AI boosts accuracy in surgical reports, outperforming surgeons

Editor's Note

AI-generated operative reports for robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) were more accurate than those written by surgeons in a study published February 7 in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.

Analyzing 158 cases from a tertiary referral center, researchers tested an AI computer-vision algorithm on surgical video footage. The platform automatically detected surgical steps from video, mapped them to pre-specified text, and compiled narrative operative reports. Accuracy was evaluated by comparing both AI and surgeon-written reports against expert-reviewed surgical video footage. Findings suggest that AI can enhance surgical documentation accuracy, reduce administrative burdens, and promote surgical transparency. Data highlights include the following:   

• Surgeon-written reports showed discrepancies with the surgical videos in 53.2% of cases, with 27.2% deemed clinically significant.
• AI-generated reports had discrepancies in 29.1% of cases, with only 12.7% being clinically significant.
• Overall, AI reports achieved an accuracy rate of 87.3%, significantly higher than the 72.8% accuracy of surgeon-written reports (p=0.001).