Citations

Current clinical care relies heavily on complex, rule-based systems for tasks like diagnosis and treatment. However, these systems can be cumbersome and require constant updates. This study explores the potential of the large language model (LLM), LLaMA 2, to address these limitations. We tested LLaMA 2′s performance in interpreting complex clinical process models, such as Mayo Clinic Care Pathway Models (CPMs), and providing accurate clinical recommendations. LLM was trained on encoded pathways versions using DOT language, embedding them with SentenceTransformer, and then presented with hypothetical patient cases. We compared the token-level accuracy between LLM output and the ground truth by measuring both node and edge accuracy. LLaMA 2 accurately retrieved the diagnosis, suggested further evaluation, and delivered appropriate management steps, all based on the pathways. The average node accuracy across the different pathways was 0.91 (SD ± 0.045), while the average edge accuracy was 0.92 (SD ± 0.122). This study highlights the potential of LLMs for healthcare information retrieval, especially when relevant data are provided. Future research should focus on improving these models’ interpretability and their integration into existing clinical workflows.

Background: Effective pain management is crucial for both comfort and outcomes, yet predicting and managing this pain is difficult. This study aimed to analyze postoperative pain in patients undergoing hand surgery at the Mayo Clinic Florida, examining how patient characteristics and anxiety affect pain outcomes. Methods: We conducted a single-arm clinical trial at Mayo Clinic Florida, recruiting patients undergoing hand surgery. Preoperative pain and anxiety were assessed using the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Postoperatively, patients used an iPhone app to record pain levels and medication use every four hours. Devices were collected three days after surgery. We analyzed the relationship between demographics, PCS, STAI scores, and pain levels using linear and logistic regression models. All statistical tests were two-sided with significance set at p < 0.05, analyzed with R4.2.2. Results: Data were collected from 62 patients (62.9% women, 37.1% men) undergoing hand surgery. Participants were mainly White (90.3%), with 50% being in the middle-aged adult group. Most had low anxiety levels (80.6% STAI-S, 82.3% STAI-T) and low catastrophizing (61.3% PCS). Postoperative pain was low, with median scores between 1.0 and 2.0 over three days. Demographics, anxiety, and catastrophizing were not significant predictors of pain levels. Logistic regression showed time as a significant factor, with pain levels peaking on Day 3. Conclusions: Postoperative pain after hand surgery was generally low, with time being a significant predictor of increased pain. Demographic factors, anxiety, and catastrophizing did not significantly affect pain levels. Pain management should emphasize time-sensitive interventions and ongoing monitoring.

Introduction: Melanoma is a deadly type of skin cancer that develops from melanocytes and can manifest on the skin or other regions of the body. Its incidence is increasing rapidly, with approximately 100,000 diagnoses and 7000 deaths per year in the US alone. We conducted a cross-sectional study with the aim of determining an association between the cost of care for invasive melanoma and the specialty involved in the treatment to adequately guide future treatment. Methods: We analyzed data from 3817 patients (2013–2018) using the Florida inpatient/outpatient dataset, CMS cost reports, and the National Plan and Provider Enumeration System. Covariates included age, sex, race/ethnicity, insurance type, region, county rurality, the number of procedures, the comorbidity index, obesity, metastatic cancer presence, hospital size, and physician volume. Multivariable mixed linear regression was used to analyze the data, and the cost was adjusted to the 2019 USD. Results: Dermatology had the largest decrease in the overall and outpatient costs compared to general surgery, followed by plastic surgery. The inpatient costs for dermatology and plastic surgery were lower than those for general surgery, but not significantly so. Conclusions: The costs associated with surgical procedures may vary depending on the specialty of the physician treating the patient. Dermatology was associated with lower treatment costs for invasive melanoma compared to other specialties, indicating that physician specialty influences the cost of care.

Chronic pain affects over 50 million people in the United States, particularly older adults, making effective assessment and treatment essential in primary care. Actigraphy, which monitors and records limb movement to estimate wakefulness and sleep, has emerged as a valuable tool for assessing pain by providing insights into activity patterns. This review highlights the non-invasive, cost-effective nature of actigraphy in pain monitoring, along with its ability to offer continuous, detailed data on patient movement. However, actigraphy’s reliance on physical activity as a proxy for pain, and its inability to directly measure pain intensity, limit its applicability to certain pain types, such as neuropathic pain. Further research is needed to overcome these limitations and to improve the effectiveness of actigraphy in diverse clinical settings.

Background Nickel hypersensitivity is the most common metal related allergy. Nickel containing alloys are frequently used in endovascular devices. The use of intracranial stents in patients with nickel hypersensitivity appears to be safe, but these small series only evaluated arterial stent placement. This case series aimed to assess the safety of intracranial venous stent placement in patients with documented nickel allergy. Methods In this retrospective multicenter case series, patients with idiopathic intracranial hypertension and documented nickel allergy underwent treatment with a permanently implanted nickel containing stent in the dural venous sinuses. Results Nine patients with nickel allergy were included. All patients reported clinical improvement in their idiopathic intracranial hypertension symptoms. Of the five patients who had follow-up intracranial venous imaging, all stents remained patent. No patients experienced intraoperative, postoperative, or long term procedure related complications, with follow-up ranging from 1.8 weeks to 49.1 months. Conclusion In this limited case series, the use of nickel containing stents in intracranial venous sinuses in patients with nickel allergy did not result in any allergic reaction or adverse outcome.

Abstract Background Breast cancer is one of the most common types of cancer, with around 2.3 million cases diagnosed in 2020. One in five cancer patients develops chronic lymphedema caused by multifactorial triggers and treatment-related factors. This can lead to swelling, skin infections, and limb dysfunction, negatively affecting the patient's quality of life. This retrospective cohort study aimed to determine the associations between demographic and breast cancer characteristics and postoperative cellulitis in breast cancer survivors who underwent lymphovenous bypass surgery (LVB) at Mayo Clinic, Florida. Methods We performed a retrospective chart review. Data were collected retrospectively from 2016 to 2022. Sixty adult breast cancer survivors who underwent LVB were included in the final analysis based on specific inclusion and exclusion criteria. Patients were excluded if they did not meet the inclusion criteria or had incomplete follow-up data. Demographic and surgical data were extracted, including body mass index (BMI), type of anastomosis, number of anastomoses, and preoperative cellulitis status. Lymphedema measurements were performed using tape measurements. Fisher's exact test was used to determine statistically significant associations between variables and postoperative cellulitis. Results Postoperative cellulitis was more common in patients aged 60 to 69 years (43.2%), whites (75.0%), overweight or obese (90.9%), with one to four anastomoses (81.8%), and nonsmokers (79.5%). The mean International Society of Lymphology (ISL) criteria for both postoperative cellulitis and no postoperative cellulitis was 1.93. Statistically significant associations with postoperative cellulitis were found for the number of anastomoses (p = 0.021), smoking status (p = 0.049), preoperative cellulitis (p = 0.04), and the length of years with lymphedema diagnosis variable (p = 0.004). Conclusion Our results suggest that a greater number of anastomoses, smoking, preoperative cellulitis, and years with lymphedema are significantly associated with an increased risk of postoperative cellulitis. Awareness of these risk factors is crucial for monitoring and early treatment of infections following surgery.

Medical researchers are increasingly utilizing advanced LLMs like ChatGPT-4 and Gemini to enhance diagnostic processes in the medical field. This research focuses on their ability to comprehend and apply complex medical classification systems for breast conditions, which can significantly aid plastic surgeons in making informed decisions for diagnosis and treatment, ultimately leading to improved patient outcomes. Fifty clinical scenarios were created to evaluate the classification accuracy of each LLM across five established breast-related classification systems. Scores from 0 to 2 were assigned to LLM responses to denote incorrect, partially correct, or completely correct classifications. Descriptive statistics were employed to compare the performances of ChatGPT-4 and Gemini. Gemini exhibited superior overall performance, achieving 98% accuracy compared to ChatGPT-4’s 71%. While both models performed well in the Baker classification for capsular contracture and UTSW classification for gynecomastia, Gemini consistently outperformed ChatGPT-4 in other systems, such as the Fischer Grade Classification for gender-affirming mastectomy, Kajava Classification for ectopic breast tissue, and Regnault Classification for breast ptosis. With further development, integrating LLMs into plastic surgery practice will likely enhance diagnostic support and decision making.

e20097 Background: Malignant Mesothelioma (MMe) is a neoplasm of mesothelium and has a very poor survival rate. Over half the patients of MMe express programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) which binds to the PD-1 receptor on T-cells which in turn suppresses their ability to kill tumors. Pembrolizumab is a PD-1 inhibitor antibody and it has shown efficacy in combating MMe. Our analysis aims to summarize data related to objective response rates (ORR) and adverse effects of Pembrolizumab therapy in MMe patients. Methods: We conducted an online search through PubMed, Cochrane, and Clinicaltrials.gov databases from their inception till January 25, 2024, to identify studies that reported the use of Pembrolizumab in patients with MMe. Data were extracted and analyzed and proportions with their 95% confidence interval have been reported. Onlinemeta v1.0 was used for all analyses. Results: A total of six studies with 549 patients reported the use of Pembrolizumab in patients with MMe. ORR was observed in 36.2% (32.3% - 40.4%; p < 0.01) of patients receiving Pembrolizumab while 20.4% (17.2%- 24.0%; p < 0.01) of patients experienced adverse effects of the therapy. Median survival ranged from 9.5 to 17.3 months whereas progression-free survival ranged from 2.5 to 7.1 months in patients. Conclusions: Pembrolizumab has an ORR and safety profile comparable to other immunotherapies. Further studies are needed to extensively study the drug and its effects in detail in patients with MMe. [Table: see text]

e18073 Background: Selpercatinib is a highly selective RET inhibitor that is used for the treatment of RET-mutant medullary thyroid cancers, but its efficacy and safety is not fully understood. Our objective is to summarize available literature on the safety and efficacy profile of Selpercatinib. Methods: A search was conducted on PubMed, Embase and Cochrane from foundation to 31st January 2024. Patients aged above 18 with Advanced RET-Altered Medullary Thyroid Cancers who received Selpercatinib were identified. Data abstraction was done based on objective response rate, complete response rate, any grade adverse effect (AE) and grade ≥3 AE. Analysis was done using R (v.4.3) and reported as proportions with respective 95% confidence intervals (CI) on forest plots. Results: Four studies were identified that reported the use of Selpercatinib in Advanced RET-Altered Medullary Thyroid Cancers. Our analysis showed that the pooled proportion of objective response rate and complete response rate was 74.8% (95% CI: 70.1% – 79%) and 4.9% (95% CI: 3.1% – 7.7%) respectively. Pooled proportion of patients experiencing any grade AE and grade ≥3 AE was 93.4% (95% CI: 90.4% – 95.6%) and 46.2% (95% CI: 41.1% – 51.3%) respectively. Conclusions: Selpercatinib is a novel RET inhibitor which has potential use against RET-Altered Thyroid Cancers. It has an overall acceptable safety and efficacy profile. However it requires further studies to establish its adverse effects and clinical application. [Table: see text]

Background and Objectives: Large language models (LLMs) are emerging as valuable tools in plastic surgery, potentially reducing surgeons’ cognitive loads and improving patients’ outcomes. This study aimed to assess and compare the current state of the two most common and readily available LLMs, Open AI’s ChatGPT-4 and Google’s Gemini Pro (1.0 Pro), in providing intraoperative decision support in plastic and reconstructive surgery procedures. Materials and Methods: We presented each LLM with 32 independent intraoperative scenarios spanning 5 procedures. We utilized a 5-point and a 3-point Likert scale for medical accuracy and relevance, respectively. We determined the readability of the responses using the Flesch–Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL) and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) score. Additionally, we measured the models’ response time. We compared the performance using the Mann–Whitney U test and Student’s t-test. Results: ChatGPT-4 significantly outperformed Gemini in providing accurate (3.59 ± 0.84 vs. 3.13 ± 0.83, p-value = 0.022) and relevant (2.28 ± 0.77 vs. 1.88 ± 0.83, p-value = 0.032) responses. Alternatively, Gemini provided more concise and readable responses, with an average FKGL (12.80 ± 1.56) significantly lower than ChatGPT-4′s (15.00 ± 1.89) (p < 0.0001). However, there was no difference in the FRE scores (p = 0.174). Moreover, Gemini’s average response time was significantly faster (8.15 ± 1.42 s) than ChatGPT’-4′s (13.70 ± 2.87 s) (p < 0.0001). Conclusions: Although ChatGPT-4 provided more accurate and relevant responses, both models demonstrated potential as intraoperative tools. Nevertheless, their performance inconsistency across the different procedures underscores the need for further training and optimization to ensure their reliability as intraoperative decision-support tools.