Title
Using an artificial neural network to predict necrotizing enterocolitis in premature infants
Abstract
Except for degree of prematurity, risk factors for the development of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) in very low birth weight (VLBW) infant have not been consistently identified. In addition, fear of NEC determines the majority of VLBW infant feeding regimens in the first postnatal month. About 10-12% of infants weighing less than 1500 grams at birth will develop NEC and about one-third of them will die from the disease. Improved identification of preterm infants at risk for NEC could allow improved infant feeding to focus on growth and nutrition for infants at low-risk of NEC. The objective of this study was to develop an algorithm using artificial neural networks (ANN) to predict prematurely born infants at highest risk of NEC. The majority of ANN's considered optimal used small numbers of variables: 54% used a single variable, 30% used 2 variables, 12% used 3 variables and only 4% used 4 or 5 variables to predict NEC. Sixty-eight percent of the variables were selected first and 79% were selected as second variable at least once. Small for gestational age (SGA) and being artificially ventilated (ventilation: yes/no) were chosen first and second most often among all 57 variables. ANNs as predictive tools provide a first indication for the relative importance of the 57 variables in final decision-making.
Year
DOI
Venue
2009
10.1109/IJCNN.2009.5178635
IJCNN
Keywords
Field
DocType
vlbw infant feeding regimen,very low birth weight infant,final decision making,artificial intelligence,premature infants,risk factor,small number,highest risk,infant feeding regimens,preterm infant,necrotizing enterocolitis prediction,premature infant,single variable,necrotizing enterocolitis,improved identification,small for gestational age,artificial neural network,infant feeding,medical computing,artificial ventilation,low birth weight,neural nets,sixty-eight percent,predictive models,national electric code,risk factors,information retrieval,databases,artificial neural networks,antibiotics,pediatrics,ventilation
Low birth weight,Artificial ventilation,Computer science,Small for gestational age,Pediatrics,Artificial intelligence,Necrotizing enterocolitis,Machine learning
Conference
ISSN
ISBN
Citations 
1098-7576 E-ISBN : 978-1-4244-3553-1
978-1-4244-3553-1
0
PageRank 
References 
Authors
0.34
1
4
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Martina Mueller151.87
Sarah N. Taylor200.68
Carol L Wagner331.48
Jonas S Almeida473142.25