Experimental Design - Essay Example

Experimental Design Introduction: The article which has been chosen for study of experimental design is the Lim, et al, 2008, Detecting myocardial infarction in critical illness using screening troponin measurements and ECG recordings article.Treatment: There are several factors that make the clinical diagnosis of myocardial infarction in critically ill patients difficult. This study evaluates the impact of a screening intervention using assays of cardiac troponin and electrocardiograms (ECGs) in the diagnosis of critically ill patients in comparison to clinical diagnosis alone.

Assays of cardiac troponin levels and electrocardiograms were taken at the time of admission and then daily during the first week, subsequently on alternate months and then on a weekly basis, up to the discharge or demise of the patient in all patients that were admitted into the combined fifteen-bed university-affiliated surgical and medical intensive care unit for a period of two months. In addition to this data, additional data was collected from the patient medical chart, the ICU computerized clinical information system, and the hospital laboratory system in case report forms and then entered into an Excel program for statistical analysis.

The main constituents of the statistical analysis consisted of the comparing of continuous variables employing the Kruskall-Wallis non-parametric tests and the Mann-Whitney paired test for the purpose of exploring the differences in groups. Categorical variables were analyzed using Pearson Chi-square tests or Fisher’s exact tests depending on appropriateness of the test.Results: Screening investigations of cardiac troponin levels with ECGs helped to detect more myocardial infarction than through clinical diagnosis alone.

Yet the length of stay of the patients in the intensive care unit and the hospital and the mortality rates remained the same as was experienced with patients whose myocardial infarction was detected by the ICU team and by screening.Problems: The study was conducted only for two month period in all patients admitted into the intensive care unit, which led to getting an evaluation of only of 103 patients. The sample size is too small for getting suitable results that are valid and acceptable. The problem of validity is pronounced, as there is variability of the association of elevated of elevated cardiac troponins in critically ill patients with mortality and other adverse outcomes, which calls for a larger sample size.

This problem is accepted by the authors.Conclusion: Elevated cardiac troponin levels are frequently seen in critically ill patients during screening and appear to have an important prognostic association with increased rate of mortality in hospitals. However, there is the need for further research to evaluate whether screening of cardiac troponin levels lead to early interventions for myocardial infarction and reduce hospital mortality. Part – 2 What is the importance of a literature review?

What should you do if there is no research written on your topic? A literature review is useful in several ways. By reviewing the existing literature we come to know more about the subject, the current level of knowledge of the subject and gaps that exist in the knowledge. These gaps in the existing knowledge levels point the direction in which future research needs to concentrate on. It also shows whether there is agreement about what is known on the topic, the theories that exist with regard to the topic and conflicting issues with regard to the topic.

Reviewing literature enables to take a stand on topic or theory, where there are conflicting views and justify the position taken with regard to the topic. Finally a literature review of research undertaken shows us the different kinds of research undertaken, how the objectives of the research are arrived at, the different kinds of methodologies and research designs employed in research, the way data is collected, collated and analyzed to produce the results and the findings, and how the conclusion is arrived at.

This is particularly useful when setting out to do research for it acts as a guide (Ruane, 2005).Should there be an occasion when there is no research written on the topic, then the only way to get adequate knowledge of the subject is to fall back on books that give knowledge on the subject matter. By reading different books by several authors it could become possible to attain knowledge from different perspectives and thereby get a broader understanding of the subject matter. Literary ReferencesLim, W.

, Holinski, P., Devereaux, P. J., Tkacyzk, A., McDonald, E., Clarke, F., Qushmaq, I., Terrenato, I., Schunemann, H., Crowther, M., & Cook, D. (2008). Detecting myocardial infarction in critical illness using screening troponin measurements and ECG recordings article. Critical Care. Retrieved May 4, 2008, from, CRITICAL CARE Web Site: http://ccforum.com/content/12/2/r36.Ruanne, M. J. (2005). Essentials of Research Methods: A Guide to Social Science Research. Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing.