Journal Article Multicenter Study Epublish 23 citations
PubMed: 39844844 DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2024.1500326
Interpretable machine learning-based prediction of 28-day mortality in ICU patients with sepsis: a multicenter retrospective study.
Front Cell Infect Microbiol 14:1500326
Authors: Li Shen, Jiaqiang Wu, Jianger Lan, Chao Chen, Yi Wang, Zhiping Li
Affiliations
- Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, National Children's Medical Center, Shanghai, China.
- Department of Pharmacy, Suzhou Hospital, Affiliated Hospital of Medical School, Nanjing University, Suzhou, Jiangsu, China.
- School of Life Sciences and Biopharmaceutical Science, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Shenyang, China.
- Department of Neonatology, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, National Children's Medical Center, Shanghai, China.
- Department of Neurology, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, National Children's Medical Center, Shanghai, China.
Abstract
Background
Sepsis is a major cause of mortality in intensive care units (ICUs) and continues to pose a significant global health challenge, with sepsis-related deaths contributing substantially to the overall burden on healthcare systems worldwide. The primary objective was to construct and evaluate a machine learning (ML) model for forecasting 28-day all-cause mortality among ICU sepsis patients.
Methods
Data for the study was sourced from the eICU Collaborative Research Database (eICU-CRD) (version 2.0). The main outcome was 28-day all-cause mortality. Predictor selection for the final model was conducted using the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression analysis and the Boruta feature selection algorithm. Five machine learning algorithms including logistic regression (LR), decision tree (DT), extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost), support vector machine (SVM), and light gradient boosting machine (lightGBM) were employed to construct models using 10-fold cross-validation. Model performance was evaluated using AUC, accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, recall, and F1 score. Additionally, we performed an interpretability analysis on the model that showed the most stable performance.
Results
The final study cohort comprised 4564 patients, among whom 568 (12.4%) died within 28 days of ICU admission. The XGBoost algorithm demonstrated the most reliable performance, achieving an AUC of 0.821, balancing sensitivity (0.703) and specificity (0.798). The top three risk predictors of mortality included APACHE score, serum lactate levels, and AST.
Conclusion
ML models reliably predicted 28-day mortality in critically ill sepsis patients. Of the models evaluated, the XGBoost algorithm exhibited the most stable performance in identifying patients at elevated mortality risk. Model interpretability analysis identified crucial predictors, potentially informing clinical decisions for sepsis patients in the ICU.
MeSH
Mortality, Retrospective Studies, Algorithms, Machine Learning, Sepsis, Intensive Care Units, Learning
Cited by
- The Prognostic Value of the CALLY Index in Sepsis: A Composite Biomarker Reflecting Inflammation, Nutrition, and Immunity. Diagnostics (Basel), 2025
- Development and temporal validation of a nomogram for predicting ICU 28-day mortality in middle-aged and elderly sepsis patients: An eICU database study. PLoS One, 2025
- Interpretable machine learning-based prediction of mortality in critical cancer patients with delirium: A retrospective cohort study. Asia Pac J Oncol Nurs, 2025