Editorial
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Jan 6, 2025; 13(1): 99744
Published online Jan 6, 2025. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v13.i1.99744
Machine learning applications in healthcare clinical practice and research
Nikolaos-Achilleas Arkoudis, Stavros P Papadakos
Nikolaos-Achilleas Arkoudis, Research Unit of Radiology and Medical Imaging, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens 11528, Greece
Nikolaos-Achilleas Arkoudis, 2nd Department of Radiology, “Attikon” General University Hospital, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Chaidari 12462, Greece
Stavros P Papadakos, Department of Gastroenterology, Laiko General Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens 11527, Greece
Author contributions: Arkoudis NA and Papadakos SP assisted with conceptualization, visualisation, writing the original draft, reviewing and editing the manuscript and supervising its preparation; all of the authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript to be published.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare no conflict of interest in publishing the manuscript.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Nikolaos-Achilleas Arkoudis, MD, MSc, PhD, Consultant Physician-Scientist, Researcher, Research Unit of Radiology and Medical Imaging, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 19 Papadiamantopoulou, Athens 11528, Greece. nick.arkoudis@gmail.com
Received: August 6, 2024
Revised: September 25, 2024
Accepted: October 15, 2024
Published online: January 6, 2025
Processing time: 92 Days and 22.4 Hours
Abstract

Machine learning (ML) is a type of artificial intelligence that assists computers in the acquisition of knowledge through data analysis, thus creating machines that can complete tasks otherwise requiring human intelligence. Among its various applications, it has proven groundbreaking in healthcare as well, both in clinical practice and research. In this editorial, we succinctly introduce ML applications and present a study, featured in the latest issue of the World Journal of Clinical Cases. The authors of this study conducted an analysis using both multiple linear regression (MLR) and ML methods to investigate the significant factors that may impact the estimated glomerular filtration rate in healthy women with and without non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Their results implicated age as the most important determining factor in both groups, followed by lactic dehydrogenase, uric acid, forced expiratory volume in one second, and albumin. In addition, for the NAFLD- group, the 5th and 6th most important impact factors were thyroid-stimulating hormone and systolic blood pressure, as compared to plasma calcium and body fat for the NAFLD+ group. However, the study's distinctive contribution lies in its adoption of ML methodologies, showcasing their superiority over traditional statistical approaches (herein MLR), thereby highlighting the potential of ML to represent an invaluable advanced adjunct tool in clinical practice and research.

Keywords: Machine; Learning; Artificial; Intelligence; Clinical; Practice; Research; Glomerular filtration rate; Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; Medicine

Core Tip: Across numerous diverse industries, machine learning (ML) is revolutionizing healthcare as well. It has demonstrated the potential to aid in disease diagnosis, treatment planning, decision-making, and outcome prediction, as well as improve clinical trial design and their success rates, often surpassing traditional methods. We highlight a study, published in the World Journal of Clinical Cases, where ML techniques proved superior to traditional statistical methods in analyzing factors affecting the estimated glomerular filtration rate in healthy women with and without non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.