Will Artificial Intelligence Be “Better” Than Humans in the Management of Syncope?

• Published in: JACC. Advances (Online) Vol. 3; no. 9; p. 101072
• Main Authors: Dipaola, Franca, Gebska, Milena A., Gatti, Mauro, Levra, Alessandro Giaj, Parker, William H., Menè, Roberto, Lee, Sangil, Costantino, Giorgio, Barsotti, E. John, Shiffer, Dana, Johnston, Samuel L., Sutton, Richard, Olshansky, Brian, Furlan, Raffaello
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.09.2024
• Subjects: artificial intelligence; clinical decision; education; syncope; education; AI; DL; syncope; EMR; LLM; artificial intelligence; research; EHR; NLP; clinical decision; SPTs; CDSS; ML
• ISSN: 2772-963X; 2772-963X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jacadv.2024.101072

Clinical decision-making regarding syncope poses challenges, with risk of physician error due to the elusive nature of syncope pathophysiology, diverse presentations, heterogeneity of risk factors, and limited therapeutic options. Artificial intelligence (AI)-based techniques, including machine learning (ML), deep learning (DL), and natural language processing (NLP), can uncover hidden and nonlinear connections among syncope risk factors, disease features, and clinical outcomes. ML, DL, and NLP models can analyze vast amounts of data effectively and assist physicians to help distinguish true syncope from other types of transient loss of consciousness. Additionally, short-term adverse events and length of hospital stay can be predicted by these models. In syncope research, AI-based models shift the focus from causality to correlation analysis between entities. This prompts the search for patterns rather than defining a hypothesis to be tested a priori. Furthermore, education of students, doctors, and health care providers engaged in continuing medical education may benefit from clinical cases of syncope interacting with NLP-based virtual patient simulators. Education may be of benefit to patients. This article explores potential strengths, weaknesses, and proposed solutions associated with utilization of ML and DL in syncope diagnosis and management. Three main topics regarding syncope are addressed: 1) clinical decision-making; 2) clinical research; and 3) education. Within each domain, we question whether “AI will be better than humans,” seeking evidence to support our objective inquiry. [Display omitted] •Syncope management creates challenges for patients and their families, clinicians, learners, and institutions—AI may enhance management.•Strengths/weaknesses of AI in syncope care are assessed in clinical decision-making, research, and education.•AI will likely be able to distinguish syncope from other causes of loss or alteration of consciousness.•A key feature of AI is that it can define new patterns to help achieve expected goals of improved syncope management.