AI-guided precision parenteral nutrition for neonatal intensive care units

One in ten neonates are admitted to neonatal intensive care units, highlighting the need for precise interventions. However, the application of artificial intelligence (AI) in guiding neonatal care remains underexplored. Total parenteral nutrition (TPN) is a life-saving treatment for preterm neonates; however, implementation of the therapy in its current form is subjective, error-prone and resource-consuming. Here, we developed TPN2.0—a data-driven approach that optimizes and standardizes TPN using information collected routinely in electronic health records. We assembled a decade of TPN compositions (79,790 orders; 5,913 patients) at Stanford to train TPN2.0. In addition to internal validation, we also validated our model in an external cohort (63,273 orders; 3,417 patients) from a second hospital. Our algorithm identified 15 TPN formulas that can enable a precision-medicine approach (Pearson’s R = 0.94 compared to experts), increasing safety and potentially reducing cost. A blinded study (n = 192) revealed that physicians rated TPN2.0 higher than current best practice. In patients with high disagreement between the actual prescriptions and TPN2.0, standard prescriptions were associated with increased morbidities (for example, odds ratio = 3.33; P value = 0.0007 for necrotizing enterocolitis), while TPN2.0 recommendations were linked to reduced risk. Finally, we demonstrated that TPN2.0 employing a transformer architecture enabled guideline-adhering, physician-in-the-loop recommendations that allow collaboration between the care team and AI.