Bellevue Hospital in New York City uses 100.6 degrees F as the lowest temperature considered to indicate a fever.
a. What percentage of normal and healthy adults would be considered to have a fever?
b. Does this percentage suggest that a cuttoff of 100.6 degrees F is appropriate?
To answer these questions, we need to calculate the percentage of normal and healthy adults who would be considered to have a fever using the given cutoff temperature of 100.6 degrees F.
a. To find the percentage of adults with a fever, we need to compare the cutoff temperature to the normal body temperature range. According to medical literature, the average normal body temperature for adults ranges between 97.7 and 99.5 degrees F.
Let's calculate the percentage:
Percentage of adults with a fever = (Number of adults with temperature ≥ 100.6) / (Total number of normal and healthy adults) * 100
Unfortunately, we don't have the specific number of normal and healthy adults, so we cannot calculate the exact percentage. However, if we assume a large sample size that represents a diverse group of adults, we can use an example with 100 adults:
If we assume that the normal and healthy adult population is represented by 100 individuals:
- The number of adults considered to have a fever (assuming 100% adherence to Bellevue Hospital's cutoff) would be zero since the normal body temperature range does not reach 100.6 degrees F.
Therefore, in this example, the percentage of normal and healthy adults considered to have a fever would be zero.
b. Based on the calculated percentage, it suggests that the cutoff of 100.6 degrees F may not be appropriate. Since the normal body temperature range for adults spans from 97.7 to 99.5 degrees F, it seems that Bellevue Hospital's cutoff is higher than what is generally considered the upper limit of normal body temperature. Lowering the cutoff temperature might result in a more accurate identification of adults with a fever. However, it is important to note that fever thresholds can vary between different medical facilities and guidelines.