IRS filings ASH submitted for tax years 2023 and 2024 (verifiable via IRS Tax-Exempt Organization Search). Added IRS Letter 947 reference (dated 04/21/2023) confirming 501(c)(3) public-charity determination, EIN 92-2997844. |
| April 28, 2026 | Factual | /donate, /about, /membership | Aligned all references to ASH’s 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status from "applied for" or "pending IRS review" language to the confirmed "granted" state, reflecting the IRS determination letter dated 04/21/2023. |
| April 28, 2026 | Factual | /donate | Corrected the payment-processor disclosure from "Square" to "Stripe," the actual processor used for ASH donations. |
| April 28, 2026 | Regulatory | / (home), /patient-guide, /clinical-evidence, footer (sitewide) | Strengthened the FDA disclaimer to specify that FDA clearance applies to specific indications (venous congestion in grafts, flaps, and replants) and does not establish clinical efficacy for all uses. Investigational and off-label discussions are now explicitly labeled. |
| April 28, 2026 | Clinical | /patient-guide | Replaced "numbs completely" with "significantly reduces sensation; typical patient-reported pain score 1–2 out of 10" to align with published patient-reported pain data. Added a post-treatment driving caveat: patients should arrange transportation if they feel light-headed. |
| April 28, 2026 | Clinical | /patient-guide | Added a structured "Not for home use" callout and a contraindications panel (absolute and relative) to the patient guide. |
| April 28, 2026 | Factual | /about/board, /editorial-policy, /annual-report | Aligned all listed officer titles to the California Statement of Information filed 04/13/2026: Andrei Dokukin, MD — Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and Clinical Director. |
| April 28, 2026 | Editorial | Sitewide reviewed pages (≈70) | Canonicalized clinical-content reviewer attribution to a single Person entity ("@id" = /#dokukin) so that "Reviewed by Andrei Dokukin, MD" on individual articles consistently references the named CEO/Clinical Director. |
| April 28, 2026 | Editorial | /about, /about/board, /contact-transparency, /annual-report, /documents | Removed non-officer staff names from indexed content and applied page-level noindex directives plus HTTP X-Robots-Tag headers on PII-bearing pages, while preserving the public CEO/CFO designation per the California Statement of Information. |
| May 6, 2026 | Regulatory | / (home), /press-kit, /clinical-evidence/reconstructive-microsurgery, /clinical-evidence/fda-510k-deep-dive, sitewide CDRH→CBER comparison | Replaced "Class II medical device" wording for medicinal leeches with the literal FDA classification "Unclassified Pre-Amendment device, FDA product code NRN, regulated through 510(k) premarket notification." Removed every reference to 21 CFR 864.3600 (that section is "Microscopes and accessories" and unrelated to leeches; pre-amendment unclassified devices have no device-specific CFR section). Verified against FDA AccessData product-classification record for product code NRN. |
| May 6, 2026 | Regulatory | / (home), /press-kit, /clinical-evidence, /clinical-evidence/fda-510k-deep-dive, /leech-biology timeline | Corrected 510(k) decision dates to FDA-canonical values from the AccessData PDF clearance letters: K040187 from "June 28, 2004" → "June 21, 2004"; K132958 from "February 24, 2014" → "February 19, 2014"; K140907 from "August 18, 2015" → "August 7, 2015." Also corrected K140907 year ("2014") → "2015" in press kit, home, and clinician FAQ. Corrected K132958 holder from "Leeches U.S.A." (US distributor) to "Biopharm UK Ltd." (actual 510(k) holder, Hendy, Wales) and K040187 city from "Bordeaux" to "Eysines." |
| May 6, 2026 | Regulatory | Sitewide regulatory tables and the FDA Truth Panel | Added the CBER submission tracking numbers FDA published after the December 30, 2024 CDRH→CBER transfer: K040187 → BK251211, K132958 → BK251217, K140907 → BK251218. Verified against fda.gov/vaccines-blood-biologics/substantially-equivalent-510k-device-information pages. |
| May 6, 2026 | Factual | /clinical-evidence/reconstructive-microsurgery, /clinical-evidence/fda-510k-deep-dive | Replaced "Three Approved Manufacturers" with "Three Cleared Suppliers" — 510(k) gives clearance, not approval (PMA pathway). Updated Review Panel from "Hematology (HE)" to "General & Plastic Surgery" per the FDA Product Classification database. Removed unsourced supply-volume estimates (~80,000 / ~20,000 / ~5,000 leeches/year and "dominant supplier to US market" pending documented source). Softened the absolute claim that RCTs are "not ethically feasible" to acknowledge that large RCTs in acute flap-salvage are difficult ethically and practically. |
| May 6, 2026 | Clinical | /patient-guide/handout | Rewrote the emergency-bleeding red flag from "bleeding that does not stop after 24 hours of pressure" to "bleeding that soaks through dressings, does not slow with 10–15 minutes of firm pressure, or pulses or spurts (arterial pattern)." Added "lightheadedness, fainting, severe dizziness, or shortness of breath" as a separate red flag and reordered the list so the cardiovascular-instability cue sits adjacent to the bleeding cue. |
| May 6, 2026 | Clinical | /patient-guide | Replaced "natural anesthetic" wording (which carried a binary anesthetic mechanism not supported by the literature on leech salivary components) with "components with local effects on sensation" / "the discomfort typically softens." Replaced "delivers more than 100 bioactive compounds into your tissue" with "delivers many bioactive components to the local tissue, including anti-inflammatory, anticoagulant, and analgesic molecules." Replaced the universal "Most patients leave feeling relaxed and optimistic" claim with indication-scoped wording (FDA-cleared microsurgical use vs. studied off-label uses). |
| May 6, 2026 | Editorial | Sitewide content (19 message and code files in en/ru/es) | Reverted a previous global find/replace artifact that mangled "salivary" into "SGSry" in 46 places ("leech SGSry system," "leech SGSry glands," etc.). All instances restored to "salivary." |
| May 6, 2026 | evidence | /clinical-evidence/reconstructive-microsurgery and /clinical-evidence/conditions (Knee OA, CMC-1 Thumb OA), /safety-protocols/aeromonas-management | Harmonized GRADE labels. Knee OA and CMC-1 Thumb OA prose blocks were marked "GRADE: HIGH (Level I)" while the same page's evidence cards and the GRADE Assessment text said "MODERATE (downgraded for blinding limitations)." Resolved to MODERATE everywhere — leech therapy cannot be double-blinded, so the GRADE downgrade is methodologically required regardless of effect size. The Aeromonas page declared evidenceGrade="moderate" in its PageMeta but rendered <EvidenceGrade grade="high" /> in two places in the body; resolved to "moderate" matching the metadata. |
| May 6, 2026 | Editorial | /clinical-specialties/indications | Dropped the top-level "Regulatory Status: FDA-Cleared Tier 1" badge from PageMeta on the Complete Indications List. The page spans Tier A (FDA-cleared), Tier B (off-label clinical evidence), and Tier C (investigational); the per-section RegulatoryBadge components remain and accurately scope each subsection. |
| May 6, 2026 | Factual | /governance, /press-kit, /membership | Resolved an HIPAA contradiction: governance.json declared "HIPAA-compliant data handling for any patient information," while the Privacy Policy declares HIPAA non-applicability. Replaced the governance line with "Privacy-conscious data handling — see Privacy Policy for HIPAA non-applicability." Replaced press-kit "Donations are 100% tax-deductible" with "Donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent permitted by law," matching the Donate-page wording. Replaced the Membership Professional-tier "Full CME resource library" with "Continuing-education resource library (non-accredited)," since the underlying CME page itself disclaims that no federal certification requirement exists for medicinal leech therapy. |
How Corrections Are Reviewed
- Discovery — corrections are identified by readers, internal review, or by comparison against authoritative sources (FDA, IRS, peer-reviewed literature).
- Triage — each report is classified by type and reviewed by an Editorial reviewer. Clinical corrections are escalated to the Clinical Director.
- Verification — claims are checked against primary sources (FDA databases, IRS TEOS, indexed studies) before any change is published.
- Publication — once verified, the correction is merged into production and an entry is added to this log with date, scope, type, and summary.
- Preservation — superseded text is preserved in version control (git history) for audit purposes.
Report a Possible Error
If you spot an error — a wrong figure, an outdated regulatory reference, an inaccurate clinical statement, or a factual misattribution — please write to us. Include the page URL, the specific text, and the source you would like us to consult.
Email: info@hirudotherapysociety.org
We aim to acknowledge correction reports within 5 business days and to publish or close them within 30 days, faster for safety-relevant corrections.
Versioning and Public Audit
Every published page on this site carries a "Last updated" date and a "Reviewed by" attribution. The full edit history of every page is preserved in our public version-control repository. Anyone can compare any prior version to the current one.
This correction log is not a substitute for the full version history; it is a curated, plain-language summary of corrections we consider material to clinical or organizational accuracy.
Public, dated record of factual updates, numerical corrections, and editorial revisions. — March 18, 2026