Risk assessment in cardiac surgery: Exploring machine learning and laboratory indices as adjunctive tools
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Post-operative outcomes of cardiovascular surgery vary greatly among patients for a variety of reasons. While the specific reasons are often multifactorial and complex, certain machine learning methods are promising ways to both estimate mortality after surgery and elucidate important factors linked with mortality. METHODS: Using the MIMIC-IV database, we identified 11,261 patients on the cardiovascular surgery unit. We estimated all-cause one-year mortality for each patient after their most recent operation. The dataset included patient demographics (including age, sex, and BMI), as well as the maximum and minimum common laboratory values measured prior to each surgery (including electrolytes, eGFR, and red cell distribution width). RESULTS: Of the models tested, logistic regression outperformed all other approaches with respect to accuracy (p = 0.0075 with respect to a two-tailed t-test with the next strongest model). The model had an accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of 85.07%, 82.89%, 85.19% respectively. Furthermore, features weighted heavily by the model are consistent with known predictors of mortality in the literature. CONCLUSION: Pre-operative laboratory values are effective predictors of all-cause one-year mortality post-cardiovascular surgery used in conjunction with machine learning. Renal function, red cell distribution width, leukocytosis, and erythrocyte indices appear to be important prognostic factors.
Source: PLoS ONE
Authors: Wesley Chorney, John Hinchion
Institutions: University College Cork, Cork University Hospital
Language: English
Subfield: Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,382
OpenAlex ID: W7127949317