Attempted duplicate publication

A reviewer informed Journal A that a manuscript s/he had been asked to review was very similar to one s/he had reviewed for Journal B. The lead author was informed about this and told the editors would come back to him after discussing the matter further.

These discussions found striking similarities between the two papers and that the two manuscripts had been handled within the same time period. The Editorial Board concluded that the author had violated publication ethics for medical journals, and plans to reject the manuscript, explaining the reasons to the author, and informing Journal B of its findings.