Researchers from New York City-based New York University developed an artificial intelligence tool to help predict which hospitalized COVID-19 patients will have good outcomes and can be sent home safely, according to a study published Oct. 6 in NPJ Digital Medicine.
The tool, developed by a team from NYU's Grossman School of Medicine and Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, analyzed the medical records of thousands of New York patients. It used each patient's vital signs, oxygen requirements and recent laboratory results to determine if they would have good or bad outcomes in the next four days.
When the research team assessed the tool's performance, they found it could identify whether a hospitalized COVID-19 patient would have a good outcome with 90 percent precision. Since it began testing in May, the tool helped estimate COVID-19 patient outcomes more than a half million times.
The research team said the tool's aim is to help physicians prioritize care for some COVID-19 patients and form discharge plans for others.