"Pharmacy A pharmaceutical company has developed an experiment...

Question

"Pharmacy A pharmaceutical company has developed an experimental drug meant to relieve symptoms associated with the common cold. The company identifies 300 adult males 25 to 29 years old who have a common cold and randomly divides them into two groups. Group 1 is given the experimental drug, while group 2 is given a placebo. After 1 week of treatment, the subjects report whether they still have cold symptoms, or not.

Think of some of the factors in the study. How are they controlled?"

Think of some of the factors in the study. How are they controlled?"

Accepted Answer

Hello there. Today we are going to solve the following practice problem together. So first off, let us read the problem and highlight all the key pieces of information that we need to use in order to solve this problem. A company tests a nasal spray for seasonal allergies. 240 adults ages 20 to 40 with active flare-ups are randomly assigned to receive either the active spray or a placebo. The trial is double blind, and after 10 days, researchers compare the proportion still reporting moderate to severe symptoms. Which option best describes how key factors are controlled? OK. So it appears for this particular problem, we're asked to look at our multiple choice answers and we're asked to determine which of our multiple choice answers best describes how key factors are controlled in this particular. Experiment this particular study. So it appears that we're given a scenario where we have a company that's testing out a nasal spray, and based on the information that is provided to us by the prom itself, we're asked to determine which of our multiple choice answers describes how key factors are controlled in this particular study. So now that we know what we're ultimately trying to solve for, let us read off our multiple choice answers to see what our final answer may be. So A is random assignment placebo, double blind, standardized 10 day follow up, and restricted eligibility ages 20 to 40 with current flare. B is self-selection into groups, open label dosing and different follow-up times by group. C is matching on favorite season, no blinding allowing any other meds without recording them, and C is convenient sampling only and analyzing means instead of proportions. OK. So our first step that we need to take is we need to take a moment to identify the key factors mentioned in this particular problem. So our first key element It's going to be random assignment, so we have randomly assigned. That's our first key element. Then we're also told that a placebo, a sugar pill, you might have heard the term sugar pill, a placebo, which is in not active spray, so that means it's No, it's a placebo, so it's not the real deal. And then we have double blind, which is another key turn that we need to focus on, and then we have a standardized. Follow up, so that means they compare the proportion still reporting moderate to severe symptoms. And we also have restricted eligibility because we're only examining 240 adults within the age range of 20 to 40 years old with current flare-ups. So now we need to review each multiple choice answer to determine which one which one of the multiple choice answers include these three control values. So these key terms that I mentioned are all our key factors that are controlled. The age range is controlled. It's a double blind experiment, so it's a very controlled, very specific type of study. A placebo is being used, which is a control factor. We also are controlling the data collection, making it randomly assigned, and we're also comparing the proportion that is still reporting moderate to severe symptoms because once again. We have this standardized follow up, which is also a control factor. So we need to take these key factors that are controlled, and we need to match them to our multiple choice option that best captures all of these different control values. So it appears based on this information, our correct and final answer will be multiple choice answer letter A. Because it lists all the controls described in the problem, and multiple choice answers letter B, C, and D are incorrect for the following reasons. So B is incorrect because it describes poor controls such as self-selection, open label, and a different follow-up which does not match the control factors mentioned in the problem itself. Multiple choice answer letter C is incorrect because it describes poor controls, which states no no blinding. So even though we're told that this is a double blind experiment, they're told that there's no blinding, no control, no other medications being used. Or no meds being used, so that's why C is incorrect. And multiple choice answer letter D is incorrect because once again it describes poor controls such as convenience sampling and wrong analysis. And this is not matching up to any of the controls mentioned by the prom itself. So, for our 3rd and final step, we need to make our final conclusions. That will mean that our final answer without a doubt will be multiple choice answer letter A, random assessment, placebo, double blind standardized 10 day follow up, and restricted eligibility ages 20 to 30 with current flare-ups. So specifically, we can go through and highlight. After 10 days, researchers will compare the proportion still reporting moderate to severe symptoms. So out of all the multiple choice answers, only multiple choice answer letter A best describes how the key factors are controlled in this particular experiment. Thank you so much for watching. Hopefully that helped, and I can't wait to see you in the next video. Bye.

Key Concepts

Randomization

Control Group and Placebo

Blinding

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