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. 2023 Jan 3;18(1):1.
doi: 10.1186/s13017-022-00467-3.

Surgeons' perspectives on artificial intelligence to support clinical decision-making in trauma and emergency contexts: results from an international survey

Lorenzo Cobianchi #  1   2   3 , Daniele Piccolo #  4   5 , Francesca Dal Mas #  6 , Vanni Agnoletti  7 , Luca Ansaloni  4   8 , Jeremy Balch  9 , Walter Biffl  10 , Giovanni Butturini  11 , Fausto Catena  7 , Federico Coccolini  12 , Stefano Denicolai  13   14 , Belinda De Simone  15 , Isabella Frigerio  11 , Paola Fugazzola  4   8 , Gianluigi Marseglia  4   16 , Giuseppe Roberto Marseglia  17 , Jacopo Martellucci  18 , Mirko Modenese  19 , Pietro Previtali  13   14 , Federico Ruta  20 , Alessandro Venturi  13   21   22 , Haytham M Kaafarani  23   24 , Tyler J Loftus  9 ; Team Dynamics Study Group
Collaborators, Affiliations

Surgeons' perspectives on artificial intelligence to support clinical decision-making in trauma and emergency contexts: results from an international survey

Lorenzo Cobianchi et al. World J Emerg Surg. .

Erratum in

Abstract

Background: Artificial intelligence (AI) is gaining traction in medicine and surgery. AI-based applications can offer tools to examine high-volume data to inform predictive analytics that supports complex decision-making processes. Time-sensitive trauma and emergency contexts are often challenging. The study aims to investigate trauma and emergency surgeons' knowledge and perception of using AI-based tools in clinical decision-making processes.

Methods: An online survey grounded on literature regarding AI-enabled surgical decision-making aids was created by a multidisciplinary committee and endorsed by the World Society of Emergency Surgery (WSES). The survey was advertised to 917 WSES members through the society's website and Twitter profile.

Results: 650 surgeons from 71 countries in five continents participated in the survey. Results depict the presence of technology enthusiasts and skeptics and surgeons' preference toward more classical decision-making aids like clinical guidelines, traditional training, and the support of their multidisciplinary colleagues. A lack of knowledge about several AI-related aspects emerges and is associated with mistrust.

Discussion: The trauma and emergency surgical community is divided into those who firmly believe in the potential of AI and those who do not understand or trust AI-enabled surgical decision-making aids. Academic societies and surgical training programs should promote a foundational, working knowledge of clinical AI.

Keywords: Artificial intelligence; Clinical decision-making; Decision aids; Survey; Trauma and emergency surgery.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests in this article.

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