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An article in the British Medical Journal ["Comparison of Treatment of Renal Calculi by Operative Surgery, Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy, and Extra-Corporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy" (1986, Vol. 292, pp. 879-882)] repeated that percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PN) had a success rate in removing kidney stones of 289 of 350 patients. The traditional method was 78% effective.

1. Is there evidence that the success rate for PN is greater than the historical success rate? Find the P-value. =2.06> 1.65, reject H.; P-value = 0.0196

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Final answer:

Yes, there is evidence that the success rate for Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy (PN) is greater than the historical success rate. The p-value for the test is 0.0196, which is less than 0.05, providing strong evidence that the success rate for PN is greater than the historical success rate.

Step-by-step explanation:

Yes, there is evidence that the success rate for Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy (PN) is greater than the historical success rate. The article states that the success rate for PN in removing kidney stones was 289 out of 350 patients, which is approximately 82.6%. On the other hand, the traditional method had a success rate of 78%. To determine if this difference is statistically significant, we can perform a hypothesis test.

To test if the success rate for PN is greater than the historical success rate, we can set up the following hypotheses:

Null Hypothesis (H0): The success rate for PN is equal to the historical success rate

Alternative Hypothesis (Ha): The success rate for PN is greater than the historical success rate

We can then perform a one-sample proportion z-test to determine the p-value for the test. By comparing the test statistic to the critical value at a significance level of 0.05 (corresponding to a z-score of 1.65 for a one-tailed test), we can determine if we reject or fail to reject the null hypothesis. In this case, the test statistic of 2.06 is greater than 1.65, indicating that we reject the null hypothesis in favor of the alternative hypothesis. The p-value for the test is 0.0196, which is less than 0.05, providing strong evidence that the success rate for PN is greater than the historical success rate.

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