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BACKGROUND: This study aimed to evaluate ChatGPT's performance on questions about periprosthetic joint infections (PJI) of the hip and knee. METHODS: Twenty-seven questions from the 2018 International Consensus Meeting on Musculoskeletal Infection were selected for response generation. The free-text responses were evaluated by three orthopedic surgeons using a five-point Likert scale. Inter-rater reliability (IRR) was assessed via Fleiss' kappa (FK). RESULTS: Overall, near-perfect IRR was found for disagreement on the presence of factual errors (FK: 0.880, 95% CI [0.724, 1.035], p < 0.001) and agreement on information completeness (FK: 0.848, 95% CI [0.699, 0.996], p < 0.001). Substantial IRR was observed for disagreement on misleading information (FK: 0.743, 95% CI [0.601, 0.886], p < 0.001) and agreement on suitability for patients (FK: 0.627, 95% CI [0.478, 0.776], p < 0.001). Moderate IRR was observed for agreement on "up-to-dateness" (FK: 0.584, 95% CI [0.434, 0.734], p < 0.001) and suitability for orthopedic surgeons (FK: 0.505, 95% CI [0.383, 0.628], p < 0.001). Question- and subtopic-specific analysis revealed diverse IRR levels ranging from near-perfect to poor. CONCLUSIONS: ChatGPT's free-text responses to complex orthopedic questions were predominantly reliable and useful for orthopedic surgeons and patients. Given variations in performance by question and subtopic, consulting additional sources and exercising careful interpretation should be emphasized for reliable medical decision-making.
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This retrospective study aimed at analyzing the impact of metastasectomy on post-metastasis survival (PMS) in bone sarcoma patients with lung metastases. Altogether, 47 bone sarcoma patients (24 males, median age at diagnosis of lung metastases: 21.8 (IQR: 15.6-47.3) years) with primary (n = 8) or secondary (n = 39) lung metastases treated at a single university hospital were retrospectively included. Based on a propensity score, inverse probability of treatment weight (IPTW) was calculated to account for selection bias whether patients had undergone metastasectomy or not. The most common underlying histology was osteosarcoma (n = 37; 78.7%). Metastasectomy was performed in 39 patients (83.0%). Younger patients (p = 0.025) with singular (p = 0.043) and unilateral lesions (p = 0.024), as well as those with an interval ≥ 9 months from primary diagnosis to development of lung metastases (p = 0.024) were more likely to undergo metastasectomy. Weighted 1- and 3-year PMS after metastasectomy was 80.8% and 58.3%, compared to 88.5% and 9.1% for patients who did not undergo metastasectomy. Naive Cox-regression analysis demonstrated a significantly prolonged PMS for patients with metastasectomy (HR: 0.142; 95%CI: 0.045-0.450; p = 0.001), which was confirmed after IPTW-weighting (HR: 0.279; 95%CI: 0.118-0.662; p = 0.004), irrespective of age, time to metastasis, and the number of lesions. In conclusion, metastasectomy should be considered in bone sarcoma patients with lung metastases, after carefully considering the individual risks, to possibly improve PMS.
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At the early stages of the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, Switzerland was among the countries with the highest number of SARS-CoV2-infections per capita in the world. Lockdowns had a remarkable impact on primary care access and resulted in postponed cancer screenings. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of the COVID-19 lockdown on the diagnosis of melanomas and stage of melanomas at diagnosis. In this retrospective, exploratory cohort study, 1240 patients with a new diagnosis of melanoma were analyzed at five tertiary care hospitals in German-speaking Switzerland over a period of two years and three months. We compared the pre-lockdown (01/FEB/19-15/MAR/20, n = 655) with the lockdown (16/MAR/20-22/JUN/20, n = 148) and post-lockdown period (23/JUN/20-30/APR/21, n = 437) by evaluating patients' demographics and prognostic features using Breslow thickness, ulceration, subtype, and stages. We observed a short-term, two-week rise in melanoma diagnoses after the major lift of social lockdown restrictions. The difference of mean Breslow thicknesses was significantly greater in older females during the lockdown compared to the pre-lockdown (1.9 ± 1.3 mm, p = 0.03) and post-lockdown period (1.9 ± 1.3 mm, p = 0.048). Thickness increase was driven by nodular melanomas (2.9 ± 1.3 mm, p = 0.0021; resp. 2.6 ± 1.3 mm, p = 0.008). A proportional rise of advanced melanomas was observed during lockdown (p = 0.047). The findings provide clinically relevant insights into lockdown-related gender- and age-dependent effects on melanoma diagnosis. Our data highlight a stable course in new melanomas with a lower-than-expected increase in the post-lockdown period. The lockdown period led to a greater thickness in elderly women driven by nodular melanomas and a proportional shift towards stage IV melanoma. We intend to raise awareness for individual cancer care in future pandemic management strategies.
