ChatGPT on guidelines: Providing contextual knowledge to GPT allows it to provide advice on appropriate colonoscopy intervals.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Colonoscopy is commonly used in screening and surveillance for colorectal cancer. Multiple different guidelines provide recommendations on the interval between colonoscopies. This can be challenging for non-specialist healthcare providers to navigate. Large language models like ChatGPT are a potential tool for parsing patient histories and providing advice. However, the standard GPT model is not designed for medical use and can hallucinate. One way to overcome these challenges is to provide contextual information with medical guidelines to help the model respond accurately to queries. Our study compares the standard GPT4 against a contextualized model provided with relevant screening guidelines. We evaluated whether the models could provide correct advice for screening and surveillance intervals for colonoscopy. METHODS: Relevant guidelines pertaining to colorectal cancer screening and surveillance were formulated into a knowledge base for GPT. We tested 62 example case scenarios (three times each) on standard GPT4 and on a contextualized model with the knowledge base. RESULTS: The contextualized GPT4 model outperformed the standard GPT4 in all domains. No high-risk features were missed, and only two cases had hallucination of additional high-risk features. A correct interval to colonoscopy was provided in the majority of cases. Guidelines were appropriately cited in almost all cases. CONCLUSIONS: A contextualized GPT4 model could identify high-risk features and quote appropriate guidelines without significant hallucination. It gave a correct interval to the next colonoscopy in the majority of cases. This provides proof of concept that ChatGPT with appropriate refinement can serve as an accurate physician assistant.

Multicenter Study of ACR Ultrasound LI-RADS Visualization Scores on Serial Examinations: Implications for Surveillance Strategies.

BACKGROUND. The American College of Radiology Ultrasound LI-RADS includes the visualization score as a subjective measure of examination quality and the expected level of sensitivity. Whether a single suboptimal visualization score warrants a change in surveillance strategy is unknown. OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study is to determine the relative stability of visualization scores on serial surveillance ultrasound examinations in patients at risk for HCC. METHODS. This retrospective study included patients at risk for HCC who underwent at least two HCC surveillance ultrasound examinations at one of three institutions between January 2017 and November 2020. The frequencies of the score remaining unchanged after variable numbers of preceding examinations with the given score were determined. A mixed-effects logistic model was fitted to identify factors associated with a repeat score of C (denoting severe limitations) versus a change to score A (indicating no or minimal limitations) or score B (denoting moderate limitations). RESULTS. A total of 3169 patients underwent at least two ultrasound examinations, yielding a total of 9602 examinations. A total of 8030 examinations (83.6%) were assigned score A; 1378 (14.4%), score B; and 194 (2.0%), score C. The frequency of score A was 88%, 91%, and 93% after one, two, and three consecutive prior examinations with score A, respectively. The frequency of score B was 45%, 48%, and 55% after one, two, and three consecutive prior examinations with score B. The frequency of score C was 42%, 67%, and 80% after one, two, and three consecutive prior examinations with score C. Among 109 examinations with score C in 91 patients with an available follow-up examination, no factor (including age, sex, severe steatosis, advanced cirrhosis, ascites, body mass index, and a change in the ultrasound machine, sonographer, or radiologist) was significantly associated with repeat score C (all p > .05). Although not statistically significant, presence of severe steatosis and presence of advanced cirrhosis had the highest odds ratios (2.88 and 2.38, respectively) for repeat score C in multivariable analysis. CONCLUSION. Only 42% of patients with visualization score C on a single surveillance examinations have score C on follow-up examinations; however, after two or more score C examinations, the chance of future score C substantially increases. CLINICAL IMPACT. The findings may inform decisions regarding alternative surveillance strategies in patients with visualization score C on ultrasound. This decision should consider the number of previous examinations with score C.

Missed Opportunities for Screening and Surveillance of Barrett's Esophagus in Veterans with Esophageal Adenocarcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Barrett's esophagus (BE) is the premalignant lesion of esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) and is the target of early detection and prevention efforts for EAC. AIMS: We sought to evaluate what proportion and temporal trends of EAC patients had missed opportunities for screening and surveillance of BE. METHODS: Our study included 182 patients with EAC at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston, Texas, between 02/2005 and 09/2017. We conducted a retrospective audit of patients' medical records for any previous upper endoscopies (EGDs) for screening or surveillance of BE prior to their EAC diagnosis. RESULTS: The mean age of the cohort was 67.3 years (SD = 9.5); 99.5% of patients were male, and 85.2% were white. Only 45 patients (24.7%) had EGD at any time prior to the cancer diagnosing EGD, of whom 29 (15.9% of all EAC cases) had an established BE diagnosis. In the 137 patients with no prior EGD, most (63.5%) had GERD or were obese or ever smokers. There were no changes in patterns over time. For the 29 patients with prior established BE, 22 (75.8%) were diagnosed with EAC as a result of surveillance EGD. Patients with prior established BE were more likely to be diagnosed at 0 or I stage (p < 0.001) and managed with endoscopic or surgical modalities (p < 0.001) than patients without prior BE. CONCLUSIONS: Despite having established risk factors for BE, the majority of EAC patients had no prior EGD to screen for BE. BE screening may represent the largest missed opportunity to reduce EAC mortality.

Screening and surveillance for occupational cholangiocarcinoma in workers exposed to organic solvents.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to establish an efficient strategy for screening and surveillance for occupational cholangiocarcinoma. METHODS: We evaluated the consecutive changes in laboratory findings during regular health examinations and in abdominal ultrasonography findings before the diagnosis of occupational cholangiocarcinoma in nine patients. The results of laboratory tests and abdominal ultrasonography at the time of diagnosis were also examined. RESULTS: In all patients, the serum γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (γ-GTP) activity increased several years before the diagnosis of cholangiocarcinoma. The serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activity also increased several years before the diagnosis, following an increase in the serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activity in most patients. Abdominal ultrasonography before the diagnosis revealed regional dilatation of the bile ducts, which continued to enlarge. At the time of diagnosis, the γ-GTP, AST, and ALT activities were increased in nine, seven, and seven patients, respectively. The regional dilatation of bile ducts without tumor-induced stenosis, dilated bile ducts due to tumor-induced stenosis, space-occupying lesions, and/or lymph node swelling were observed. The serum concentrations of carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA 19-9) and/or carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) were increased in all patients. CONCLUSIONS: Regular health examinations with a combination of ultrasonography and laboratory tests including the γ-GTP, AST, ALT, CA 19-9, and CEA levels are useful for screening and surveillance for occupational cholangiocarcinoma.

Impact of Weight Status Reporting on Childhood Body Mass Index.

Background: Many states have adopted school-based BMI screening or surveillance programs in an effort to address high rates of childhood obesity, some of which involve provision of confidential BMI reports to parents. While there is evidence that parents are attuned to information in the reports, there is less evidence showing that the reports are effective in preventing excess childhood weight gain. Methods: Data from Arkansas, the state with the nation's first and longest running and BMI screening program, were used to measure the impact of BMI reports. This was done through a regression discontinuity design that compared future BMI z-scores among children falling within a narrow band around the obese and overweight thresholds. We derived the effects of BMI reports by comparing students who received different types of reports around the relevant threshold. Results: While we are unable to detect any differences in BMI z-scores between the children who received the overweight report and the children who received the healthy weight report, we detected some differences between children who received the obese report and children who received the overweight report. These findings hold across subsamples by age, minority status, and school meal status. Conclusions: Based on these data, overweight or obese reports to do not meaningfully impact future BMI z-scores. This may be due, in part, to the format of parental reports, which may dampen the surprise element of an overweight or obese report.

Index diagnoses of gastric intestinal metaplasia in the United States: patient characteristics, endoscopic findings, and clinical practice patterns at a large tertiary care center.

Background: Gastric intestinal metaplasia (GIM) is a premalignant gastric mucosal change that is often incidentally detected during esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD). Despite the established higher risk of gastric cancer associated with GIM, the incidence, prevalence, and outcomes data for GIM are limited in the United States (US), and practice patterns are highly variable. Objectives: Our primary objectives were to accurately identify incident histology-confirmed GIM cases and determine patient characteristics, endoscopy findings, Helicobacter pylori (HP) detection, and eradication treatment outcomes, as well as surveillance and follow-up recommendations. Design: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using administrative data. Methods: We first developed and validated a rule-based natural language processing tool to identify the patients with GIM on gastrointestinal pathology reports between 2011 and 2016. We then performed a manual chart review of all EGD procedures and associated pathology notes to confirm cases and obtain clinically relevant data. Results: In all, 414 patients with an index diagnosis of GIM were confirmed (prevalence = 2.5% of patients undergoing any EGD). A majority (52.4%) of patients were non-Hispanic white. The most common indication for EGD was abdominal pain (46.9%). A majority (55%) did not receive specific follow-up recommendations or were asked to see their primary care provider. HP testing was documented in 86% of patients, and detected in 94 patients (prevalence = 26.4%). Treatment was documented in 94.7% of cases, and eradication confirmed in only 34.8% of these cases. Conclusion: A large group of US patients with an index diagnosis of GIM was accurately identified. There was wide variability in clinical practice patterns including biopsy practice, HP treatment and eradication confirmation testing, and surveillance recommendations. This work demonstrates that there is a major unmet need for quality improvement efforts to standardize care for patients with GIM, a premalignant condition, and inform future prospective studies in a US population.

Ultrasound Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System (US LI-RADS): An Overview with Technical and Practical Applications.

The Ultrasound Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System (US LI-RADS), introduced in 2017 by the American College of Radiology, standardizes the technique, interpretation, and reporting of screening and surveillance ultrasounds intended to detect hepatocellular carcinoma in high-risk patients. These include patients with cirrhosis of any cause as well as subsets of patients with chronic hepatitis B viral infection. The US LI-RADS scheme is composed of an ultrasound category and a visualization score: ultrasound categories define the exam as negative, subthreshold, or positive and direct next steps in management; visualization scores denote the expected sensitivity of the exam, based on adequacy of liver visualization with ultrasound. Since its introduction, multiple institutions across the United States have implemented US LI-RADS. This review includes a background of hepatocellular carcinoma and US LI-RADS, definition of screening/surveillance population, recommendations and tips for technique, interpretation, and reporting, and preliminary outcomes analysis.

Early Onset Colorectal Cancer: An Emerging Cancer Risk in Patients with Diamond Blackfan Anemia.

Diamond Blackfan anemia (DBA) is a rare inherited bone marrow failure syndrome, the founding member of a class of disorders known as ribosomopathies. Most cases result from loss of function mutations or deletions in 1 of 23 genes encoding either a small or large subunit-associated ribosomal protein (RP), resulting in RP haploinsufficiency. DBA is characterized by red cell hypoplasia or aplasia, poor linear growth and congenital anomalies. Small case series and case reports demonstrate DBA to be a cancer predisposition syndrome. Recent analyses from the Diamond Blackfan Anemia Registry of North America (DBAR) have quantified the cancer risk in DBA. These studies reveal the most prevalent solid tumor, presenting in young adults and in children and adolescents, to be colorectal cancer (CRC) and osteogenic sarcoma, respectively. Of concern is that these cancers are typically detected at an advanced stage in patients who, because of their constitutional bone marrow failure, may not tolerate full-dose chemotherapy. Thus, the inability to provide optimal therapy contributes to poor outcomes. CRC screening in individuals over the age of 50 years, and now 45 years, has led to early detection and significant improvements in outcomes for non-DBA patients with CRC. These screening and surveillance strategies have been adapted to detect familial early onset CRC. With the recognition of DBA as a moderately penetrant cancer risk syndrome a rational screening and surveillance strategy will be implemented. The downstream molecular events, resulting from RP haploinsufficiency and leading to cancer, are the subject of significant scientific inquiry.

Ultrasound Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System (US LI-RADS) Visualization Score: a reliability analysis on inter-reader agreement.

BACKGROUND & AIM: The American College of Radiology Ultrasound Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System (ACR US LI-RADS) Visualization Score conveys the expected level of sensitivity of screening and surveillance ultrasound exams in patients at risk for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We sought to determine inter-reader agreement of the Visualization Score which is currently unknown. METHODS: Consecutive 6998 ultrasound HCC screening and surveillance studies in 3115 patients from 2017 to 2020 were retrospectively retrieved. Of these, 6154 (87.9%) studies were Visualization A (No or minimal limitations), 709 (10.1%) were Visualization B (Moderate limitations), and 135 (1.9%) were Visualization C (Severe limitations). Randomly sampled 90 studies, with 30 studies in each Visualization category, were included for analysis. Nine radiologists (3 senior attendings, 3 junior attendings and 3 body imaging fellows) blinded to the original categorization independently reviewed each study and assigned a Visualization Score. Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to quantify inter-reader agreement. RESULTS: ICC among all 9 radiologists was 0.70 (95% CI 0.63-0.77). ICCs among senior attendings, junior attendings and body imaging fellows were 0.68 (CI 0.58-0.76), 0.72 (CI 0.62-0.80) and 0.76 (CI 0.68-0.83), respectively. Subgroup analysis by liver parenchyma was further performed. ICC was highest in the patient group with normal liver parenchyma (0.69, CI 0.56-0.81), followed by steatosis (0.66, CI 0.54-0.79) and cirrhosis (0.58, CI 0.43-0.73), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: US LI-RADS Visualization Score is a reliable tool with good inter-reader agreement that can be used to indicate the expected level of sensitivity of a screening and surveillance ultrasound examination for detecting focal liver observations.

Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) in Egypt: A comprehensive overview.

BACKGROUND: Worldwide, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a universal problem and its epidemiological data showed variation from place to place. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the sixth and fourth common cancer in worldwide and Egypt, respectively. Egypt ranks the third and 15th most populous country in Africa and worldwide, respectively. The aim of this review is to compare the status of HCC in Egypt to that in the worldwide from different issues; risk factors, screening and surveillance, diagnosis and treatment, prevention, as well as research strategy. MAIN BODY: The risk factors for HCC in Egypt are of great importance to be reported. The risk factor for HCC are either environmental- or host/genetic-related risk factors. In the last years, there is a tangible improvement of both screening and surveillance strategies of HCC in Egypt. The unprecedented national screening campaign launched by the end of 2018 is a mirror image of this improvement. While the improvement of the HCC prevention requires the governmental health administration to implement health policies. Although the diagnosis of Egyptian HCC patients follows the international guidelines but HCC treatment options are limited in terms of cost. In addition, there are limited Egyptian reports about HCC survival and relapse. Both basic and clinical HCC research in Egypt are still limited compared to worldwide. SHORT CONCLUSION: Deep analysis and understanding of factors affecting HCC burden variation worldwide help in customization of efforts exerted to face HCC in different countries especially large country like Egypt. Overall, the presence of a research strategy to fight HCC in Egyptian patients will help in the optimum allocation of available resources to reduce the numbers of HCC cases and deaths and to improve the quality of life.

LI-RADS: a glimpse into the future.

This article provides a glimpse into the future of the Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System (LI-RADS), discussing the immediate and long-term plans for its continuing improvement and expansion. To complement the Core and Essentials components of the latest version of LI-RADS, a comprehensive manual will be released soon, and it will include technical recommendations, management guidance, as well as reporting instructions and templates. In this article, we briefly review the process by which LI-RADS has been developed until now, a process guided by a variable combination of data, expert opinion, and desire for congruency with other diagnostic systems in North America. We then look forward, envisioning that forthcoming updates to LI-RADS will occur regularly every 3 to 5 years, driven by emerging high-quality scientific evidence. We highlight some of the key knowledge and technology gaps that will need to be addressed to enable the needed refinements. We also anticipate future expansions in scope to meet currently unaddressed clinical needs. Finally, we articulate a vision for eventual unification of imaging system for HCC screening and surveillance, diagnosis and staging, and treatment response assessment.

Updates in the management of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a leading cause of cancer-related death, and its increasing incidence worldwide is a cause for concern. Fortunately, advances in diagnostic and therapeutic approaches have contributed to earlier detection and treatment. As cancer epidemiology studies continue to elucidate the natural history of liver diseases, greater understanding of HCC has led to improved risk stratification and earlier enrollment of high-risk patients in cancer screening and surveillance programs. Improved survival rates among HCC patients also reflect significant advances in available treatment options. Advances in surgical techniques are pushing the boundaries of resection for localized disease, and progress in the field of transplantation has led to refinements in listing criteria and improved post-transplantation outcomes. The evolving field of locoregional therapies-including percutaneous ablation and transarterial chemoembolization-continues to provide novel therapeutic options that can be used in place of, or in addition to, surgical approaches. Recent advances in systemic multikinase inhibitor therapies have also demonstrated significant benefits for advanced-stage disease, and these therapies also show promise as adjuvant treatments for earlier-stage disease. This article provides an update on the management of HCC, with a focus on revised guidelines for screening and an in-depth discussion of emerging novel therapies.