The role of artificial intelligence in emergency general surgery: Trends, advances, and future directions

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly integrated into emergency general surgery (EGS), offering advances in diagnosis, decision support, operative planning, intraoperative guidance, and postoperative management. This review synthesises current evidence on AI applications in EGS, drawing on meta-analyses, large-scale datasets, and landmark studies. Key domains include risk prediction, intraoperative assistance, surgical video analysis, training, prehabilitation, and operational coordination. Evidence shows AI can improve diagnostic accuracy, streamline workflows, and enhance patient outcomes, though benefits vary by setting, resource availability, and clinical domain. Adoption is accelerating, supported by rising global funding, yet constrained by regulatory, ethical, and implementation challenges. Addressing these barriers, standardising evaluation metrics, and expanding high-quality, multicentre trials will be essential to realise AI’s full potential in EGS.