WHAT WOULD AI DO ?

  Now a days we have news about AI - Artificial Intelligence. AI passed the Medical board- AI passed Bar examination and many other areas where AI is doing different things that we thought ONLY HUMANS can do. Sometimes we come across cases where on surface it may look same but one has to apply different approach to the differential diagnosis  and work up. That brings me to the patients for today. 

   I had seen these new patients . One was a young man who had been diagnosed with HIV and has been on medicines for last 4-5 years and had done well. But then he had some brain infection-meningitis - infection  of covering of the brain to be exact and was treated and did well. He had then pain in the belly and so went to ER and had CT scan of the belly done  and that was normal. But in the CT scan of the belly , there was some abnormality noted in lungs . 

    He was discharged and saw PCP and he noticed the abnormality in lungs and he had not seen lung specialist and so he was sent to me. When he had meningitis , he was on respirator and he had tracheostomy and also feeding tube  and he had not had CT scan of chest .So, it was difficult to know if the abnormality seen on CT scan of belly was new or old. I saw him and ordered CT scan of the chest , which was never done . That showed the same thing that was seen on CT scan of the abdomen .- he had a cavity - are of the lung where there is  lucency or air in the center of he congestion.

    I saw this second patient at the same time . Hw was 78 years old and has had minor stroke  and had some cough  and had no fever . He had cough and he had seen Primary physician and had chest X- rat done . He was treated with antibiotics and then he had no change in his cough and so had CT scan and that showed again a cavity. I saw him  and he had good oxygen and also had some cough. 

    So we have 2 different patients with same Ct scan findings , the age is different and the past medical history is also different. The etiologies of the problem could be very different in these 2 patient . In the first patient who has compromised immunity, due to HIV he could have Tuberculosis or Fungal infection etc. The older gentleman could have aspirated - food or liquid going down wrong way in the lungs instead of esophagus, leading to pneumonia and lung abscess.

   The same CT scan findings - some difference , one has the abnormality in upper part of the lung , other has it in lower part of the lung - the cause could be different and work up could be different too. Would AI pick it up ?  I did the work up and result in my future blog.