Journal article
Artificial Intelligence-Driven Triage in Pediatric Emergency Departments: Accuracy, Bias, and Impact on Clinical Outcomes: A Narrative Review
Sage Open Pediatrics, v 13
01 Jan 2026
PMID: 42137483
Abstract
AI-driven triage presents a transformative opportunity to address persistent challenges in pediatric emergency care, from overcrowding and waiting times to human error and outcome disparities. This narrative review demonstrates that AI systems can achieve high accuracy in predicting critical outcomes, with pooled AUROCs of 0.87 for hospital admission, 0.93 for ICU admission, and 0.93 for mortality, significantly outperforming traditional triage scales, while observational studies report associations with improved efficiency, reduced triage errors, and enhanced resource allocation. However, publication bias favoring positive results affects the available evidence, and studies reporting no benefit or performance degradation exist. The promise of AI is tempered by significant challenges: performance varies across pediatric subgroups, the risks of perpetuating and amplifying bias remain inadequately addressed, and workflow integration and medico-legal liability require careful navigation. AI augments clinical judgment, guided by robust governance frameworks, fairness auditing, and human oversight for more equitable emergency care.
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Details
- Title
- Artificial Intelligence-Driven Triage in Pediatric Emergency Departments: Accuracy, Bias, and Impact on Clinical Outcomes: A Narrative Review
- Creators
- Eslam Abady - Tanta UniversityMandy Elewa - Istanbul UniversityHabiba Abdelhameed Elrefaey - Tanta UniversityKevin Thomas Mathew - David Tvildiani Medical UniversityPanos Tamvakologos - St. George's UniversityKayleigh Kuhn - Brooklyn Hospital CenterMohammed Alsabri (Corresponding Author) - Drexel University, College of Medicine
- Publication Details
- Sage Open Pediatrics, v 13
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- College of Medicine
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:001764357500001
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-105038684650
- Other Identifier
- 991022197016704721
InCites Highlights
Data related to this publication, from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool:
- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- International collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Pediatrics