Doctors won't follow their own advice: study

     BEIJING, April 12 (Xinhuanet) -- Doctors may choose riskier¹ treatment with fewer severe side effects for themselves than they'd recommend for their patients, according to a study in the Archives of Internal（国内的） Medicine Tuesday.

    In the study, two sets of questions were sent to primary care physicians around the United States.

    One involved choosing between two types of colon² cancer surgery and the other situation involved choosing no treatment for the flu, or choosing a made-up treatment less deadly than the disease but which could cause permanent paralysis³.

    Of 242 physicians who answered the colon cancer questionnaire, 38 percent went with the treatment that carried a higher risk of death but fewer side effects for themselves. By contrast, only a quarter said they would recommend that treatment to their patients.

    In the flu scenario⁴, 63 percent chose the deadlier option of no treatment for themselves, versus⁵ 49 percent recommending it for patients.

    The findings are important because patients faced with difficult medical decisions often ask their doctors, "What would you do?" The answer reflects the doctors' values -- not necessarily those of the patients.

    Doctors should know what their patients value most before giving advice, and patients should ask doctors the reasons behind their answers, said study author Dr. Peter Ubel, an internist and behavioral scientist at Duke University.(本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)

1 riskier   

冒险的，危险的( risky的比较级 )

参考例句：

• Now they are starting to demand higher returns on riskier assets. 而今他们开始在风险更高的资产上要求更高的回报。
• The problem with that: RIM's business is getting riskier every quarter. 不过问题也随之而来：RIM面临的业务风险正逐季增大。

2 colon   

n.冒号，结肠，直肠

参考例句：

• Here,too,the colon must be followed by a dash.这里也是一样，应当在冒号后加破折号。
• The colon is the locus of a large concentration of bacteria.结肠是大浓度的细菌所在地。

3 paralysis   

n.麻痹(症)；瘫痪(症)

参考例句：

• The paralysis affects his right leg and he can only walk with difficulty.他右腿瘫痪步履维艰。
• The paralysis affects his right leg and he can only walk with difficulty.他右腿瘫痪步履维艰。

4 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

5 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。