Short-term mortality prediction in children with gastrointestinal congenital anomalies using a random forest

Andreea Madalina Serban1

  • 1Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania. andreea_serban@drd.umfcd.ro.

Pediatric Research
|September 15, 2025
PubMed

Insights

A machine learning model accurately predicts 30-day mortality in children with gastrointestinal congenital malformations. Key factors include complications, post-operative care, and patient health scores, aiding early risk identification.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Surgery
  • Machine Learning in Healthcare
  • Global Health Outcomes

Background:

  • Gastrointestinal congenital malformations pose significant risks to children.
  • Identifying high-risk pediatric patients for mortality is crucial for timely intervention.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop a predictive model for identifying children with gastrointestinal congenital malformations at high risk of 30-day mortality.
  • To leverage machine learning for improved mortality prediction in this vulnerable pediatric population.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized data from the Global PaedSurg collaboration, including 3849 patients from 74 countries.
  • Employed data preprocessing techniques including imputation and class balancing (oversampling non-survivors, undersampling survivors).
  • Trained a random forest classifier for mortality prediction.

Main Results:

  • The random forest model achieved 88.84% accuracy in predicting 30-day mortality.
  • High precision (84.13%) and sensitivity (89.98%) were observed in identifying non-survivors.
  • Key predictors included diagnosis of complications, duration of postoperative antibiotics, need for parenteral nutrition/ventilation, ASA score, admission weight, and surgical safety checklist use.

Conclusions:

  • Random forest classification is a viable method for predicting short-term mortality in pediatric gastrointestinal congenital malformations.
  • This study is the first global application of machine learning for this specific prediction task.
  • The model identifies critical clinical, procedural, and socio-demographic factors associated with mortality risk.
Abstract