ARGUMENT 51 二次感染对于肌肉拉伤病人康复速度的影响

TOPIC: ARGUMENT51 - The following appeared in a medical newsletter.

 

"Doctors have long suspected that secondary infections may keep some patients from healing quickly after severe muscle strain. This hypothesis has now been proved by preliminary results of a study of two groups of patients. The first group of patients, all being treated for muscle injuries by Dr. Newland, a doctor who specializes in sports medicine, took antibiotics regularly throughout their treatment. Their recuperation time was, on average, 40 percent quicker than typically expected. Patients in the second group, all being treated by Dr. Alton, a general physician, were given sugar pills, although the patients believed they were taking antibiotics. Their average recuperation time was not significantly reduced. Therefore, all patients who are diagnosed with muscle strain would be well advised to take antibiotics as part of their treatment."

WORDS: 446          TIME: 00:40:00          DATE: 2011-4-9 0:23:18

 

In this argument, the author concludes that secondary infections may keep some patients from healing quickly after severe muscle strain and descripedescribe the results of a study of two groups of patients to prove this point.Atpoint. At first glance, this argument seems to be convincing ,convincing, but further feflectionreflection reveals that these evdiencesevidences neither constitute a logical statement in support of its conclusion nor providing compelling support making this argument sound and invulnerable.

 

The threshold problem with this argument is that the author assumes that the two groupgroups of people have the same personal data.Howeverdata. However, it is possible that the first group might be younger on average, or less serious in the degree of muscle strain,sostrain, so the argument lacks evidence to confirm this assumption. UtilUntil the author provides futherfurther evidence to exclude all these concerns ,concerns, it is unfounded to reach the conclusion involved in the argument.

 

The second flaw that weakens the logic of this argument is that the author assumes that the typically expected result time is the same with the second group. NeverthelssNevertheless, to reach the conclusion about the secondary infection, the two groups should be compared directly to be of any effect. However, the first group's result was 40 percent quicker than "typical expected".Isexpected”. Is the "typically expected" time longer or shorter than that of the second group?Andgroup? And from what was the second group's recuperating time was not "significantly reduced"? The standards are quite unclear here.  In short ,short, without better explationexpiations ruling out these and other alternative explanations, it is reasonable to cast considerable doubt on this assumption.

 

The last but not the last important, even if the author can substantiate all of the foregongforegoing assumptions, his assumption that secondary infecionsinfections may keep some patients from healing quickly after severe muscle strain is still unwarranted, because no compelling evidence is provided to affirm this assumption. It is much more possible that muscle strain will recover sooner or later regardless of the secondary infection.Itinfection. It would be quite unscientific to advice each patient to take antibiotics as part of their treatment, because some patients are allergic to antibiotics. Some antibiotics, such as pinicillinpenicillin, are fatal to those allergic patients.Alsopatients. Also the conclusion is made too hasty because it has been admitted in the argument that the results are no more than preliminary ones. To be responsible for the patients and for the medical science in general, a more thorough research is definitely needed.

 

To sum up, the conclusion lacks credibility because the evidence cited in the analysis does not lend strong support to what the arguer maintains. ThereforTherefore, if the author had considered the given factors discussed above , the argument would have been more through and logically acceptable.