An experiment on the side effects of pain relievers assigned
patients with arthritis to take one of several
over-the-counter pain medications.
Of the 440 patients who took one brand of pain reliever, 23
suffered some “adverse symptom”.
Select the correct -value.
0.0 .004

In clinical studies, the -value helps determine the significance of results. In your case, calculating the -value involves determining the probability of observing 23 or more adverse symptoms if the true rate of side effects were significantly lower. Given the small number of adverse symptoms compared to the total patient pool, the -value would likely be low, signaling the likelihood of these symptoms occurring by chance alone is quite small. A -value of .004 suggests strong evidence against the null hypothesis, indicating a potential concern regarding the pain reliever.

To further understand this scenario, it’s important to consider statistical power and sample size. Larger sample sizes generally provide more reliable results, making it easier to detect true effects. In this experiment, with 440 patients, the observed adverse symptoms would help healthcare providers assess the safety of the pain reliever, leading to better-informed decisions for arthritis management.