Outcome prediction in traumatic pelvic injuries using maximum similarity and quality measures

Abstract

Traumatic pelvic injury is frequently life-threatening due to its association with severe hemorrhage and the high risk of complications. Immediate medical treatment is therefore of utmost importance; however, decisions regarding treatment are often very difficult to make due to the amount and complexity of patient information. The use of a computer-aided decision making system to help trauma surgeons assess the severity of a patient’s condition, and to make more reliable and rapid treatment decisions, could improve care giving standards and reduce the cost of trauma care. This paper focuses on creating such a system based on the rules derived through CART and C4.5. The system is designed to predict the eventual outcome of a trauma case home or rehab - by using maximum similarity, measure of discrimination, specificity and sensitivity to form a reliable decision regarding a patient’s condition.