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Sim JA, Huang X, Horan MR, Baker JN, Huang IC. Using natural language processing to analyze unstructured patient-reported outcomes data derived from electronic health records for cancer populations: a systematic review. Expert Rev Pharmacoecon Outcomes Res 2024; 24:467-475. [PMID: 38383308 PMCID: PMC11001514 DOI: 10.1080/14737167.2024.2322664] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2023] [Accepted: 02/20/2024] [Indexed: 02/23/2024]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Patient-reported outcomes (PROs; symptoms, functional status, quality-of-life) expressed in the 'free-text' or 'unstructured' format within clinical notes from electronic health records (EHRs) offer valuable insights beyond biological and clinical data for medical decision-making. However, a comprehensive assessment of utilizing natural language processing (NLP) coupled with machine learning (ML) methods to analyze unstructured PROs and their clinical implementation for individuals affected by cancer remains lacking. AREAS COVERED This study aimed to systematically review published studies that used NLP techniques to extract and analyze PROs in clinical narratives from EHRs for cancer populations. We examined the types of NLP (with and without ML) techniques and platforms for data processing, analysis, and clinical applications. EXPERT OPINION Utilizing NLP methods offers a valuable approach for processing and analyzing unstructured PROs among cancer patients and survivors. These techniques encompass a broad range of applications, such as extracting or recognizing PROs, categorizing, characterizing, or grouping PROs, predicting or stratifying risk for unfavorable clinical results, and evaluating connections between PROs and adverse clinical outcomes. The employment of NLP techniques is advantageous in converting substantial volumes of unstructured PRO data within EHRs into practical clinical utilities for individuals with cancer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jin-ah Sim
- Department of Epidemiology and Cancer Control, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
- Department of AI Convergence, Hallym University, Chuncheon, Republic of Korea
| | - Xiaolei Huang
- Department of Computer Science, University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee, United States
| | - Madeline R. Horan
- Department of Epidemiology and Cancer Control, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - Justin N. Baker
- Department of Oncology, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
| | - I-Chan Huang
- Department of Epidemiology and Cancer Control, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, USA
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Cascella M, Schiavo D, Cuomo A, Ottaiano A, Perri F, Patrone R, Migliarelli S, Bignami EG, Vittori A, Cutugno F. Artificial Intelligence for Automatic Pain Assessment: Research Methods and Perspectives. Pain Res Manag 2023; 2023:6018736. [PMID: 37416623 PMCID: PMC10322534 DOI: 10.1155/2023/6018736] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2022] [Revised: 02/03/2023] [Accepted: 04/20/2023] [Indexed: 07/08/2023]
Abstract
Although proper pain evaluation is mandatory for establishing the appropriate therapy, self-reported pain level assessment has several limitations. Data-driven artificial intelligence (AI) methods can be employed for research on automatic pain assessment (APA). The goal is the development of objective, standardized, and generalizable instruments useful for pain assessment in different clinical contexts. The purpose of this article is to discuss the state of the art of research and perspectives on APA applications in both research and clinical scenarios. Principles of AI functioning will be addressed. For narrative purposes, AI-based methods are grouped into behavioral-based approaches and neurophysiology-based pain detection methods. Since pain is generally accompanied by spontaneous facial behaviors, several approaches for APA are based on image classification and feature extraction. Language features through natural language strategies, body postures, and respiratory-derived elements are other investigated behavioral-based approaches. Neurophysiology-based pain detection is obtained through electroencephalography, electromyography, electrodermal activity, and other biosignals. Recent approaches involve multimode strategies by combining behaviors with neurophysiological findings. Concerning methods, early studies were conducted by machine learning algorithms such as support vector machine, decision tree, and random forest classifiers. More recently, artificial neural networks such as convolutional and recurrent neural network algorithms are implemented, even in combination. Collaboration programs involving clinicians and computer scientists must be aimed at structuring and processing robust datasets that can be used in various settings, from acute to different chronic pain conditions. Finally, it is crucial to apply the concepts of explainability and ethics when examining AI applications for pain research and management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Cascella
- Division of Anesthesia and Pain Medicine, Istituto Nazionale Tumori IRCCS Fondazione G. Pascale, Naples 80131, Italy
| | - Daniela Schiavo
- Division of Anesthesia and Pain Medicine, Istituto Nazionale Tumori IRCCS Fondazione G. Pascale, Naples 80131, Italy
| | - Arturo Cuomo
- Division of Anesthesia and Pain Medicine, Istituto Nazionale Tumori IRCCS Fondazione G. Pascale, Naples 80131, Italy
| | - Alessandro Ottaiano
- SSD-Innovative Therapies for Abdominal Metastases, Istituto Nazionale Tumori di Napoli IRCCS “G. Pascale”, Via M. Semmola, Naples 80131, Italy
| | - Francesco Perri
- Head and Neck Oncology Unit, Istituto Nazionale Tumori IRCCS-Fondazione “G. Pascale”, Naples 80131, Italy
| | - Renato Patrone
- Dieti Department, University of Naples, Naples, Italy
- Division of Hepatobiliary Surgical Oncology, Istituto Nazionale Tumori IRCCS, Fondazione Pascale-IRCCS di Napoli, Naples, Italy
| | - Sara Migliarelli
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, University Sapienza of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Elena Giovanna Bignami
- Anesthesiology, Critical Care and Pain Medicine Division, Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
| | - Alessandro Vittori
- Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care, ARCO ROMA, Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesù IRCCS, Rome 00165, Italy
| | - Francesco Cutugno
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Technologies, University of Naples “Federico II”, Naples 80100, Italy
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Naseri H, Skamene S, Tolba M, Faye MD, Ramia P, Khriguian J, David M, Kildea J. A Scalable Radiomics- and Natural Language Processing-Based Machine Learning Pipeline to Distinguish Between Painful and Painless Thoracic Spinal Bone Metastases: Retrospective Algorithm Development and Validation Study. JMIR AI 2023; 2:e44779. [PMID: 38875572 PMCID: PMC11041487 DOI: 10.2196/44779] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2022] [Revised: 03/12/2023] [Accepted: 04/01/2023] [Indexed: 06/16/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The identification of objective pain biomarkers can contribute to an improved understanding of pain, as well as its prognosis and better management. Hence, it has the potential to improve the quality of life of patients with cancer. Artificial intelligence can aid in the extraction of objective pain biomarkers for patients with cancer with bone metastases (BMs). OBJECTIVE This study aimed to develop and evaluate a scalable natural language processing (NLP)- and radiomics-based machine learning pipeline to differentiate between painless and painful BM lesions in simulation computed tomography (CT) images using imaging features (biomarkers) extracted from lesion center point-based regions of interest (ROIs). METHODS Patients treated at our comprehensive cancer center who received palliative radiotherapy for thoracic spine BM between January 2016 and September 2019 were included in this retrospective study. Physician-reported pain scores were extracted automatically from radiation oncology consultation notes using an NLP pipeline. BM center points were manually pinpointed on CT images by radiation oncologists. Nested ROIs with various diameters were automatically delineated around these expert-identified BM center points, and radiomics features were extracted from each ROI. Synthetic Minority Oversampling Technique resampling, the Least Absolute Shrinkage And Selection Operator feature selection method, and various machine learning classifiers were evaluated using precision, recall, F1-score, and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve. RESULTS Radiation therapy consultation notes and simulation CT images of 176 patients (mean age 66, SD 14 years; 95 males) with thoracic spine BM were included in this study. After BM center point identification, 107 radiomics features were extracted from each spherical ROI using pyradiomics. Data were divided into 70% and 30% training and hold-out test sets, respectively. In the test set, the accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of our best performing model (neural network classifier on an ensemble ROI) were 0.82 (132/163), 0.59 (16/27), 0.85 (116/136), and 0.83, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Our NLP- and radiomics-based machine learning pipeline was successful in differentiating between painful and painless BM lesions. It is intrinsically scalable by using NLP to extract pain scores from clinical notes and by requiring only center points to identify BM lesions in CT images.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hossein Naseri
- Medical Physics Unit, McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Sonia Skamene
- Division of Radiation Oncology, McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Marwan Tolba
- Division of Radiation Oncology, McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Mame Daro Faye
- Division of Radiation Oncology, McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Paul Ramia
- Division of Radiation Oncology, McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Julia Khriguian
- Division of Radiation Oncology, McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Marc David
- Division of Radiation Oncology, McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - John Kildea
- Medical Physics Unit, McGill University Health Centre, Montreal, QC, Canada
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Hughes JA, Douglas C, Jones L, Brown NJ, Nguyen A, Jarugula R, Lyrstedt AL, Hazelwood S, Wu Y, Chu K. Identifying patients presenting in pain to the adult emergency department: A binary classification task and description of prevalence. Int Emerg Nurs 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ienj.2023.101272] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/16/2023]
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Nath S, Marie A, Ellershaw S, Korot E, Keane PA. New meaning for NLP: the trials and tribulations of natural language processing with GPT-3 in ophthalmology. Br J Ophthalmol 2022; 106:889-892. [PMID: 35523534 DOI: 10.1136/bjophthalmol-2022-321141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2022] [Accepted: 04/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Natural language processing (NLP) is a subfield of machine intelligence focused on the interaction of human language with computer systems. NLP has recently been discussed in the mainstream media and the literature with the advent of Generative Pre-trained Transformer 3 (GPT-3), a language model capable of producing human-like text. The release of GPT-3 has also sparked renewed interest on the applicability of NLP to contemporary healthcare problems. This article provides an overview of NLP models, with a focus on GPT-3, as well as discussion of applications specific to ophthalmology. We also outline the limitations of GPT-3 and the challenges with its integration into routine ophthalmic care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siddharth Nath
- Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.,National Institute for Health Research, Biomedical Research Centre for Ophthalmology, UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, Moorfields Eye Hospital City Road Campus, London, UK
| | - Abdullah Marie
- School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK
| | - Simon Ellershaw
- UKRI Centre for Doctoral Training in AI-enabled Healthcare, University College London, London, UK
| | - Edward Korot
- Byers Eye Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA
| | - Pearse A Keane
- National Institute for Health Research, Biomedical Research Centre for Ophthalmology, UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, Moorfields Eye Hospital City Road Campus, London, UK
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Allen KS, Danielson EC, Downs SM, Mazurenko O, Diiulio J, Salloum RG, Mamlin BW, Harle CA. Evaluating a Prototype Clinical Decision Support Tool for Chronic Pain Treatment in Primary Care. Appl Clin Inform 2022; 13:602-611. [PMID: 35649500 DOI: 10.1055/s-0042-1749332] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES The Chronic Pain Treatment Tracker (Tx Tracker) is a prototype decision support tool to aid primary care clinicians when caring for patients with chronic noncancer pain. This study evaluated clinicians' perceived utility of Tx Tracker in meeting information needs and identifying treatment options, and preferences for visual design. METHODS We conducted 12 semi-structured interviews with primary care clinicians from four health systems in Indiana. The interviews were conducted in two waves, with prototype and interview guide revisions after the first six interviews. The interviews included exploration of Tx Tracker using a think-aloud approach and a clinical scenario. Clinicians were presented with a patient scenario and asked to use Tx Tracker to make a treatment recommendation. Last, participants answered several evaluation questions. Detailed field notes were collected, coded, and thematically analyzed by four analysts. RESULTS We identified several themes: the need for clinicians to be presented with a comprehensive patient history, the usefulness of Tx Tracker in patient discussions about treatment planning, potential usefulness of Tx Tracker for patients with high uncertainty or risk, potential usefulness of Tx Tracker in aggregating scattered information, variability in expectations about workflows, skepticism about underlying electronic health record data quality, interest in using Tx Tracker to annotate or update information, interest in using Tx Tracker to translate information to clinical action, desire for interface with visual cues for risks, warnings, or treatment options, and desire for interactive functionality. CONCLUSION Tools like Tx Tracker, by aggregating key information about past, current, and potential future treatments, may help clinicians collaborate with their patients in choosing the best pain treatments. Still, the use and usefulness of Tx Tracker likely relies on continued improvement of its functionality, accurate and complete underlying data, and tailored integration with varying workflows, care team roles, and user preferences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katie S Allen
- Health Policy and Management, Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health, IUPUI, Indianapolis, Indiana, United States.,Center for Biomedical Informatics, Regenstrief Institute, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
| | - Elizabeth C Danielson
- Center for Education in Health Sciences, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, United States
| | - Sarah M Downs
- Division of Internal Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
| | - Olena Mazurenko
- Health Policy and Management, Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health, IUPUI, Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
| | - Julie Diiulio
- Health Outcomes and Biomedical Informatics, Applied Decision Science, LLC, Dayton, Ohio, United States
| | | | - Burke W Mamlin
- Center for Biomedical Informatics, Regenstrief Institute, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana, United States.,Division of Internal Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
| | - Christopher A Harle
- Center for Biomedical Informatics, Regenstrief Institute, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana, United States.,University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States
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