Neha Garg

Dhruv Jain, MD, Puneet Khanna, MD, Anjaleekrishna K, MD, Neha Garg, MD, Sahil Batra, MS, Rajesh Malhotra, FRCS. Hip Pelvis 2026;38:251-6. https://doi.org/10.5371/hp.2026.38.3.251

Three phases (dissection, anhepatic, and neohepatic) exist for propofol pharmacokinetics during liver transplantation (LT), resulting in varying cardiac output, volume of distribution, and drug metabolism. The primary objective was to compare the mean target concentration of propofol required to maintain the bispectral index (BIS) between 40 and 60 during three phases of LT by using a target-controlled infusion of total intravenous anaesthesia (TCI-TIVA). In this prospective, observational study, 20 adult patients diagnosed with chronic liver disease scheduled for live-donor LT were included. After anaesthesia induction and tracheal intubation, BIS-guided propofol infusion was started using TCI-TIVA with target plasma concentration (TPC) set initially at 2.5 μg/mL in all patients using the Marsh model. The TPC was decreased or increased by 0.2 μg/mL whenever the BIS values were persistently below 40 or above 60 for 15 minutes. Data were analysed using ANOVA and repeated measure ANOVA, followed by a post-hoc test. The mean TPC was significantly higher during dissection [2.12 (Standard deviation (SD): 0.63 μg/mL)] as compared to anhepatic and neohepatic phases [1.29 (SD: 0.65) μg/mL and 1.35 (SD: 0.54) μg/mL], respectively (P < 0.001). A significant difference was observed between dissection and anhepatic (mean difference: −0.87 (95% confidence interval (CI): −0.98, −0.75) or dissection and neohepatic phase (mean difference: −0.77 (95% CI: −1.02, −0.53). The propofol dose was significantly higher in dissection compared to the anhepatic and neohepatic phases (P < 0.001). The propofol’s mean TPC when using TCI-TIVA decreased in the anhepatic and neohepatic phases to 61% and 63.7% of the dissection phase, respectively.

Eye surgeries often evoke strong negative emotions in patients, including fear and anxiety. Patient education material plays a crucial role in informing and empowering individuals. Traditional sources of medical information may not effectively address individual patient concerns or cater to varying levels of understanding. This study aims to conduct a comparative analysis of the accuracy, completeness, readability, tone, and understandability of patient education material generated by AI chatbots versus traditional Patient Information Leaflets (PILs), focusing on local anesthesia in eye surgery. Expert reviewers evaluated responses generated by AI chatbots (ChatGPT and Google Gemini) and a traditional PIL (Royal College of Anaesthetists’ PIL) based on accuracy, completeness, readability, sentiment, and understandability. Statistical analyses, including ANOVA and Tukey HSD tests, were conducted to compare the performance of the sources. Readability analysis showed variations in complexity among the sources, with AI chatbots offering simplified language and PILs maintaining better overall readability and accessibility. Sentiment analysis revealed differences in emotional tone, with Google Gemini exhibiting the most positive sentiment. AI chatbots demonstrated superior understandability and actionability, while PILs excelled in completeness. Overall, ChatGPT showed slightly higher accuracy (scores expressed as mean ± standard deviation) (4.71 ± 0.5 vs 4.61 ± 0.62) and completeness (4.55 ± 0.58 vs 4.47 ± 0.58) compared to Google Gemini, but PILs performed best (4.84 ± 0.37 vs 4.88 ± 0.33) in terms of both accuracy and completeness (p-value for completeness <0.05). AI chatbots show promise as innovative tools for patient education, complementing traditional PILs. By leveraging the strengths of both AI-driven technologies and human expertise, healthcare providers can enhance patient education and empower individuals to make informed decisions about their health and medical care.

Background and Aims: Artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots like Conversational Generative Pre-trained Transformer (ChatGPT) have recently created much buzz, especially regarding patient education. Such informed patients understand and adhere to the management and get involved in shared decision making. The accuracy and understandability of the generated educational material are prime concerns. Thus, we compared ChatGPT with traditional patient information leaflets (PILs) about chronic pain medications. Methods: Patients' frequently asked questions were generated from PILs available on the official websites of the British Pain Society (BPS) and the Faculty of Pain Medicine. Eight blinded annexures were prepared for evaluation, consisting of traditional PILs from the BPS and AI-generated patient information materials structured similar to PILs by ChatGPT. The authors performed a comparative analysis to assess materials’ readability, emotional tone, accuracy, actionability, and understandability. Readability was measured using Flesch Reading Ease (FRE), Gunning Fog Index (GFI), and Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL). Sentiment analysis determined emotional tone. An expert panel evaluated accuracy and completeness. Actionability and understandability were assessed with the Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool. Results: Traditional PILs generally exhibited higher readability ( P values < 0.05), with [mean (standard deviation)] FRE [62.25 (1.6) versus 48 (3.7)], GFI [11.85 (0.9) versus 13.65 (0.7)], and FKGL [8.33 (0.5) versus 10.23 (0.5)] but varied emotional tones, often negative, compared to more positive sentiments in ChatGPT-generated texts. Accuracy and completeness did not significantly differ between the two. Actionability and understandability scores were comparable. Conclusion: While AI chatbots offer efficient information delivery, ensuring accuracy and readability, patient-centeredness remains crucial. It is imperative to balance innovation with evidence-based practice.

End-of-life care (EOLC) is a critical aspect of healthcare, yet accessing reliable information remains challenging, particularly in culturally diverse contexts like India. This study investigates the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in addressing the informational gap by analyzing patient information leaflets (PILs) generated by AI chatbots on EOLC. Using a comparative research design, PILs generated by ChatGPT and Google Gemini were evaluated for readability, sentiment, accuracy, completeness, and suitability. Readability was assessed using established metrics, sentiment analysis determined emotional tone, accuracy, and completeness were rated by subject experts, and suitability was evaluated using the Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool (PEMAT). Google Gemini PILs exhibited superior readability and actionability compared to ChatGPT PILs. Both conveyed positive sentiments and high levels of accuracy and completeness, with Google Gemini PILs showing slightly lower accuracy scores. The findings highlight the promising role of AI in enhancing patient education in EOLC, with implications for improving care outcomes and promoting informed decision-making in diverse cultural settings. Ongoing refinement and innovation in AI-driven patient education strategies are needed to ensure compassionate and culturally sensitive EOLC. Gondode PG, Khanna P, Sharma P, Duggal S, Garg N. End-of-life Care Patient Information Leaflets—A Comparative Evaluation of Artificial Intelligence-generated Content for Readability, Sentiment, Accuracy, Completeness, and Suitability: ChatGPT vs Google Gemini. Indian J Crit Care Med 2024;28(6):561–568.

Introduction: The duration of perioperative antibiotic prophylaxis following live liver donor hepatectomy (LDH) is not known.Methods: This is a double‐blind equivalence trial. All consecutive LDH were randomized into: group A (three doses) and group B (nine doses) of perioperative antibiotics (piperacillin + tazobactam − 4.5 g intravenous) at fixed 8 hourly intervals. Primary end point was incidence of infective complications as per CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) criteria. Secondary end points were liver function tests, total leukocyte count, international normalized ratio, hospital stay, morbidity, and cost analysis.Results: One hundred and twenty‐six LDHs were enrolled. A total of 19.8% (n = 25) experienced postoperative complications, 11 (17.7%) in group A and 14 (21.9%) in group B (P = .561). Infective complications were seen in 11 donors (8.1%), five in group A and six in group B (P = .79). A total of 8.1% of donors required continuation/up‐gradation of antibiotics in group A and 9.4% in group B. Return to soft diet was delayed in group B (P = .039). Median hospital stay and cost were similar.Conclusion: Three doses of perioperative antibiotic are equally effective in preventing infective complications.

Cocoon abdomen is a rare condition in which abdominal structures are surrounded by thick encapsulating peritoneum resulting in dense adhesions. Liver transplant is a high risk surgery with an already increased risk of massive blood loss due to the pre-existing coagulopathy and portal hypertension. Presence of cocoon abdomen with severe dense adhesions can either lead to difficult hepatectomy with massive intra-operative blood loss or failure to proceed with the surgery. This becomes even more important in live donor liver transplantation where it may not be possible to abandon the surgery once the donor liver resection is started. Thus keeping a high suspicion of cocoon abdomen in patients with previous history of kochs abdomen and on long term beta blocker therapy is of utmost importance and this can decrease the morbidity and mortality associated with this condition. A 41 year old male known case of chronic liver disease was posted for live donor liver transplantation. After opening the abdomen thick dense adhesions were found around the intestines and the liver. Due to the dense adhesions surgical team was in dilemma whether to proceed further for the surgery or not. Intra-operatively patient had a blood loss of 12.5 litre. Despite massive transfusion the postoperative course went uneventful and the patient was extubated on 2nd post-operative day. He was shifted out of Intensive care unit on the 6th post-operative day. Cocoon abdomen should be suspected in a chronic liver disease patient with previous history of tuberculosis or on long term beta blocker therapy. Proper preparation before surgery can decrease the morbidity and mortality associated with this major surgery. Our case report clearly shows that such types of patients can be taken up for the live donor liver transplantation surgery with a precaution to start donor hepatectomy only after surgeon has assessed the difficulty status of recipient hepatectomy.