Machine Learning for Predicting Critical Events Among Hospitalized Children

Importance Unrecognized deterioration among hospitalized children is associated with a high risk of mortality and morbidity. The current approach to pediatric risk stratification is fragmented, as each hospital unit (emergency, ward, or intensive care) uses different tools for predicting specific outcomes. Objective To develop a machine learning model for the early detection of deterioration across all units, thereby enabling a unified risk assessment throughout the patient’s hospital stay. Design, Setting, and Participants This retrospective cohort study used data from pediatric (age <18 years) admissions to inpatient and intensive care units at 3 tertiary care academic hospitals. Data were analyzed from January 2024 to March 2025. Main Outcomes and Measures The primary outcome was critical events, defined as invasive mechanical ventilation, administration of vasoactive medications, or death within 12 hours of an observation. Results The cohort included 135 621 patients (mean [SD] age, 7 [6] years; 60 376 [44.5%] female). Patient age, hospital unit, vital signs, laboratory results, and prior comorbidities were used to derive a regression-based model, an extreme gradient-boosted machine (XGB) model, and 2 deep learning models. Data from 2 hospitals were used as a derivation cohort, while patients in the third hospital constituted the hold-out external test cohort. The XGB model was the best-performing machine learning model, outperforming 2 existing ward-focused models in terms of discrimination ( C statistic: XGB, 0.86; ward-focused models, 0.82 [ P < .001] and 0.70 [ P < .001]) and the number needed to alert (at an example 80% sensitivity: XGB, 6 ward-focused models: 9 and 11). The deep learning models did not exhibit improved performance. The XGB model performed better or equivalent to models trained for a specific hospital unit. Conclusions and Relevance This retrospective cohort study describes the development of a novel hospitalwide model for continuously predicting the risk of critical events through the entirety of a child’s stay. The model facilitated a unified framework for risk assessment in a pediatric hospital.