argument51 [OB小组]_第3次作业_肌肉拉伤与抗生素

xiao8686UID: 2266881

TOPIC: ARGUMENT51 - The following appearedin a medical newsletter.

"Doctors have long suspected thatsecondary infections may keep some patients from healing quickly after severemuscle strain. This hypothesis has now been proved by preliminary results of astudy of two groups of patients. The first group of patients, all being treatedfor muscle injuries by Dr. Newland, a doctor who specializes in sportsmedicine, took antibiotics regularly throughout their treatment. Theirrecuperation time was, on average, 40 percent quicker than typically expected.Patients in the second group, all being treated by Dr. Alton, a generalphysician, were given sugar pills, although the patients believed they weretaking antibiotics. Their average recuperation time was not significantlyreduced. Therefore, all patients who are diagnosed with muscle strain would bewell advised to take antibiotics as part of their treatment."
WORDS: 504          TIME: 00:30:00+20:00          DATE: 2007-7-15 21:42:30

In this argument, the arguer makes therecommendation that any people who suffered muscle strain should be treatedwith antibiotics. To support his point, the author cites the result of anexperiment in which the patients who take antibiotics recuperated quicker thanthe control not given antibiotics. It seems logical on the surface though closescrutiny can reveal that such argument is with critical flaws.

Firstly, the arguer supplies littleinformation about the patients in these two groups. Hence the results of theexperiments afterwards are futile in proving the effects of antibiotics. Thepatients of Dr. Newland may possibly have comparatively stronger bodies whichensure the quicker recuperation than the control group. Or perhaps the patientsin two groups suffer from muscle strain to different extent and the patients inDr. Newland suffer less severely. In sum, the arguer provides quite limitedbackgrounds about the patients in the two groups, which made the results extremelyunreliable.

Secondly and most importantly, even if thepatients in two groups differ little, this argument still can hardly standsince the arguer arbitrarily ascertain the relationship between secondaryinfections and muscle strain which is to prevent secondary infections by takingantibiotics can muscle strain be healed. However, the arguer gives no evidenceto support such point of view. It is quite possible that there are many otherfactors that can hinder the recuperation of muscle strain rather than secondaryinfections. For example, it is perhaps the side-effects of one or a few usuallyprescribed medicines. Or it can also maybe the fact the patients do not stickto the recovering scheme by still using their muscles, considering manypatients who suffer from severe muscle strain are mostly athletes who are veryfond of excising. Thus, in the experiment the author cites, it can be highlypossible Dr. Newland regulate their recovering regime or scheme. Or there is ahuge chance that Dr. Newland prescribed some other medicines which take effectsinstead of antibiotics considering s/he is an expert in sports medicine.Therefore, without lending credible evidence to establish the direct causalitybetween secondary infections and muscle strain recovery, the arguer can notconvince me that to stop secondary infections by using antibiotics can musclestrain be healed quickly.

Thirdly, the author neglects other factorsthat could make antibiotics unfeasible for everyone who suffer from musclestrain. For instance, antibiotics may be exceedingly expensive thus the poorcan not afford them. Or there are some unknown side-effects of antibiotics suchas causing allergy to some people. In other words, all the problems that couldbe brought along by taking antibiotics should be taken into account before thearguer made the suggestion.

In conclusion, the argument is notpersuasive at all as it stands. To make it more convincing, the author needs tooffer more information and evidence to sustain the actual healing effects ofantibiotics for muscle strains. Also, more data ought to be collected to enableantibiotics a feasible treatment for everyone who suffers from muscle strain.


好久不写....竟然写了argument都要这么久时间，瀑布汗...

xiao8686UID: 2266881

晕...怎么没人改改..自己up一下