Utilizing artificial intelligence as an arbitrary tool in managing difficult COVID-19 cases in critical care medicine

Table 1 The multiple roles artificial intelligence plays in different computer tomography analysis stages highlight current challenges and provide a clear path forward in utilizing artificial intelligence effectively for critical coronavirus disease 2019 case management

Aspect	Description	Role of AI	Challenges and limitations	Future recommendations
CT imaging for COVID-19	Provides qualitative and quantitative data on lung inflammation and disease severity	AI assists in enhancing image quality by quantifying areas affected	Variability in scanner technology, inter-radiologist variability	Standardize protocols and AI algorithms for uniform results
Standardized reporting	Ensures that findings are categorized systematically to aid clinician decisions	AI generates standardized templates, suggesting classification	Radiologist training impacts consistency in subjective classifications	Implement AI-guided reports with customizable templates
Stage-based classification	Identifies progression: Early, progressive, or severe stages of disease	AI classifies stages based on set parameters from CT findings	Stage overlap can affect classification accuracy	Use AI to refine and expand classification criteria
Objective diagnosis support	AI reduces subjectivity by assisting radiologists with unbiased imaging analysis	AI improves diagnostic accuracy and reliability in assessments	It requires extensive training data and potential over-reliance on AI	Encourage AI-human collaboration with continuous model updates
Clinical guidance	Facilitates treatment planning by providing objective data on disease severity and progression	AI-generated reports provide objective insights for treatment	Integration with EMR systems and real-time decision-making limitations	Integrate AI findings into EMR for seamless treatment planning

AI: Artificial intelligence; CT: Computer tomography; COVID-19: Coronavirus disease 2019; EMR: Electronic medical record.