Predicting Extubation Readiness in Preterm Infants Utilizing Machine Learning: A Diagnostic Utility Study

Objective: The objective of this study was to predict extubation readiness in preterm infants using machine learning analysis of bedside pulse oximeter and ventilator data.

Study design: This is an observational study with prospective recordings of oxygen saturation (SpO₂) and ventilator data from infants <30 weeks of gestation age. Research pulse oximeters collected SpO₂ (1 Hz sampling rate) to quantify intermittent hypoxemia (IH). Continuous ventilator metrics were collected (4-5-minute sampling) from bedside ventilators. Data modeling was completed using unbiased machine learning algorithms. Three model sets were created using the following data source combinations: (1) IH and ventilator (IH + SIMV), (2) IH, and (3) ventilator (SIMV). Infants were also analyzed separated by postnatal age (infants <2 or ≥2 weeks of age). Models were compared by area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC).

Results: A total of 110 extubation events from 110 preterm infants were analyzed. Infants had a median gestation age and birth weight of 26 weeks and 825 g, respectively. Of the 3 models presented, the IH + SIMV model achieved the highest AUC of 0.77 for all infants. Separating infants by postnatal age increased accuracy further achieving AUC of 0.94 for <2 weeks of age group and AUC of 0.83 for ≥2 weeks group.

Conclusions: Machine learning analysis has the potential to enhance prediction accuracy of extubation readiness in preterm infants while utilizing readily available data streams from bedside pulse oximeters and ventilators.