stats and clinical sciences Flashcards
what is epidemiology
study of disease in population
it specifically look at the patterns, associations and effects of the disease in a defined population
what is incidence?
the number of individuals that develop a condition (new cases) during a defined period of time in a defined population
What is prevalence?
The total number of individuals in a defined population that have a condition at or during a specific period of time
prevalence = incidence x average duration
what is point prevalence?
the total number of individuals in a defined population that has a condition at specific time point
what is period prevalence?
the proportion of a population which have a condition during a defined period of time
what is lifetime prevalence?
the proportion of a population that will experience the condition at some point during their lifetime.
what is the crude birth rate
the number of live births / mid-yeah population
what is crude birth rate
The incidence of death from a specified condition or disease
what is sensitivity
the ability of a test to correctly identify those with a condition
what is specificity
the ability of a test to correctly identify those that do not have a condition
what is the positive predictive value ?
The probability that a subject with a positive test actually has the condition being tested for
What is number neaded to treat ?
the number of patients it is necessary to treat to stop an event or illness, i.e needing to treat 10 people with a statin to prevent one heart attack
what is a type one error?
Incorrectly rejecting the null hypothesis (saying a treatment or intervention works when it does not)
What is a type two error?
incorrectly accepting the null hypothesis (saying a treatment does not work when it does)
what are the different types of bias?
Information bias - results from systematic differences in the way data is obtained from the study groups - examples include observer bias, interviewer bias, recall bias, instrument bias
Reporter bias - occurs when people report particular events with an unconscious preference
selection bias - occurs when there is a systematic difference between the study participants verses those who did not participate or between those in the treatment group vs those in the control group
What is the difference between parametric and non-parametric?
arametric tests are those that make assumptions about the parameters of the population distribution from which the sample is drawn. This is often the assumption that the population data are normally distributed. Non-parametric tests are “distribution-free” and, as such, can be used for non-Normal variables.
What are the statistical tests used for parametric data?
Student’s t-test - paired or unpaired
Pearson’s product-moment coefficient - correlation
paired data refers to data obtained from a single group of patients, e.g. Measurement before and after an intervention. Unpaired data comes from two different groups of patients, e.g. Comparing response to different interventions in two groups
what are the statistical tests used for non-parametric tests?
Non-parametric tests:
Mann-Whitney U test
compares ordinal, interval, or ratio scales of unpaired data
Wilcoxon signed-rank test
compares two sets of observations on a single sample, e.g. a ‘before’ and ‘after’ test on the same population following an intervention
chi-squared test
used to compare proportions or percentages e.g. compares the percentage of patients who improved following two different interventions
Spearman, Kendall rank - correlation
What are the phases of the cardiac action potential?
Phase 0 - rapid depolarisation - rapid sodium influx, these channels automatically deactivate after a few ms
1 - early repolarisation - efflux of potassium
2 - plateau - slow influx of calcium
3 - final dépolarisation - efflux of potassium
3 - final dépolarisation - efflux of potassium
4 - restoration of ionic concentrations - resting potential is restored by Na+/K+ ATPase. There is slow entry of sodium into the cell decreasing the potential difference until the threshold potential is reached, triggering a new action potential
what is the conduction velocity in the different areas of the heart?
Atrial conduction - spreads along ordinary atrial myocardial fibres at 1m/sec
AV node conduction 0.05m/sec
Ventricular contraction - the Purkinje fibres are of large diameter and achieve velocities of 2-4 m/sec, the fastest conduction in the heart. This allows a rapid and coordinated contraction of the ventricles
What is the most important stimulator of the central chemoreceptors?
a decrease in pH.
Central chemoreceptors, located in the medulla oblongata of the brain, are primarily sensitive to changes in the pH of cerebrospinal fluid. They respond to changes in hydrogen ion concentration resulting from alterations in arterial CO2 tension
An increase in arterial pCO2 leads to an increase in hydrogen ions and this a decrease in pH. This stimulates central chemoreceptors leading to an increased rate and depth of respiration to eliminate excess CO2 and restore blood pH to normal
what controls respiration?
central regulatory centres
central and peripheral chemoreceptors
pulmonary receptors
where are the central respiratory regulatory centres?
medullary respiratory centre
apneustic centre (lower pons)
pneumotaxic centre (upper pons)
where are the central and peripheral chemoreceptors?
central: raised [H+] in ECF stimulates respiration
peripheral: carotid + aortic bodies, respond to raised pCO2 & [H+], lesser extent low pO2
What are the pulmonary receptors involved in respiratory control?
stretch receptors, lung distension causes slowing of respiratory rate (Hering-Bruer reflex)
irritant receptor, leading to bronchoconstriction
juxtacapillary receptors, stimulated by stretching of the microvasculature
What is the likelihood ratio for a positive test result?
How much the odds of the disease increase when a test is positive
how is absolute risk reduction calculated?
Absolute risk reduction = (Control event rate) - (Experimental event rate)
what are the two types of error when testing the null hypothesis?
Type I - the null hypothesis is rejected when its true
Type II - the null hypothesis is accepted when it is false
how is power defined in medical statistics?
Power = 1 - the probability of a type II error
how do you calculate a liklihood ratio for a positive test result ?
Likelihood ratio for a positive test result = sensitivity / (1 - specificity)
how do you calculate likelihood ratio for a negative test result?
likelihood ratios for a negative test result = 1-sensitivity/specificity
what is the power of a study?
the probability of detecting a statistically significant difference
what are the properties of normal distribution?
symmetrical i.e. Mean = mode = median
68.3% of values lie within 1 SD of the mean
95.4% of values lie within 2 SD of the mean
99.7% of values lie within 3 SD of the mean
what are the levels of evidence?
Ia - evidence from meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials
Ib - evidence from at least one randomised controlled trial
IIa - evidence from at least one well-designed controlled trial which is not randomised
IIb - evidence from at least one well-designed experimental trial
III - evidence from case, correlation and comparative studies
IV - evidence from a panel of experts
how are recommendations graded?
Grade A - based on evidence from at least one randomised controlled trial (i.e. Ia or Ib)
Grade B - based on evidence from non-randomised controlled trials (i.e. IIa, IIb or III)
Grade C - based on evidence from a panel of experts (i.e. IV)
what are the functions of vitamin D?
increases plasma calcium and plasma phosphate
increases renal tubular reabsorption and gut absorption of calcium
increases osteoclastic activity
increases renal phosphate reabsorption
What kind of disorder is fragile X syndrome?
Fragile X syndrome is a trinucleotide repeat disorder.
what are the features of fragile X?
Features in males
learning difficulties
large low set ears, long thin face, high arched palate
macroorchidism
hypotonia
autism is more common
mitral valve prolapse
Features in females (who have one fragile chromosome and one normal X chromosome) range from normal to mild
How is fragile X diagnosed?
can be made antenatally by chorionic villus sampling or amniocentesis
analysis of the number of CGG repeats using restriction endonuclease digestion and Southern blot analysis
what are the subunits of trop and what do they bind to?
Subunits of troponin
troponin C: binds to calcium ions
troponin T: binds to tropomyosin, forming a troponin-tropomyosin complex
troponin I: binds to actin to hold the troponin-tropomyosin complex in place
which tract are pain and temp carried in?
spinothalamic tract
where does the spinothalamic tract decussate?
At the level it enters at
there fore a hemisection of the cord will result in contralateral loss of these functions.