ABSTRACT
This retrospective study addresses the intersection of Down syndrome (DS) and congenital heart defects (CHD), including the prevalence and characteristics of CHD in trisomy 21 patients at a secondary hospital in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. The study investigated the electronic medical records retrieved from the Qatif Central Hospital database, specifically targeting individuals diagnosed with DS (identified by the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) code Q90.9) between March 2012 and March 2022. The primary aim was to detect cardiac anomalies diagnosed via echocardiography performed at the hospital, along with subsequent follow-up assessments and documented patient outcomes. Among the 161 patients reviewed, the study revealed a significant prevalence of diagnosed heart defects through echocardiograms, constituting approximately 72.7%. Notably, patent ductus arteriosus was the most common condition, found in 29.81% of cases, followed by atrial septal defect (27.95%) and atrioventricular septal defect (17.39%). Among the study participants, 22.98% required surgical intervention. Unfortunately, mortality impacted 32.3% of individuals, while the majority (60.87%) remained alive. In addition, a small percentage (6.83%) discontinued follow-up within our center. This study contributes significant data on cardiac anomalies in DS patients in Saudi Arabia, highlighting a high prevalence of CHD with specific patterns of anomalies. The need for early diagnosis, timely surgical intervention, and ongoing management is evident. These findings provide a foundation for improving clinical practices and shaping public health policies tailored to the needs of this population in Saudi Arabia and similar regions.
ABSTRACT
Artificial intelligence chatbots, like ChatGPT, have become powerful tools that are disrupting how humans interact with technology. The potential uses within medicine are vast. In medical education, these chatbots have shown improvements, in a short time span, in generalized medical examinations. We evaluated the overall performance and improvement between ChatGPT 3.5 and 4.0 in a test of pediatric cardiology knowledge. ChatGPT 3.5 and ChatGPT 4.0 were used to answer text-based multiple-choice questions derived from a Pediatric Cardiology Board Review textbook. Each chatbot was given an 88 question test, subcategorized into 11 topics. We excluded questions with modalities other than text (sound clips or images). Statistical analysis was done using an unpaired two-tailed t-test. Of the same 88 questions, ChatGPT 4.0 answered 66% of the questions correctly (n = 58/88) which was significantly greater (p < 0.0001) than ChatGPT 3.5, which only answered 38% (33/88). The ChatGPT 4.0 version also did better on each subspeciality topic as compared to ChatGPT 3.5. While acknowledging that ChatGPT does not yet offer subspecialty level knowledge in pediatric cardiology, the performance in pediatric cardiology educational assessments showed a considerable improvement in a short period of time between ChatGPT 3.5 and 4.0.
Subject(s)
Cardiology , Medicine , Child , Humans , Artificial Intelligence , Software , Educational MeasurementABSTRACT
A significant proportion of patients' experience recurrence of atrial fibrillation (AF) despite pulmonary venous isolation (PVI), especially those with persistent AF. Isolation of the left atrial appendage (LAA) may reduce AF recurrence. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of LAA isolation in addition to PVI compared with PVI alone. We conducted a comprehensive search of electronic databases, up to April 21st, 2017, for all studies comparing the effect LAA electrical isolation or ligation in addition to PVI, as opposed to PVI alone, on the recurrence of atrial fibrillation after catheter ablation. We used random-effects meta-analysis models to summarize the studies. One RCT and four observational studies enrolling 781 patients were retained. Four studies assessed the added effect of LAA catheter ablation, and one study evaluated the effect of LAA ligation with the aim of LAA electrical isolation. Four studies exclusively enrolled patients with persistent atrial fibrillation and one study predominantly enrolled patients with persistent atrial fibrillation. Follow-up ranged from 12 to 15 months. The addition of LAA isolation to PVI reduced AF recurrence compared with the latter alone (odds ratio (OR) = 0.19; 95% confidence intervals (CI) = 0.10-0.37; P < 0.00001). Left atrial appendage isolation was also associated with a reduction in AF recurrence after repeat ablation (OR = 0.40; CI = 0.25-0.65; P = 0.0003). The addition of LAA isolation to PVI was associated with a decrease in AF recurrence in patients with persistent AF. Further studies are needed to assess the effect on long-term risk of stroke.
