Computer-aided diagnosis of gastroenterologic diseases in Sherbrooke: preliminary report

To assess the diagnostic accuracy of a computer-aided-diagnosis system when implemented in different parts of the world, an automated system, which had established its reliability in Leeds, England, was transferred to Sherbrooke, Quebec. In this preliminary study two retrospective series, comprising 104 patients with acute abdominal pain and 101 patients with dyspepsia, were drawn from the files of the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire in Sherbrooke. The history and physical-examination sheet was analyzed, coded and tested against the Leeds data base on a WANG 2200 computer, and the results were compared with the final Sherbrooke pathologic diagnosis. Overall the computer made a correct diagnosis in 78.8% of cases of acute abdominal pain and 70% of cases of dyspepsia. Computer diagnoses of appendicitis were correct in 97% of cases and the system recognized 91% of the actual appendicitis cases. Similar figures for cholecystitis were 91% and for peptic ulcer, 87%. However, the "pick-up" rate by the computer of pancreatitis was only 25%. It is concluded that geographical differences in disease presentation will probably not impair the validity of the computer method used in this study. A comparison of various diagnostic methods and levels of competence will await a prospective trial of this method.