Toddler whose symptoms puzzled 17 doctors for three years diagnosed by ChatGPT

A boy was diagnosed with a rare condition by ChatGPT after spending three years visiting more than a dozen doctors, El.kz cites dailymail.co.uk.

Alex was four years old when he began experiencing chronic pain. His mother, Courtney, said if he didn't take pain medications every day, he would have 'gigantic' meltdowns. 

Soon after the onset of his pain, Alex's personality began to change. He became moody and fatigued and began chewing on things and having outbursts. Alex also dragged his left foot when he walked and developed severe headaches.

Courtney, who asked not to use her last name to protect her family’s privacy, said her son's normally sweet demeanor turned into 'this tantrum-ing crazy person that didn't exist the rest of the time.'

When Alex began chewing on things, Courtney thought it could be a dental problem and took Alex to the dentist. The doctor suspected Alex may have been grinding his teeth and referred the family to a specialist, who placed an expander in Alex's mouth to help him breathe better at night.

While it seemed like a fix at first, more symptoms appeared. 

When Courtney noticed Alex wasn't growing, she took him to a pediatrician, who said the pandemic was negatively affecting his development. 

Taking Alex to numerous doctor appointments, Courtney spent three years searching for answers and consulted 17 doctors. Finally, she asked ChatGPT, which research has shown can be right up to 72 percent of the time at medical diagnoses.

'We saw so many doctors. We ended up in the ER at one point. I kept pushing,' she told Today.com. 'I really spent the night on the (computer) … going through all these things.' 

Courtney went line by line through Alex's test results and entered them into ChatGPT. The chatbot came back with tethered cord syndrome. 

When she saw the chatbot's diagnosis, Courtney realized 'it made a lot of sense.' 

Tethered cord syndrome causes the spinal cord to abnormally attach to the spinal canal, restricting blood flow as children grow. It leads to numbness, pain, muscle weakness, and issues with motor control. 

According to the Cleveland Clinic, symptoms include difficulty walking, discolored skin patches, numbness in the legs and back, severe leg or back pain, scoliosis, bladder and bowel control issues, and loss of muscle mass

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