Artificial intelligence boosts patient-controlled analgesia in older adults

Artificial intelligence (Ai)-assisted patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) leads to better analgesia in elderly patients undergoing surgery for hip fractures, reports a recent study. In turn, Ai-PCA can lower the rates of perioperative neurocognitive impairment and inflammatory response in these patients, improving their overall satisfaction.

The study included 96 older adults with hip fractures, half of whom received Ai-PCA (n=48) for postoperative analgesia, while the other half was set as PCA-only controls (n=48). A visual analogue scale was used to assess the degree of pain at 1, 6, 24, and 48 hours after surgery.

Inflammatory response was assessed using blood levels of markers such as tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukins (IL) 6 and 8. Cognitive function was evaluated using the Concise Intelligence Status Scale before the procedure and at 1, 3, and 7 days after.

Mean postoperative VAS scores were significantly lower in the Ai-PCA group at 6 hours (3.28 vs 3.85), 24 hours (2.91 vs 3.49), and 48 hours (2.17 vs 2.93) after the procedure (p<0.01 for all comparisons).

Similarly, while inflammatory markers were significantly increased in both groups at 6, 24, and 48 hours after operation, patients who received Ai-PCA showed significantly weaker inflammation than PCA-only controls (p<0.05).

Preoperative cognitive function scores were comparable between groups, both of which showed marked deterioration by postoperative day 1, followed by gradual recovery at days 2 and 3. Throughout observation, cognitive function scores of controls remained significantly lower than that in the Ai-PCA group (p<0.05).