Data presentation 1

-
:the description of the data in the table. Look at A and Bopposite to help you.
11fer perforation 1967-1982 · ·· - ~
Referring to a table or figure
In an arride, you can write: In a presentation, you can use the
same expressions, or you can say:
Figure 1
Table 1 shows X.
Figure l.
e As you can see in Table 1 ... / 7
14
10
33
X-is shown in
-
Table l. 1967 290
1982 820
1967 36 32
Comparing variables 28 65
1982
When you refer to a table you will often need to compare one variable with another:
................................... . trends in -the frequency of hospital admission for perforated pep
Xwas twice effective ed Kingdom (2) ........................................ with changes in the annual prescription rates
as as
three times common Y. nti-inflammatory drugs,
n over 65 the annual number of prescriptions increased (3) ..........---..--·--------· tr,
Or you may need to compare the same varia ble at different times: ·ng which rates of perforation of duodenal ulcers (4) __________________ for
ore than (5) ........................................ for those aged 75 and over. Formen over 65,
The number of X in 2000 was double similar increase. Although perforation rates were actually lower for 1hose a,
triple / three times that in 1990.
was a (6) ................... increase in those aged 75 and above.
twofold pfrmis.sion from the
There was a (BMJ 1986;292: 614 Amended witt .
threefold increase in the number of X between 1990 and 2000.
he table is adapted from an arride entitled 'Alcohol drinking in mi
The number of X increased twofold
threefold
doubled between 1990 and 2000.
The number of X
trebled
ID Approximating
!ik r.tº· \ /0 / v• .,,.,_.:ers
54 (18.0)
When referring to the data presented on slides, numbers are often rounded, for example 41.3
becomes 41 or even 40. When this is done, it is common to use expressions of approximation:
- ··ements (follow up)
.ve had myocardial infarction 41 (13.7) 60 (142) _: 54 (1ª;) w· '
_ _ itive assessment _·_1, · · :c.· -
about
around
o impairment (controls) 261 (87) 391 ~2.4) , ;z57Í<W,1
Side-effects were reponed by approximately ild cognitive impairment 25 (83) 15 (3.5} ;,:-1ll·'b.'1ó~
forty patients. 14 (4.7) 17 (4) '.,: ·
roughly
sorne ......................,........... (under/less) thaJ1i20%, of the non ·· -
ith 204, or (2) ...................................... (almost/over) 70% , of the treq,
Numbers are frequently presented as fractions or percentages, even when the exact ) ........................................ (less/under) 14% of the non-drinkers had b
number is given.
end of the tollow-up period, compared with 54, or (4)
trequent drinkers. At the end of the ~llow-up ~ • (!
Roughly two-thirds of patients all three groups had no cognitive impairrnent lhere wi
reponed side-effects. Fifty-five, or sorne two-thirds,
(under/aroundl 8% of the.noh-drinkeis, and In 7"/o ofthe
of patients reponed side-effects. (7) .................................... (less/under) than 4 % of the 1nfreqi
(approximately/over) 5%; of tl)e non-drinkers had dementl;
When you want to emphasize a number, for example 9.8%, you can say: drinkers, and (9) .....;..,.......,..... ,,,.....- .. (more than/nearly) 6%
almost 10% more than 9% just under 10% raMJ 2004;329: 539 Amen
nearly 10% over 9%
and when you want to make the number seem small:
less than 10 %
118 Professional English in Use .Medicine
 ~ ci ca.--~1~
,,t ~ .-~,~ ~.-.. ~-~...-.-, ··· - . L •.'\. ~
., ~j,
Data presentation 2 56,1 ComP
lete the table with words
d from A opposite. Put a stress mark in front of the stressed
syllable of two-syllable wor s. The first one has been done for you.
Line graphs
Notice the verbs used to describe changes ·overa period of time.
/
" / drop
fall
reach a peak remain the same increase
rise fall
increase drop nse
goup decrease
go down Choose the correct words to complete the description of the bar chart. Look at A and e
56,2
Notice the difference: opposite to help you.
1'1 Figure 6 shows that the overall number of cases of HIV (1) ............. ... (dropped /
/
remained the same) yearly until 1988, then (2) .......____ .......... (rose/dropped)
/
(3) ........................................ (sharply/gradually). Cases in heterosexual men and women
(4) ........................................ (increased/fell) (5) ................ .................. (steeply/steadily), especially for
,, rise sharply rise steadily people exposed abroad. The number of infected people injecting drugs
(6) ........................................ (felVrose) after (7) ................................ (reaching a peak I dropping) in
steeply gradually
1987. This may be because of the development of needle exchange schemes.
rapidly
Mother-to-infant transmission (8).. ..... (represented/accounted) for a small
number of cases. Careful management of labour greatly reduced the number in the
A line graph
late 1990s.
Mother to infant
.••,- =
3000
Pie charts Therapeutic
Pie charts are an effective way of showing che relationship of
2500
pares to a whole: che complete circle or pie represents the whole,
\
while the pares are represenred by segments or slices. In this pie Heterosexual
chart, which shows a health authoriry's coses, the orange slice 2000
l:lu Homosexual
represents costs of hospital services. So, hospital services account L_
'E
for 60 % of the costs. Hospital services t
E
ººº
:,
Describing trends _ z
The bar chart below shows the prevalence of HIV in different countries.
HIV rates have fallen ' in. sorne countries HIV around
.• thr~qr!1 ' 00 Figure 6
-·
Caribbcan
as a result ~ ' safer sex; bu( the óverall ' , U')
"'"'
r-
o:,
trend is an increase ÍIJ.--HIV infecti0ns. The
Adults and children
0
"/Jth HIV, 2005
"'
"' "' "'
steepest increáses,in HJ.V infe~tions occurred .8
in Eastem Europe, Central Asia and East EastAsla 'lncrcale ., Which rype of graph would best represent the fo\lowing data?
Asia; but sub-Saharan Africa continued 1
to NorlhAnmica 2003-2005 56.3
1 Birth rates in rhe UK from 1980 to 2010
be the most af:fected p~rt of the world. Adult EastcmEuropc ,·. \ 2 lncapacity due to five different causes from 1995 ro 2005
infection rates in 'Kenya· have drnpped from andCentralkia
a peak of 10 ¡;,er cent in the late 1990s to UtinAmerka 3 Smuces of ionizing radiation in rhe UK
·p er cent in 2003:Jnv rates in ¡;,regnant South and
South-&st Asia
pínén in Zim0abwe also fe]] over the past Sub•SaharanAfrlea
,,r i. '-' " ll.r.\l '., " _,.,,
Ov
<
lt,., '1 0 .-J0"4 1-I _ .••~.-,wim~tt' CQc;tS
1 , ,_t~ chnWS "
Or;1w ;1 pie cll;nl or bar chart
The Times
you1 rountry. Pr;:1ctise dcscrib
121
Professiono/ Engiish in Use Medicine
 -~ i.:.v., .... __ ..........__ -..L. ·•- . ...,~---- ---------~ - - ' ""'-io.J.._ ' -
Research articles 5 ·1
7
Read che eight extracts from an arride in th B .. h
age and schizophrenia: a population based coe hntis
.
Medica\
ort study' D Journal
'd h' entided 'Paternal
arride eac .extract comes
. . from. There are two extracts from· ec,e e hwO¡,chh section
f of rhe
Loo~ at , hmt agam ,f yo u need more help. ac t e our sections.
The structure of a research article U 46
Research arrides are rypically divided into four
18 years.
1 People 1with older fathers were more likely rO ¡ose their
• parents before they reached rhe age of
main sections:
2 Using a large
paternal Swedish
age and record linkage
schizophrenia database ' we ·mveSt1gated
in offspring. · the association berween
lntroduction
Methods
3 We used Cox's proporcional hazards models to assess rhe influence of stI •
Results 4 Our co~ort compnsed 754,330 people born in Sweden berween 197f3:~;~~;ie o~ps\~h~s,s.
Discussion
and res1dent m Sweden at the age 0 ¡ 16 years. an ª ive
· h'confirm an
• associarion berween increased paternal age an d sehi zop hrema
~=
This is sometimes called the IMRaD structure of 5 Our findings · ·m
arrides.
The lntroduction contains background information;
o sprmg, w 1ch remamed even after we controlled for a wide range of r · \
ff
~-==q
f d'
in other words, it reminds the reader what is 6 There is growing evidence that facrors operating ar different points in life contribure ro an
already known about the subject. lt indudes individual's risk of developing schizophrenia.
information about previous studies, and explains what has not been investigated 7 The main limitation of our analysis is rhat case ascertainment was based on people admitted
previously. Finally, there is usually a statement of the objective, or purpose of the research ro hospital only with diagnoses recorded on an adminisrrative darabase.
(why they did it). 8 Table 1 shows the characteristics of(BMJ
subjecrs in relation to the age of their father.
2004;329: 1070 Amended with permission from the BMJ Publishing Group)
In the case of clínica! research, the Methods section gives details of the people who were studied
- the participants in rhe research. The method section also contains information about any
57 ,2 Look at che research questions (1-4) and write a s.arement of the objective of each srudy,
intervention carried out, for example medication, advice, operations. lt gives details of the steps
using an appropriare form of the verb in brackers. Look ar B opposire ro help you.
tal<en in the study, how the parricipants were chosen, and indudes the main things measured,
such as blood levels. Finally, there is information abour statistical analysis. 1 Can calcium and viramin D supplementarion reduce rhe risk of fractures in posrmenopausal
The Results section tells what was found, the findings of the study.
2 w omen?
Does che (way
assess)
docrors dress influence parients' confidence and rrust in them? (determine)
The Discussion section contains explanations, and daims for the imporrance of the study. 3 Is there a risk of herpes virus 8 (HHV-8) transmission by blood rransfusion? (evaluare)
It may also list limitations, or pans of rhe study which were unsatisfactory, and suggest 4 Is there an association berween never being rnarried and increased risk of death? (investigare)
what research needs to be done in the future. There is usually a Conclusion, which is
sometimes a separare section. 57 .3 Now write a sentence about the main finding in each of the srudies in 57.2 above,
At the end of mosr anides, there is a short section called Acknowledgements. In this the assuming a result as shown in brackets below. Look at C opposire to help you.
-
authors thank people who have helped them in their research. Finally, there is a list of
References - the books and anides which the authors have used. 1 (no)
2 (yes)
Objectives 3 (yes)
Statements about objectives often contain the following verbs: 4 (uncertain)
...
assess We assessed whether ...
determine The aim of our study was to determine whether ...
investiga te
evaluare
We investiga red the . . . ove,,r -roread1101,1
Wh en you a research article, which section do you read first? Why?
This study evaluated the .. .
Main findings
The Discussion section usually begins with a summary of the main findings. This is
related to the objective of the study. Typical verbs indude:
show We have shown that ...
confirm Our study confirmed that .. .
provide evidence These findings provide strong evidence that ...
lf the results are less certain:
suggest These results suggest that .. .
and with negative results:
fail to This study failed to show that ... Professional English in Use Medicine
- -- - · ~ ._. . _ _ , ._ • .L>.. 'l.., L = -·.,__~ .,
--- i, ,'llJJ ~ ~-~--U.,11,il•~ ~ .~
111!1!J Abstracts
-
Complete the sentences. Look at B opposite to help you.
58,1
1 The ........................................ is the aim or purpose of the researeh.
Structured abstracts 2 The ..................................:..... is the loeation - the eountry, or part of a eountry (e.g. a hospital;
An abstraer is a type of summary, and may be found in speeial eollections of abstracts, such sehool, etc.). ·
as Medline, or in eonferenee programmes, as well as at the beginning of a research article. . 3 The ........................................ are the people that the researehers studied.
Many journals require eontributors (authors wishing to publish their articles in the journal) 4 An ........................................ is a result.
to provide a structured abstraer - an abstraer which is divided into specific sections. 5· The ........................................ is the type of study, for example randomized eontrolled erial.
- The BMJ abstract 58.2 Answer the questions about the abstraer in B opposite.
The British Medica/ Journal structured abstraer is divided into the following sections: 1 Who took part in the study?
Objective 2 What was the aim of the study?
Design 3 Where was it carried out?
Setting 4 What did they measure?
Subjeets 5 What type of study was it?
Main outeome measure 6 According to this study, does retiring early prolong life?
Results
Conclusion 58.3 The sections of the abstraer below are in the wrong order, and che headings have been
Here is an example: removed. Decide the correct arder, and give each section a title from B opposite.
1 England, Scotland, and Wales.
AGE AT RETIREMENT ANO LONG TERM SURVJVAL OF AN INDUSTRIAL POPULATION : PROSPECTIVE COHORT STUDY 2 History of asthma, wheezy bronchitis, or wheezing obtained from interview with subjecrs'
OBJECTJVE parents at ages 7, 11, and 16 and reported at interview by subjecrs at ages 23 and 33.
To assess whether early retirement is associated with better survival. 3 To describe the incidence [... ] of wheezing illness from birth to age 33 and the relation of
incidence ro perinatal, medica!, social, environrnental, and lifestyle factors.
DESIGN 4 The cumulative incidence of wheezing illness was 18% by age 7, 24% by age 16, and 43%
Long term prospective cohort study." by age 33. Incidence during childhood was srrongly and independently associated with
SETTING pneumonia, hay fever, and eczema.[ .. .] lncidence from age 17 to 33 was associated strongly
Petroleum and petrochemical industry, United States. with active cigarette smoking and a history of hay fevei: [... ]
5 Atopy and active cigarette smoking are major influences on the incidence and recurrence of
SUBJECTS
wheezing during adulthood.
Past employees of Shell Oil who retired at ages 55, 60, and 65 between I January 1973 6 18,559 people born on 3-9 March 1958. 5801 (31 %) contributed information at ages 7, 11,
and 31 December 2003. 16, 23, and 33 years.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE 7 Prospective longitudinal study.
[8MJ 2005; Amendc:d with permission from the BMJ Publishing Group)
Hazard ratio of death adjusted for sex, year of entry to study, and socioeconomic status.
RESULTS
58.4 Sorne journals use different headings to those in the BMJ. Match the headings (1-5) to
Subjects who retired early at 55 and who were still alive at 65 hada significantly higher mortality than the corresponding BMJ headings (a-e).
those who retired al 65 (hazard ratio 1.37, 95% confidence interval 1.09 to 1.73). Mortality was also 1 Findings
significantly higher for subjects in the first 10 years after retirement at 55 compared with those who 2 Purpose
continued working (1.89, 1.58 to 2.27). After adjustrnent, mortality was similar between !hose who 3 Background
retired at 60 and !hose who retired at 65 ( 1.06, 0.92 to 1.22). Mortality did not differ for the first five 4 lnterpretation
years after retirement at 60 compared with continuing work at 60 (1 .04, 0.82 to 1.31 ). 5 Participants
CONCLUSIONS
a Introduction
Retiring early at 55 or 60 was not associated with better survival than retiring at 65 in a cohort of past b Objective
employees ofthe petrochemical industry. Mortality was higher in employees who retired at 55 than in e Subjects
those who continued work.ing. d Results
e Conclusion
[BMJ 2005;331: 995 Amended with permission from the BMJ Publishing Group)
Note: Slightly different headings are used in sorne journals. For example, The New E~gland ove-r -ro ljoll
Journa/ of Medicine divides articles into Background, Methods, Results and Condusions. You find an articlc that inkrcsls you. Hidt' thc abstral'l, thcn try to writc lhe abstrae\ yoursclf.
must consult the Guide to Contributor:s for the precise requirements of the journal you wish to Compart· ynur vcrsinn with lhc real onc.
contribute to. ·
~rofessional English in Use Medicine 125
124 Pmfp._1,;innnl l=m, /i~h ;,.. J /,.~ AA- ..J• , 'ff.&1""T
 . .... ...... ~ f
,
Conference presentations ere are sorne extracts from a presentation on carbon monoxide poiso • Aft
J-l . the spea ker ta lk ed about the pathophysiology f nmg.
59,1 · ouncing · his top1c, CO • er .
ann . f h o po1sonmg,
then the poss1ble sources o t e gas, and finally diagnosis and treatmenr. Put the extracts
The structure of a presentation . . d . IMR D sections (see in the correct order.
Conference (or congress) presentanons• are typi·cally d1v1de mto ª
Unit 57). . . . 1 There -is, however, _no evidence at ali that giving steroids in pharmacological doses is of any
lf the presentation has a different form, the spea ker maY start by outlmmg 1ts structure. proveo prophylacnc value ... .
This helps to orientare rhe audience: 2 How do we diagnose it? The early clinical appearances of carbon monoxide poisoning can
l'11 begin by ... be very, non-spec1fic ... .
First of ali, l'll ... 3 So, the act~al dia¡¡nosis of the condition can be very difficulr. ...
l'lJ then ... 4 l'd like to tell you about sorne of our experiences in relation to carbon monoxide
Secondly, l'll ... poisoning....
Finally, l'll ...
5 On ~he slide here, you'll see that there are a variery of sources of carbon monoxide, such as
Many speakers like ro start a new section with a signa!: car exhausts, fues, and so on ... .
Now, ... 6 f irst of ali, I want to concentrare on smoke from fues as one of the most important sources
Moving on to X, ... ef carbon monoxide ... .
As far as X is concemed, ... 7 Now, in relation to the treatment of carbon monoxide poisoning, 100 per cent oxygen
ac\mini~tered through a tight-fitting face mask or endotracheal rube is essential .. ..
An alternative technique is to use a question:
8 I think it's important to emphasize that the presence of cherry-red mucous membranes is a
How did we investigare this problem? (to introduce Method ) very, very poor sign ....
-
What did we find? (to introduce Results) 9 Now, you will remember that carbon monoxide strongly binds with haemoglobin to produce
How does this compare with previous studies? (to introduce Discussion) camoxyhaemoglobin....
10 The only accurate way of detecting whether the patient has been exposed to carbon
The introduction
monoxide is to measure carboxyhaemoglobin in, usually, the venous blood. ...
A formal way of beginning is:
1'd like to present to you the results of our research into ... w;ite the word or phrase used by rhe speaker in the presentation in 59 .1 above next to its
Many speakers prefer to begin in a less formal way: function. Look at B, C and D opposite to help you.
When we first began to Iook into the question of X, wé thoughr ...
Emphasizing
ItYou may known
is well wish tothat
begin
... with a generalisation or reference to shared knowledge: Listin_¡;
Man y studies have shown 'that .. . • Exemplifying
X has established clearly that .. .
Contrasting
- Signallíng Surnming up
Other signals that you may wish to give include: Changing topic
Emphasizing Referring to a slide
Giving examples Announcing the copie
I'd like to emphasize ...
Listing points For instan ce .. .
Firstly, ...
... such as .. .
Secondly, ... Contrasting
Referring to slides On the other hand ... ov~r .fo 11ou
In contrast .. . What makes a good prcsentation, in your opinion? Think about:
This slide shows ... However, .. .
loudncss of voicc
- The conclusion specd of dclivery
It is important to end well, for example by summing up the main conclusi,c>ns. use of cmphasis ancl pausing
.',·11!•' ff;-,
r' cyc contacl with the audicncc
So, . we can see .. . , ,....' .c:~,"'_f;
&U.'
.,.~:'1~
body languagc - posture and gestures
In conclusion, l'd like to say_/end. by .. . , .; ,.
visual aids.
To sum up,
Finally, these studies show . . . 1
126 " P-r, .. ,_ ' " •
m Case presentations Write the abbreviations in words. Look at Look at A nd .
-
60,1 on page 131 to help you. ª C oppos1te and at Appendix JI
y~ .. . .. .. . .:.'. . . . . . . . . . ... . . . . . . . . ..
Sections of a case presentation
2/52
In a case presentation, a doctor presents the details of a patient's case to colleagues at a
clinical meeting in a hospital. A typical case presentation is divided into the following
PH
sections:
FB
MI
Bl'
1/12
lntroduction nil
Patient's age and occupation a 34-year-old plumber, SH
Presenting symptom(s) and who presented with a one-month history of breathlessness. a&w
duration OE
Associated symptoms He also complained of ankle swelling which he' d had for CXR
two weeks. Put the sections of a short informal case presentation in the correct arder: Look at A opposite to
Past medica! history There was no relevan! past history. help you.
Social history He was married with one son. He smoked 25 cigarettes a 1 Mr lCollins is a 60-year-old security guard.
day and drank about 50 units of alcohol per week. 2 There was no relevant previous medica! history.
3 He smokes 20 cigarettes per day and drinks 15-20 units of alcohol each week.
Family history His father died of myocardial infarction at the age of 42. 4 On examination, there was marked tenderness around the lower legs above the ankles and
His mother was alive and well. knees. There were crackles at the left base posteriorly in the chest. There was nothing else
Findings on examination On examination, he was obese .. . abnormal to find on examination except for clubbing of the 6ngers.
Investigation results We did a chest X-ray which showed ... 5 He presented with a six-week history of pain in the legs.
6 Chest X-ray showed consolidation in the left lower lobe. Bronchoscopy and biopsy showed
Diagnosis So we thought he had .. . 'adenocarcinoma of the lung and computed tomography (en sean showed that this was not
Treatrnent We gave him intravenous furosemide and .. .
resectable. with chemotherapy has resulted in temporary improvement in·rhe chest X-ray but
7 Treatrnent
Outcome - what happened He responded to treatment and was discharged home.
che leg pain has continued to prove difficult to control.
8 The pain, which was located around the ankles, had been increasing in inrensiry and was
Bedside presentation
associated with local tenderness.
A less formal type of case presentation can take place at a patient's bed, for example 9 On routine questioning, he said that he had had a moming cough with small amounts of
during ward rounds, when the house officer presents a new patient to the consultant; or white sputum for many years. He produced, once, sorne srreaks of blood in the spurum.
in a teaching ward round, when a medica! student presents a case to the tutor. This type below and make notes for a slide. Look at C opposite to help you.
of presentation begins less formally: Read the presentanon v--~.. _
J'd !ike to present Mr McNamara who's a 63-year-old raxi driver who presented to the
This is Mr Simpson. He's 34, and he's a plumber. He carne into hospital ye&terday, Outpatient C!inic with a three-month history of increasing shorrness of breath and ankle
sent by his GP. He's complaining of breathlessness, which he's had for one month ... swe!ling. He had a chronic cough with purulent spururn and occasional haemopcysis. Of
note in his past medica! history was that he'd hada partial gasrrectomy in 1980.
On examination, he was pale. He was apyrexial. He had leg oedema, but no clubbing
Slides or lymphadenopathy. And examination of his chest was entirely normal. His !iver was
In a formal presentation, the main points are usually summarized on slides. palpable 5 centimetres below the costal margin, and was smooth and rion-tender, and there
was also a scar from his previous operation.
Mr Simpson 34, plumber
e/o dyspnoea 1/12; ankle swelling 2/52
SH married with 1 son
25 cigs/day; 50 units alcohol/week
PH nil relevant ove.-r -ro tjOLI
FH
OE
father d. 42 MI; mother a&w
,ob~1;,e; 2 spidernaevi on chest
i; Make note, ahoul a patient yoll know ami praetisc prcscnting him or her.
CXR

P 110/min reg.
·ep'10bt60
enlarged heart and bilat. pleural effusions
L ~~.,,t· ' ' ,,..;ti\.·
·'"""; ' ~
129
Professional English in Use Medicine
. '~