Final answer:
The adjusted hazard ratio for a PPR of 21.84 compares the risk between a treatment group and a control group, indicating the treatment group has a significantly higher risk of developing PPR.
Step-by-step explanation:
The adjusted hazard ratio for a postoperative pulmonary risk (PPR) of 21.84 is used to compare the risk of experiencing a specific event (e.g., a complication after surgery) between two groups of patients. In epidemiology, a hazard ratio greater than one suggests an increased risk in the group being studied compared to a baseline or control group. In this context, the two groups being compared could be patients who received a certain treatment or intervention (exposed group) versus those who did not (control or unexposed group).
For example, one group may consist of patients undergoing surgery who were treated with a specific medication to prevent PPR, while the other group may consist of patients who received no such treatment. With an adjusted hazard ratio of 21.84, we would infer that the treated group has a 21.84 times higher risk of developing PPR than the untreated group. Since the p-value associated with this data is 0.0077, indicating the result is statistically significant, the likelihood that the heightened risk is due to chance is very low.