Using machine learning to predict invasive bacterial infections in young febrile infants visiting the emergency department

Abstract

Background: The aim of this study was to develop and evaluate a machine learning (ML) model to predict invasive bacterial infections (IBIs) in young febrile infants visiting the emergency department (ED). Methods: This retrospective study was conducted in the EDs of three medical centers across Taiwan from 2011 to 2018. We included patients age in 0–60 days who were visiting the ED with clinical symptoms of fever. We developed three different ML algorithms, including logistic regression (LR), supportive vector machine (SVM), and extreme gradient boosting (XGboost), comparing their performance at predicting IBIs to a previous validated score system (IBI score). Results: During the study period, 4211 patients were included, where 126 (3.1%) had IBI. A total of eight, five, and seven features were used in the LR, SVM, and XGboost through the feature selection process, respectively. The ML models can achieve a better AUROC value when predicting IBIs in young infants compared with the IBI score (LR: 0.85 vs. SVM: 0.84 vs. XGBoost: 0.85 vs. IBI score: 0.70, p-value < 0.001). Using a cost sensitive learning algorithm, all ML models showed better specificity in predicting IBIs at a 90% sensitivity level compared to an IBI score >2 (LR: 0.59 vs. SVM: 0.60 vs. XGBoost: 0.57 vs. IBI score >2: 0.43, p-value < 0.001). Conclusions: All ML models developed in this study outperformed the traditional scoring system in stratifying low-risk febrile infants after the standardized sensitivity level.