ICU management based on big data

The availability of large datasets and computational power has prompted a revolution in Intensive Care. Data represent a great opportunity for clinical practice, benchmarking, and research. Machine learning algorithms can help predict events in a way the human brain can simply not process. This possibility comes with benefits and risks for the clinician, as finding associations does not mean proving causality.

Current applications of Data Science still focus on data documentation and visualization, and on basic rules to identify critical lab values. Recently, algorithms have been put in place for prediction of outcomes such as length of stay, mortality, and development of complications. These results have begun being implemented for more efficient allocation of resources and in benchmarking processes, to allow identification of successful practices and margins for improvement. In parallel, machine learning models are increasingly being applied in research to expand medical knowledge.

Data have always been part of the work of intensivists, but the current availability has not been completely exploited. The intensive care community has to embrace and guide the data science revolution in order to decline it in favor of patients' care.