Logical Reasoning

PT141 · S4 · Q6 Clinician: Patients with immune system

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Clinician: Patients with immune system disorders are usually treated with a class of drugs that, unfortunately, increase the patient's risk of developing osteoporosis, a bone-loss disease.

Conclusion (should = opinion)

Patients with immune system disorders should take this new drug (that enhances growth of new bone cells) in addition to the drug that helps to preserve existing bone.

Evidence (since)

Patients with immune system disorders usually get treated with drugs that increase the risk of osteoporosis, a bone-loss disease.

They take a drug that helps to preserve existing bone, and this new drug enhances the growth of new bone cells.

Evaluate

How could we potentially argue that these patients should not take this new drug that enhances the growth of new bone cells?

We'd probably have to either argue that it won't help them or that it will harm them.

Maybe enhancing new bone cells doesn't really do anything to lower the risk of developing osteoporosis (or lessen the severity of the disease once it's present).

Or, maybe this new drug has side effects that outweigh the positives. In particular, maybe it has side effects that are bad for people with immune system disorders, or maybe this new drug would have a harmful interaction with one of the existing drugs they're taking.

Goal

Look for an answer posing a question that could be answered in a way that would weaken the argument.

In other words,

6.

Which one of the following would be most useful to know in order to evaluate the clinician's argument?

  1. How large is the class

    No Impact

    Whether we say this class of drugs has two members or two hundred members, it has no effect. No numerical answer here is going to suggest that patients not take this new drug on top of their old bone-preserving drug..

    1% picked this

  2. Why are immune system disorders

    No Impact

    Whatever the backstory is, it won't change the fact that immune system disorders are treated with drugs that increase the risk of osteoporosis. These patients will be taking those drugs either way, in the context of this argument. So the exact medical rationale for why those drugs help their disorder but inflate the risk of osteoporosis has nothing to do with our task of evaluating the positives / negatives of this new drug.

    3% picked this

  3. Is the new drug more

    Weak Impact

    If we say, "yes, the new drug is more expensive than the current bone-preserving drug they're taking", then that gives us a bit of a way to argue that "these patients should not take this new drug in addition to the current one". But the fact that the new drug would be more expensive isn't necessarily a compelling negative. If the old drug is $5 / month and the new drug is $6 / month, that's not a compelling reason to not take the new drug. For this answer to have a stern counterpunch, it needs to be worded in a way that gives us a bigger weakener: e.g., Is the new drug prohibitively expensive for most patients with immune system disorders?

    0% picked this

  4. How long has the drug

    No Impact

    Whether we say the bone-preserving drug they're currently taking has been in use for 1 year or 100 years, it makes no difference. No numerical answer here is going to suggest that patients shouldn't take this new drug on top of their old bone-preserving drug.

    2% picked this

  5. Correct

    To what extent does the

    Why this is right

    If we say that the new drug retains 0% of its efficacy when used in combination with the other drugs, then that gives us a strong way to argue that "patients should not take this new drug in addition to the drugs they're already taking".

    Skill tested: Evaluate · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.

    94% picked this

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