The newsletter concludes that all the patients suffering form muscle strain should take antibiotics in order to prevent secondary infections which may keep the patients' from recovery.To support the conclusion, the author draws a comparison between two groups of patients with severe muscle strain that take different medicine as their different treatment, and
the result shows that the group of patients taking antibiotics have recovered faster. Close examination of the study in details, however, reveals that it lends little credible support to the conclusion.
First, the newsletter shows nothing about the size of the groups, the patients’ age and physical quality, or other factors that may affect the healing in the study. Lacking information about the number of the patients, whether the patients constitute a sufficiently large sample so as to be representative is still in doubt.
Besides, the recovery time of each patient is different, when it comes to the different age and physical quality of the patients, or other factors rather than taking antibiotics
influencing the recuperation. Without giving the detail information like these, the study is less convincing.
In addition, it is possible that the difference of the two doctors other than taking antibiotics causes the different recuperation time. Dr. Newland, specializing the sports medicine, may do much better at treating the severe muscle strain than Dr. Alton, a general
physician, does. For example, Dr. Newland might have some special methods during their treatment plan, such as physical treatment, requiring patients more exercises, which could help patients’ recovery, while Dr. Alton’s patients just take some common cures. Thus, the average of recovery time of Dr. Newland's patients is less than the Dr. Alton's group of patients. This possibility further weaken the study.
Furthermore, the author fails to state information about the antibiotics. When the antibiotics are prescribed, whether the antibiotics bring about side effects and how the side effects impact the patients are still unknown. Therefore, regarding the unknown results when patients taking the antibiotics, the safety of antibiotics in the treatment, which can reduce the recuperation time, would doubt again.
Finally, even if the antibiotics really work in the cure of the severe muscle strain, all patients diagnosed with muscle strain advised to take it is still doubtful. If the price of the antibiotics is very expensive, and the patient just suffers from a slight muscle strain, will taking antibiotics still be worth? Unless the author clearly explain this question, the claim that all patients diagnosed with muscle strain should be advised to take antibiotics as part of their treatment is unconvincing.
In sum, to persuade me that all patients with muscle strain should take antibiotics as part of their treatment, the study should be improved. More information about the two different groups, such as the age, the physical quality, the health condition of the patients, the detail treatment and their doctors should be considered. Only when the antibiotics is the only factors that influence the result, can the argument be more credible. |