Machine Learning Predicts Prolonged Acute Hypoxemic Respiratory Failure in Pediatric Severe Influenza.

Influenza virus is a major cause of acute hypoxemic respiratory failure. Early identification of patients who will suffer severe complications can help stratify patients for clinical trials and plan for resource use in case of pandemic.

objectiveWe aimed to identify which clinical variables best predict prolonged acute hypoxemic respiratory failure in influenza-infected critically ill children. Acute hypoxemic respiratory failure was defined using hypoxemia cutoffs from international consensus definitions of acute respiratory distress syndrome in patients with ventilatory support. Prolonged acute hypoxemic respiratory failure was defined by acute hypoxemic respiratory failure criteria still present at PICU day 7. DERIVATION COHORT: In this prospective multicenter study across 34 PICUs from November 2009 to April 2018, we included children (< 18 yr) without comorbid risk factors for severe disease. VALIDATION COHORT: We used a Monte Carlo cross validation method with PREDICTION MODEL: Using clinical data at admission (day 1) and closest to 8 am on PICU day 2, we calculated the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve using random forests machine learning algorithms and logistic regression.

resultsWe included 258 children (median age = 6.5 yr) and 11 (4.2%) died. By day 2, 65% (

conclusionsIn this prospective multicentric study, most children with influenza virus-related respiratory failure with prolonged acute hypoxemic respiratory failure can be identified early in their hospital course applying machine learning onto routine clinical data. Further validation is needed prior to bedside implementation.