Publications

New artificial intelligence tools have been developed that have implications for medical usage. Large language models (LLMs), such as the widely used ChatGPT developed by OpenAI, have not been explored in the context of anesthesiology education. Understanding the reliability of various publicly available LLMs for medical specialties could offer insight into their understanding of the physiology, pharmacology, and practical applications of anesthesiology. An exploratory prospective review was conducted using 3 commercially available LLMs–OpenAI's ChatGPT GPT-3.5 version (GPT-3.5), OpenAI's ChatGPT GPT-4 (GPT-4), and Google's Bard–on questions from a widely used anesthesia board examination review book. Of the 884 eligible questions, the overall correct answer rates were 47.9% for GPT-3.5, 69.4% for GPT-4, and 45.2% for Bard. GPT-4 exhibited significantly higher performance than both GPT-3.5 and Bard (p = 0.001 and p < 0.001, respectively). None of the LLMs met the criteria required to secure American Board of Anesthesiology certification, according to the 70% passing score approximation. GPT-4 significantly outperformed GPT-3.5 and Bard in terms of overall performance, but lacked consistency in providing explanations that aligned with scientific and medical consensus. Although GPT-4 shows promise, current LLMs are not sufficiently advanced to answer anesthesiology board examination questions with passing success. Further iterations and domain-specific training may enhance their utility in medical education.

Double orifice mitral valve is a rare congenital anomaly that is often associated with other congenital cardiac abnormalities. Patients may present with valvular dysfunction or may be asymptomatic and have an incidental diagnosis of double outlet mitral valve. Whether symptoms due to this pathology are present or not it is important to accurately characterize this lesion. Three-dimensional imaging is a powerful diagnostic modality for diagnosing and characterizing lesions such as this as highlighted in this case image series where we describe how three-dimensional transesophageal echocardiography was utilized to characterize both complete and incomplete bridge type double orifice mitral valve.

Invasive procedures are associated with adverse events that are both hazardous to patients and expensive to treat. A trainee is expected to perform complex sterile invasive procedures in a dynamic environment under time pressure while maintaining patient safety at the highest standard of care. For mastery in performing an invasive procedure, the automatism of the technical aspects is required, as well as the ability to adapt to patient conditions, anatomic variability, and environmental stressors. Virtual reality (VR) simulation training is an immersive technology with immense potential for medical training, potentially enhancing clinical proficiency and improving patient safety. Virtual reality can project near-realistic environments onto a head-mounted display, allowing users to simulate and interact with various scenarios. Virtual reality has been used extensively for task training in various healthcare-related disciplines and other fields, such as the military. These scenarios often incorporate haptic feedback for the simulation of physical touch and audio and visual stimuli. In this manuscript, the authors have presented a historical review, the current status, and the potential application of VR simulation training for invasive procedures. They specifically explore a VR training module for central venous access as a prototype for invasive procedure training to describe the advantages and limitations of this evolving technology.

BACKGROUND: Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is commonly employed to image the heart, lungs, and abdomen. Rapid ultrasound for shock and hypotension (RUSH) exams are a critical component of POCUS employed in austere environments by Special Operations Forces (SOF) and tactical medics for triage and diagnosis. Despite its utility, training for POCUS remains largely unstandardized with respect to feedback and markers of proficiency. We hypothesized that motion analysis could objectively identify improvement in medics' performance of RUSH exams. Furthermore, we predicted that motion metrics would correlate with qualitative ratings administered by attending anesthesiologists.

METHODS: A team of civilian and military attending anesthesiologists trained 24 medics in POCUS during a 5-day course. Each medic performed eight RUSH exams using an ultrasound probe equipped with an electromagnetic motion sensor to track total distance travelled (path length), movements performed (translational motions), degrees rotated (rotational sum), and time. Instructors (experts) observed and rated the exams on the following items: image finding, image fine-tuning, speed, final image accuracy, and global assessment. Motion metrics were used to provide feedback to medics throughout the course. Generalized estimating equations were used to analyze the trends of motion metrics across all trials. Correlations amongst motion metrics and expert ratings were assessed with Pearson correlation coefficients.

RESULTS: Participants exhibited a negative trend in all motion metrics (p < 0.001). Pearson correlation coefficients revealed moderate inverse correlations amongst motion metrics and expert ratings.

CONCLUSION: Motion analysis was able to quantify and describe the performance of medics training in POCUS and correlated with expert ratings.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the ability of hand motion analysis using conventional and new motion metrics to differentiate between operators of varying levels of experience for central venous access (CVA) and liver biopsy (LB).

MATERIALS AND METHODS: In the CVA task, 7 interventional radiologists (experts), 10 senior trainees, and 5 junior trainees performed ultrasound-guided CVA on a standardized manikin; 5 trainees were retested after 1 year. In the LB task, 4 radiologists (experts) and 7 trainees biopsied a lesion on a manikin. Conventional motion metrics (path length and task time), a refined metric (translational movements), and new metrics (rotational sum and rotational movements) were calculated.

RESULTS: In the CVA task, experts outperformed trainees on all metrics (P < .02). Senior trainees required fewer rotational movements (P = .02), translational movements (P = .045), and time (P = .001) than junior trainees. Similarly, on 1-year follow-up, trainees had fewer translational (P = .02) and rotational (P = .003) movements with less task time (P = .003). The path length and rotational sum were not different between junior and senior trainees or for trainees on follow-up. Rotational and translational movements had greater area under the curve values (0.91 and 0.86, respectively) than the rotational sum (0.73) and path length (0.61). In the LB task, experts performed the task with a shorter path length (P = .04), fewer translational (P = .04) and rotational (P = .02) movements, and less time (P < .001) relative to the trainees.

CONCLUSIONS: Hand motion analysis using translational and rotational movements was better at differentiating levels of experience and improvement with training than the conventional metric of path length.

OBJECTIVE: Packed red blood cell transfusion during coronary artery bypass graft surgery is known to be associated with adverse outcomes. However, the association of the timing between transfusions in relation to discharge and 30-day postoperative outcomes has not been studied. The study authors investigated the impact of transfusion timing on 30-day surgical outcomes.

DESIGN: A retrospective review.

SETTING: At a single tertiary-care academic hospital.

PARTICIPANTS: A total of 2,481 adult patients underwent primary coronary artery bypass graft surgery between January 2014 and December 2020.

MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The relationship between the timing of packed red blood cell transfusion (intraoperative, postoperative, or both) and 30-day postoperative outcome variables was calculated as an odds ratio. The influence of timing of transfusion on adjusted probability of postoperative complications was plotted against the lowest intraoperative hematocrit. The median age of the population was 67 years (60.0-74.0), body mass index was 28.5 (25.6-32.3) kg/m2, and 497 (20.0%) were female. A total of 1,588 (36%) patients received packed red blood cell transfusions; 182 (7.3%) received intraoperative transfusions, 489 (19.7%) received postoperative transfusions, and 222 (9.0%) received both (intraoperative and postoperative transfusions). Postoperative transfusion was associated with significantly higher odds of readmission (1.83 [1.32-2.54], p = 0.002) and heart failure (1.64 [1.2-2.23], p = 0.008) compared to patients with no transfusions; whereas intraoperative transfusions were not.

CONCLUSION: The authors' data suggested that the postoperative timing of transfusion in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery may be associated with an increased incidence of 30-day heart failure and readmission. Prospective research is needed to conclusively confirm these findings.

The clinical utility of transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is well-established for patients undergoing cardiac surgery. With the increase in percutaneous structural heart disease procedures that rely on TEE for procedural guidance, the use of TEE probes is expanding. Although there are well-established protocols for routine cleaning and decontaminating TEE probes between patient use, there is a lack of awareness and misconceptions about maintaining TEE probes' structural and electrical integrity. The electrical leakage test (ELT) is routinely performed between patient use. From a patient safety standpoint, the ELT is necessary to ensure the longevity of this expensive equipment and prevent disruptions to the workflow in a busy department caused by TEE probes being decommissioned due to probe damage. This technical communication aims to highlight the importance of maintaining TEE probes' structural and electrical integrity. The article also highlights and discusses probe handling techniques between patient use, emphasizing the ELT to ensure patient safety and compliance with national and international standards.