A Cross-Sectional Study to Evaluate the Effectiveness of Patient Information Guides Produced by ChatGPT Versus Google Gemini for Three Pediatric Illnesses.

Objectives:  Educating pediatric patients and their caregivers about the disease is crucial for improving treatment adherence, recognizing complications early, and alleviating anxiety. AI tools such as ChatGPT and Google Gemini offer personalized education, benefiting patients and providers, and are increasingly utilized in healthcare. This study aims to compare patient education guides created by ChatGPT and Google Gemini for acute otitis media, pneumonia, and pharyngitis.

Methods: Patient information guides on pediatric diseases generated by ChatGPT and Google Gemini were evaluated by comparing various variables (words, sentences, average words per sentence, average syllables per word, grade level, and ease score) and further assessed for ease using the Flesch-Kincaid calculator, similarity using Quillbot, and reliability using the Modified Discern score. Statistical analysis was done using R v4.3.2.

Results: Both tools' responses were statistically compared. No significant difference was found in word count (ChatGPT: 477.3; Google Gemini: 394.0; p=0.0765) or sentences (ChatGPT: 35.33; Google Gemini: 46.33; p=0.184). Google Gemini scored slightly higher in ease (ChatGPT: 37.79; Google Gemini: 57.10) and grade level (ChatGPT: 11.40; Google Gemini: 7.43), but these were not statistically significant (p>0.05), indicating no clear superiority.

Conclusions For Practice: In a comparison of patient education guides created by both tools for acute otitis media, pneumonia, and pharyngitis, there was no statistically significant difference to determine the superiority of one AI tool over the other. Further studies should comprehensively evaluate various AI tools across a broader range of diseases. It is also important to assess whether AI tools can provide real-time, verifiable content based on the latest medical advancements.