Large language model may assist diagnosis of SAPHO syndrome by bone scintigraphy

In this study, we employed a large language model to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of radiology reports of bone scintigraphy in the context of identifying SAPHO syndrome, and further examined the potential of such a model to augment the diagnostic procedure.

Imaging data and clinical information of 151 patients (105/46 women/men, mean age: 53.5 years) who underwent bone scintigraphy for suspected Synovitis, Acne, Pustulosis, Hyperostosis, and Osteitis (SAPHO) syndrome between January 2007 and December 2022 were retrospectively reviewed. ChatGPT-4.0 was used as the large language model. The diagnostic performance of the large language model was verified by comparing the cases judged to have SAPHO syndrome that fulfilled Kahn's classification criteria based on a combination of concise radiology reports and skin lesions such as palmoplantar pustulosis, with cases diagnosed with SAPHO syndrome by rheumatologists based on all clinical information.

The diagnostic accuracy of a large language model for analysing bone scintigraphy radiology reports in conjunction with information about skin symptoms, such as palmoplantar pustulosis, achieved a sensitivity of 83.5%, specificity of 69.4%, and an overall accuracy of 76.8%.

This research indicates the prospective value of extensive language models in scrutinizing radiology accounts from bone scintigraphy for the diagnosis of SAPHO syndrome.