Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34876430›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2021

Do comprehensive deep learning algorithms suffer from hidden stratification? A retrospective study on pneumothorax detection in chest radiography.

Jarrel Seah, Cyril Tang, Quinlan D Buchlak, Michael Robert Milne, Xavier Holt, Hassan Ahmad, John Lambert, Nazanin Esmaili, Luke Oakden-Rayner, Peter Brotchie and 1 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.3field-weighted citation impact, top 20% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 15 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Deep learning for pneumothorax diagnosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.European respiratory review : an official journal of the European Respiratory Society · 2023
    Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Gaps in artificial intelligence research for rural health in the United States: a scoping review.Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association : JAMIA · 2026
    Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.

Jarrel SeahRadiology, Alfred Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia jarrel.seah@annalise.ai.ORCID 0000-0002-2305-7873
Cyril Tangannalise.ai, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Quinlan D Buchlakannalise.ai, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Michael Robert Milneannalise.ai, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.ORCID 0000-0003-2082-5723
Xavier Holtannalise.ai, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Hassan Ahmadannalise.ai, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
John Lambertannalise.ai, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Nazanin EsmailiUniversity of Notre Dame Australia, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Luke Oakden-RaynerAustralian Institute for Machine Learning, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.
Peter Brotchieannalise.ai, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Catherine M Jonesannalise.ai, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
American Nephrology Nurses Association · USAlfred Health · AUAustralian Centre for Robotic Vision · AUSt Vincent's Hospital Melbourne · AUUniversity of Technology Sydney · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesTo evaluate the ability of a commercially available comprehensive chest radiography deep convolutional neural network (DCNN) to detect simple and tension pneumothorax, as stratified by the following subgroups: the presence of an intercostal drain; rib, clavicular, scapular or humeral fractures or rib resections; subcutaneous emphysema and erect versus non-erect positioning. The hypothesis was that performance would not differ significantly in each of these subgroups when compared with the overall test dataset.

designA retrospective case-control study was undertaken.

settingCommunity radiology clinics and hospitals in Australia and the USA.

participantsA test dataset of 2557 chest radiography studies was ground-truthed by three subspecialty thoracic radiologists for the presence of simple or tension pneumothorax as well as each subgroup other than positioning. Radiograph positioning was derived from radiographer annotations on the images. OUTCOME MEASURES: DCNN performance for detecting simple and tension pneumothorax was evaluated over the entire test set, as well as within each subgroup, using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). A difference in AUC of more than 0.05 was considered clinically significant.

resultsWhen compared with the overall test set, performance of the DCNN for detecting simple and tension pneumothorax was statistically non-inferior in all subgroups. The DCNN had an AUC of 0.981 (0.976-0.986) for detecting simple pneumothorax and 0.997 (0.995-0.999) for detecting tension pneumothorax.

conclusionsHidden stratification has significant implications for potential failures of deep learning when applied in clinical practice. This study demonstrated that a comprehensively trained DCNN can be resilient to hidden stratification in several clinically meaningful subgroups in detecting pneumothorax.

Indexed as

Deep LearningPneumothoraxAlgorithmsCase-Control StudiesHumansRadiographyRadiography, ThoracicRetrospective Studiesaccident & emergency medicinechest imaginghealth informatics

Identifiers

PMID34876430
PMCPMC8655590
OpenAlexW4200299061

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.