Biostatistics & Research · single question
A study comparing articaine vs lidocaine shows: RR = 3.1, 95% CI = 3.4–4.7, p-value < 0.001. What does this tell us about efficacy?
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Correct answer: C. Articaine is more effective than lidocaine
✓ C) Articaine is more effective than lidocaine is correct.
RR (relative risk/ratio) = 3.1 means articaine's success rate is 3.1× that of lidocaine — indicating superior efficacy. The p-value < 0.001 confirms the result is highly statistically significant (not due to chance). The 95% CI of 3.4–4.7 does not cross 1.0, further confirming significance. Safety is not addressed by these statistics — RR here measures effectiveness, not adverse events.
RR (relative risk/ratio) = 3.1 means articaine's success rate is 3.1× that of lidocaine — indicating superior efficacy. The p-value < 0.001 confirms the result is highly statistically significant (not due to chance). The 95% CI of 3.4–4.7 does not cross 1.0, further confirming significance. Safety is not addressed by these statistics — RR here measures effectiveness, not adverse events.
- A. RR = 3.1 with CI (3.4-4.7) not crossing 1 and p <0.001 means: articaine achieves the anesthesia outcome 3.1× more often than lidocaine, and this result is STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT (p <0.001) and precisely estimated (CI does not cross 1). Therefore, ARTICAINE IS MORE EFFECTIVE THAN LIDOCAINE for anesthetic efficacy.
- B. RR (Relative Risk) measures EFFICACY, not safety. The RR of 3.1 tells us about how much more likely articaine achieves the outcome than lidocaine — it says nothing about safety.
- C. If they were equivalent, the RR would be ~1.0 and the CI would include 1. RR of 3.1 with p <0.001 clearly shows they are NOT equivalent.
- D. RR = 3.1 FAVORS articaine. An RR >1 (when articaine is the reference) means the articaine group has 3.1× MORE of the outcome (presumably, better anesthesia). Lidocaine being more effective is the opposite.
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