Acute abdominal pain: computer aided diagnosis by non-medically qualified staff

This report explores the role of computer aided diagnosis in acute abdominal pain when applied by non-medically qualified personnel. Clinical features of 153 patients (75 males, 78 females, aged range 6-92 years, median 35 years) suffering from less than one weeks' abdominal pain were recorded. Junior doctors' diagnostic accuracy with (65 cases) and without (70 cases) structured computer history sheets were compared with first year clinical medical students using the computer system (46 cases: 28 also seen by doctor, 18 cases student only). These students had no previous surgical training or experience. Doctors' diagnostic accuracy of 51% rose significantly to 69% with the use of structured history forms (chi 2 = 4.53, P = less than 0.05). Computer assisted clinical students' diagnostic accuracy matched the improved doctors' accuracy (69.5%). These results have implications not only for medical education but also for isolated paramedical personnel who should be supplied with structured diagnostic forms and, where appropriate, a microcomputer.