Feasibility Study of a Conversational Chatbot for Outpatient Postoperative Follow-up in Otorhinolaryngology (ENT): Acceptability, Patterns of Use, and Patient Experience. (ORL-CareBOT)

October 30, 2026 updated by: Fondation Hôpital Saint-Joseph

Artificial intelligence (AI), and particularly large language models (LLMs), is playing an increasingly important role in medical practice by facilitating documentation, data analysis, and communication with patients. These tools may improve access to medical information and reduce certain repetitive tasks; however, their use remains limited by risks of errors, hallucinations, variability in responses, and the lack of evaluation in real-world healthcare settings.

In the field of patient-provider communication, several studies have shown that AI-generated responses may be perceived as being as relevant as, or even more empathetic and clearer than, those provided by physicians. However, these findings are based predominantly on simulated scenarios and do not allow conclusions regarding the safety of autonomous use in clinical practice.

Managing patient inquiries outside scheduled consultations represents a substantial workload for healthcare teams. Generative AI could help address this demand, but its implementation requires medical oversight and rigorous safety evaluation.

The postoperative ENT setting provides a relevant area for investigation, as patients frequently experience symptoms that can be difficult to interpret, such as pain, bleeding, or wound-healing complications. A conversational agent could provide consistent responses and continuous accessibility; however, it should never replace on-call medical services. Its primary requirement is the ability to correctly identify situations requiring prompt or urgent medical assessment.

With this objective, a postoperative chatbot was developed using ChatGPT-4 through a secure Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) architecture. Its knowledge base was restricted to recommendations from the French National Authority for Health (HAS), the French Society of Otorhinolaryngology (SFORL), and the PubMed literature in order to improve response reliability. An internal feasibility study yielded encouraging results: 68% of responses were rated as good to excellent by ENT experts, with writing quality and completeness sometimes exceeding those of practicing physicians, although clinicians remained superior in the nuanced assessment of clinical risk.

The objective of the present study is to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of this ENT postoperative follow-up chatbot among 100 ambulatory surgery patients treated at the Arthur Vernes Institute. The primary aim is to assess the patient experience before evaluating any potential impact on healthcare utilization or medico-economic outcomes.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
100

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patient aged 18 years or older
  • Patient undergoing outpatient ENT surgery at the Arthur Vernes Institute
  • Patient covered by a health insurance scheme
  • French-speaking patient
  • Patient who has provided free, informed, and explicit oral consent

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patient already enrolled in a Category 1 interventional research protocol (RIPH 1)
  • Patient without access to equipment enabling use of the chatbot (smartphone or computer)
  • Patient under guardianship or curatorship
  • Patient deprived of liberty
  • Patient under judicial protection (safeguard of justice)
  • Pregnant or breastfeeding patient

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Other
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Post op Care

at D30 post surgery, patients will complete 2 scores : Lickert scale and SUS
Other: Post op care

Patient will be given access to a post surgery Chat Bot. All the questions asked to the chat bot will be analyzed. At D30 patients will complete a likert scale (0 to 5) and the System usabilty score (0 to 100)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Determine the effective use of the chatbot
Time Frame: up to 30days post surgery

Proportion of patients having use the chat bot at least once within the 30Days post surgery
up to 30days post surgery

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Describe how users can interact with the chatbot.
Time Frame: up to 30days post surgery

number of interaction with the chatbot, topic of the questions
up to 30days post surgery
Assess patient acceptance of the chatbot
Time Frame: 30days post surgery

System acceptability scale (from 0 to 100)
30days post surgery
Assess patient satisfaction
Time Frame: 30days post surgery

likert scale (1 to 5)
30days post surgery
Assess the organizational impact
Time Frame: 30days post surgery

number of phone call made during the 30days follow up period after surgery
30days post surgery
Describe clinical events occurring during the follow-up period
Time Frame: 30days post surgery

number of out patient visit and hospital stay during the 30days post surgery follow up period
30days post surgery

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Fondation Hôpital Saint-Joseph

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
December 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
April 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
April 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
October 30, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
October 30, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
November 5, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
November 5, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
October 30, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
October 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 853_ORL-CareBOT

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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