please form a reply to this student's post for an article discussion board. thank you.

**Reply should be engaging and not simply agree with the post. "Posts to classmates' articles should include critical thought, including questions, comments, or other points of view that show scholarly thought (points will not be awarded for "I agree" or "interesting article" posts that do not add to the content of the discussion)."

Erika House Multidetector Computed Tomography for Acute Pulmonary Embolism

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa052367

1. What is the research hypothesis or research question? (5 pts)

Multidetector CTA can reliably detect and rule out acute pulmonary embolism.

1. What are the main study variable(s)? How would you describe the variables (independent vs dependent; what level of measurement are they; are they continuous or discrete; etc)? (5 pts)

The independent study variable were patients with suspected acute pulmonary embolisms. This measurement is discrete.

The dependent study variable was the type of diagnostic testing they underwent, whether it was CTA-CTV, ventilation-perfusion scanning, venous compression ultrasonography of the lower extremities.

1. What statistical test was used? (5 pts)

This article used standard methods to calculate the sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values, with a 95% confidence interval.

1. What conclusions were made based on the results of the statistical test? (5 pts)

Of the 773 patients with an adequate CTA, the sensitivity of CTA for the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism was 83 percent (150 of 181 patients; 95 percent confidence interval, 76 to 92 percent), and the specificity was 96 percent (567 of 592 patients; 95% confidence interval, 93 to 97%) (Stein et. al, 2006). The sensitivity of results of the CTA-CTV for the diagnosis of a pulmonary embolism was 90 percent (164 of 183 patients, 95 % confidence interval, 84 to 93 percent), and specificity was 95 percent (524 of 554 patients; 95% confidence interval, 11.6 to 23.5). Thus, multi-detector CTA-CTV had a higher sensitivity for the diagnosis of a PE than a CTA alone, with similar specificity.

References

Stein, P. D., Fowler, S. E., Goodman, L. R., Gottschalk, A., Hales, C. A., Hull, R. D., Leeper, K.

V., Popovich, J., Quinn, D. A., Sos, T. A., Sostman, H. D., Tapson, V. F., Wakefield, T.

W., Weg, J. G., & Woodard, P. K. (2006). Multidetector computed tomography for acute

pulmonary embolism. New England Journal of Medicine, 354(22), 2317-2327.

https://doi.org/10.1056/nejmoa052367