【Flyer杀G作文组】1月18日Argument51-By Yuqivickey

yuqivickeyUID: 2962925

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."

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The argument seems to be logical, but actually is not reasoned. The arguer advocates that taking antibiotics helps with muscle strain, based on the result of a study in which two groups of patient have been treated respectively with antibiotics and sugar pills by two different doctors, and antibiotic takers healed more quickly than the pill takers. Though it sounds to be scientific,
I have to point out some important flaws weakening the accurateness and validation of the argument.

To begin with, one flaw is about the two groups of patients, of which the arguer fails to give any detail information and thereby leaving a lot of space to suspect. Overall, there are two possibilities about the patients and their muscle strains that will absolutely influence the result of the study on antibiotics. First, the two groups of patients may be in different ages and therefore have totally different health situation in terms of healing the muscle strains. Let's say one group is made up of young teenagers between 17 to 25 who boast a strong body and even one is injured in a basketball, the treatment will appear to be much more quicker than other age bracket no matter they take antibiotics or pills; another group consists of people older than 50, and even they take the most effective medicine in the world to treat the muscle strain they get during claiming the stairs, it will take them a long time to recover slowly. Therefore, concerning about the age and body situation, the recuperation has a little to do with the medicine.

The second possibility is in that the two groups of patients have different types of muscle strains which will also affect the recuperation time. When patients of one group is only injured slight muscle strains during football matches, claiming mountains, or a careless fall from the ladder, it is no wander that they
heal much quicker than the group of patients who get muscle strains in a car accident. Thereby, different types of muscle strain will also decide the healing time, which is no excluded in the argument.

Moreover, different doctors may expand the gap between the real result of the study and the ideal result the researcher wish to have. Dr.Newland and Dr.Alton may have different level of doctoring leading to different treatment and results. Perhaps taking sugar pill have the same or even better effect compared to taking antibiotics when they are medicined in certain way and dose. Just because Dr.Alton fails to follow the most efficient way to take pills in the study, make the conclusion that taking antibiotics is quicker than taking pills. After all, doctors of different career experience have different diagnose and treatment.

Admitted, antibiotics is sometimes the better choice in sight of the well-being of the patients. Considering a scientific and responsible attitude, the arguer still needs more careful investigate into antibiotics and sugar pills before drawing a definite conclusion.