Predicting intensive care unit-acquired weakness: A multilayer perceptron neural network approach

Table 1 Strengths and weaknesses of existing approaches to predicting intensive care unit-acquired weakness

Approach	Strengths	Weaknesses
Clinical assessment	Clinicians can use clinical signs and symptoms to assess the risk of ICUAW, which is a non-invasive and readily available method	Clinical signs and symptoms may not be sensitive or specific enough to accurately predict ICUAW
Electrophysiological Testing	Electrophysiological tests, such as electromyography and nerve conduction studies, can provide objective measures of muscle function and help diagnose ICUAW	Electrophysiological tests are invasive, time-consuming, and may not be feasible in critically ill patients
Biomarkers	Biomarkers, such as creatine kinase and myosin light chain, can indicate muscle damage and may be useful for diagnosing ICUAW	Biomarkers are not specific to ICUAW and may be elevated in other conditions
Muscle ultrasound	Muscle ultrasound can provide information about muscle thickness and echogenicity, which can be altered in patients with ICUAW	The interpretation of ultrasound findings can be subjective, and the technique may be operator-dependent

ICUAW: Intensive care unit-acquired weakness.

Table 2 Variety of clinical and demographic variables collected from patients admitted to the intensive care unit

Patient profile and assessment	Variable
Demographic information	Age
	Sex
	Race
	Other demographic characteristics of the patient
Clinical characteristics	Comorbidities
	Severity of illness scores (e.g., APACHE II, SOFA)
	Reason for ICU admission
Laboratory values	Creatinine
	Liver function tests
	Complete blood count
	Inflammatory markers
Vital signs	Heart rate
	Blood pressure
	Respiratory rate
	Temperature
Medication and treatment	Sedatives
	Analgesics
	Neuromuscular blocking agents
	Other medications
Mechanical ventilation	Duration of mechanical ventilation
	Mode of ventilation
	Ventilator settings
Muscle strength and function	Assessment of muscle strength (e.g., Medical Research Council scale, handgrip dynamometer)
Neurological status	Glasgow coma scale score
	Neurological examination findings
	Presence of delirium
Functional status	Pre-ICU functional status (e.g., ability to perform activities of daily living)
Outcomes	Development of ICUAW
	Duration of ICU stay
	Duration of mechanical ventilation
	Mortality

ICU: Intensive care unit; ICUAW: Intensive care unit-acquired weakness.