Question ID:PT14 S2 Q21 Passage:In response to high mortality in area hospitals, surgery was restricted to emergency procedures during a five-week period. Mortality in these hospitals was found to have fallen by nearly one-third during the period. The number of deaths rose again when elective surgery (surgery that can be postponed) was resumed. It can be concluded that, before the five-week period, the risks of elective surgery had been incurred unnecessarily often in the area. Stem:Which one of the following, if true, most seriously undermines the conclusion above? Correct Answer Choice:AChoice A:The conditions for which elective surgery was performed would in the long run have been life-threatening, and surgery for them would have become riskier with time. Choice B:The physicians planning elective surgery performed before the five-week period had fully informed the patients who would undergo it of the possible risks of the procedures. Choice C:Before the suspension of elective surgery, surgical operations were performed in area hospitals at a higher rate, per thousand residents of the area, than was usual elsewhere. Choice D:Elective surgery is, in general, less risky than is emergency surgery because the conditions requiring or indicating surgery are often less severe. Choice E:Even if a surgical procedure is successful, the patient can die of a hospital-contracted infection with a bacterium that is resistant to antibiotic treatment.