Machine Learning Could Help in Early Identification of Severe Sepsis

A machine-learning algorithm has the capability to identify hospitalized patients at risk for severe sepsis and septic shock using data from electronic health records (EHRs), according to a study presented at the 2017 American Thoracic Society International Conference. Sepsis is an extreme systemic response to infection, which can be life-threatening in its advanced stages of severe sepsis and septic shock, if left untreated. "We have developed and validated the first machine-learning algorithm to predict severe sepsis and septic shock in a large academic multi-hospital healthcare system," said lead author Heather Giannini, MD, of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. "This is a breakthrough in the use of machine learning technology, and could change the paradigm in early intervention in sepsis." Machine learning is a type of artificial intelligence that provides computers with the ability to learn complex patterns in data without being explicitly programmed, unlike simpler rule-based systems.