Diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of ankle sprains: Comparing free chatbot recommendations with clinical guidelines.

BACKGROUND

Free chatbots powered by large language models offer lateral ankle sprains (LAS) treatment recommendations but lack scientific validation.

METHODS

The chatbots-Claude, Perplexity, and ChatGPT-were evaluated by comparing their responses to a questionnaire and their treatment algorithms against current clinical guidelines. Responses were graded on accuracy, conclusiveness, supplementary information, and incompleteness, and evaluated individually and collectively, with a 60 % pass threshold.

RESULTS

The collective analysis of the questionnaire showed Perplexity scored significantly higher than Claude and ChatGPT (p < 0.001). In the individual analysis, Perplexity provided significantly more supplementary information than the other chatbots (p < 0.001). All chatbots met the pass threshold. In the algorithm evaluation, ChatGPT scored significantly higher than the others (p = 0.023), with Perplexity below the pass threshold.

CONCLUSIONS

Chatbots' recommendations generally aligned with current guidelines but sometimes missed crucial details. While they offer useful supplementary information, they cannot yet replace professional medical consultation or established guidelines.