In Patients Evaluated In The Emergency Room With Suspected Community-Acquired Pneumonia, ChatGPT 3.5 May Help Physicians With Assessments And Plans.

Introduction The effectiveness of ChatGPT in generating an appropriate assessment and plan for patients arriving in the emergency department (ED) with a syndrome compatible with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is not well defined. The objective of this study is to perform a clinical evaluation of the quality and appropriateness of synthetic assessments and management plans generated by ChatGPT 3.5 for adult patients presenting at the ED with suspected CAP. Methods This was a retrospective observational study of 10 cases of adult patients arriving to the ED with respiratory complaints. Patients’ history, physical examination, laboratory and radiology reports were provided to ChatGPT version 3.5. We prompted ChatGPT to provide assessment, diagnostic impression, management, and disposition of these patients, with further prompts asking for clarifying questions as needed. The responses were evaluated and graded by a committee of four physicians (one infectious diseases, two pulmonologists, and one critical care) according to a 10-point scale. Responses were evaluated by each member of the committee, followed by a discussion of each individual patient to reach agreement on the final evaluation. Results ChatGPT’s recommendations were rated between 7 and 9 (of 10) in all cases, with a mean score of 7.8. (SD=0.6), consistent with appropriate evaluation at the level of a post-graduate trainee. In three cases, ChatGPT omitted important information such as positive test results for influenza or RSV, which required further questioning. No assessment or plan was found to be inappropriate or harmful to the patient. Conclusion This study found that ChatGPT 3.5 provided highly appropriate or appropriate recommendations for the assessment and management plan for patients presenting at an ED with a clinical syndrome suspecting CAP. ChatGPT may be a useful tool to support physicians’ decision-making during the initial evaluation of patients presenting to the ED with respiratory complaints.