Chapter 10, Problem 5FDD

Critical Thinking: Is the pain medicine Duragesic effective in reducing pain?

Listed below are measures of pain intensity before and after using the drug Duragesic (fentanyl) (based on data from Janssen Pharmaceutical Products. L.P.). The data are listed in order by row, and corresponding measures are from the same subject before and after treatment. For example, the first subject had a measure of 1.2 before treatment and a measure of 0.4 after treatment, Each pair of measurements is from one subject, and the intensity of pain was measured using the standard visual analog score. A higher score corresponds to higher pain intensity.

4. Matched Pairs The methods of Section 9-3 can be used to test a claim about matched data. Identify the specific claim that the treatment is effective, then use the methods of Section 9-3to test that claim.

5. Best Method? Which of the preceding results is best for determining whether the drug treatment is effective in reducing pain? Based on the preceding results, does the drug appear to be effective?