Question:medium
The most useful indicator for an acute illness is:
The most useful indicator for an acute illness is:
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Which rate uses the number of cases (not the whole population) as its denominator over a short period?
Updated On: Jun 24, 2026
- Case fatality rate
- Standardized mortality ratio
- Cause-specific death rate
- Five-year survival rate
Show Solution
The Correct Option is A
Solution and Explanation
We need the index that best reflects how dangerous a short-course (acute) illness is.
Think about the denominator each option uses. Case fatality rate divides deaths from the disease by the people who actually had the disease, giving the chance that a diagnosed patient dies. Because acute illnesses resolve quickly, this case-based measure neatly captures their severity and is the standard tool in outbreak investigations.
The standardized mortality ratio is an age-adjusted comparison across populations and tells us nothing direct about how lethal one acute episode is. The cause-specific death rate uses the entire population as its base, so it reflects the overall burden of a cause rather than the risk to a sick individual. The five-year survival rate tracks outcomes over years and is meant for chronic diseases like cancer, not for something that is over in days.
So the case fatality rate is the right pick for an acute illness.
\[\boxed{\text{Case fatality rate}}\]
Think about the denominator each option uses. Case fatality rate divides deaths from the disease by the people who actually had the disease, giving the chance that a diagnosed patient dies. Because acute illnesses resolve quickly, this case-based measure neatly captures their severity and is the standard tool in outbreak investigations.
The standardized mortality ratio is an age-adjusted comparison across populations and tells us nothing direct about how lethal one acute episode is. The cause-specific death rate uses the entire population as its base, so it reflects the overall burden of a cause rather than the risk to a sick individual. The five-year survival rate tracks outcomes over years and is meant for chronic diseases like cancer, not for something that is over in days.
So the case fatality rate is the right pick for an acute illness.
\[\boxed{\text{Case fatality rate}}\]
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