Machine Learning in Pediatrics: Evaluating Challenges, Opportunities, and Explainability

The emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT and Bard is disrupting a broad swathe of fields, including medicine. In pediatric medicine, AI is also increasingly being used across multiple subspecialties. However, the practical application of AI still faces a number of key challenges. Consequently, there is a requirement for a concise overview of the roles of AI across the multiple domains of pediatric medicine that the current study seeks to address.

To systematically assess the challenges, opportunities, and explainability of AI in pediatric medicine.

A systematic search was carried out on peer-reviewed databases, PubMed Central, Europe PubMed Central, and grey literature using search terms related to machine learning (ML) and AI for the years 2016 to 2022 in the English language. A total of 210 articles were retrieved that were screened with PRISMA for abstract, year, language, context, and proximal relevance to research aims. A thematic analysis was carried out to extract findings from the included studies.

Twenty articles were selected for data abstraction and analysis, with three consistent themes emerging from these articles. In particular, eleven articles address the current state-of-the-art application of AI in diagnosing and predicting health conditions such as behavioral and mental health, cancer, syndromic and metabolic diseases. Five articles highlight the specific challenges of AI deployment in pediatric medicines: data security, handling, authentication, and validation. Four articles set out future opportunities for AI to be adapted: the incorporation of Big Data, cloud computing, precision medicine, and clinical decision support systems. These studies collectively critically evaluate the potential of AI in overcoming current barriers to adoption.

AI is proving disruptive within pediatric medicine and is presently associated with challenges, opportunities, and the need for explainability. AI should be viewed as a tool to enhance and support clinical decision-making rather than a substitute for human judgement and expertise. Future research should consequently focus on obtaining comprehensive data to ensure the generalizability of research findings.