[Big data and artificial intelligence in anesthesia : Reality or fiction?]

Big data and artificial intelligence are buzzwords that everyone is talking about and yet always provide a touch of science fiction to the scenery. What is the status of these topics in anesthesia? Are the first robots already rolling through the corridors while doctors are getting bored as all the work has been done? Spoiler alert! We are still far away from achieving this. Initially, paper charts and analogue notes stand in the way of comprehensive digitization. Source systems need to be merged and data standardized, harmonized and validated. Therefore, the friendly android that is rolling towards us, waving and holding a freshly brewed cup of coffee in our thoughts will have to wait; however, a glimpse of the future is already evident in some clinics and the first promising developments are already showing what could be the standard tomorrow. Learning algorithms calculate the length of stay individually for each patient in the intensive care unit (ICU), reducing negative consequences such as readmission and mortality. The field of ultrasound technology for regional anesthesia and closed-loop anesthesia systems is also demonstrating the benefits of artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted technologies in practice. The efforts are diverse and ambitious but they repeatedly collide with privacy challenges and significant capital expenditure, which weigh heavily on an already financially strained healthcare system; however, anyone who listens carefully to the medical staff knows that robots are not what they would expect and the buzzwords big data and artificial intelligence might be less science fiction than initially assumed.

Multiple administrations of oligodeoxynucleotides containing CpG motifs influence Ig isotype production

Oligodeoxynucleotides containing CpG motifs (CpG-ODN) activate cells of the innate immune system. Recent studies have shown that sole CpG-ODN administration induces resistance against infection and tumors. Effects of CpG-ODN administration are rapidly induced, and regarding infections only short-term protection was seen. One conceivable strategy to prolong protective effects is multiple administrations of CpG-ODN. However, inappropriate immune activation via CpG motifs has been implicated in septic shock and autoimmunity. To investigate effects of multiple CpG-ODN administrations, we analyzed Th1- and Th-2-associated Ig antibody levels, during and after multiple treatment with CpG-ODN. Our results show that multiple administrations of CpG-ODN lead to an increase in total IgG2c levels in CpG-ODN-treated mice in comparison to controls with distinct time and frequency correlation, in the absence of additional stimuli. This indicates a humoral Th1 bias based on stimulation of Th1-Ig isotype-producing B cells. These effects could account for observed anti-infection and anti-tumor properties of multiple CpG-ODN administrations; on the other hand, they might cause autoimmune disease.