Validation of the PediBIRN-7 clinical prediction rule for pediatric abusive head trauma

Background The PediBIRN-7 clinical prediction rule incorporates the (positive or negative) predictive contributions of completed abuse evaluations to estimate abusive head trauma (AHT) probability after abuse evaluation. Applying definitional criteria as proxies for AHT and non-AHT ground truth, it performed with sensitivity 0.73 (95 % CI: 0.66–0.79), specificity 0.87 (95 % CI: 0.82–0.90), and ROC-AUC 0.88 (95 % CI: 0.85–0.92) in its derivation study. Objective To validate the PediBIRN-7's AHT prediction performance in a novel, equivalent, patient population. Participants and settings Consecutive, acutely head-injured children <3 years hospitalized for intensive care across eight sites between 2017 and 2020 with completed skeletal surveys and retinal exams (N = 342). Methods Secondary analysis of an existing, cross-sectional, prospective dataset, including assignment of patient-specific estimates of AHT probability, calculation of AHT prediction performance measures (ROC-AUC, sensitivity, specificity, predictive values), and completion of sensitivity analyses to estimate best- and worst-case prediction performances. Results Applying the same definitional criteria, the PediBIRN-7 performed with sensitivity 0.74 (95 % CI: 0.66–0.81), specificity 0.77 (95 % CI: 0.70–0.83), and ROC-AUC 0.83 (95 % CI: 0.78–0.88). The reduction in ROC-AUC was statistically insignificant (p = .07). Applying physicians' final consensus diagnoses as proxies for AHT and non-AHT ground truth, the PediBIRN-7 performed with sensitivity 0.73 (95 % CI: 0.66–0.79), specificity 0.87 (95 % CI: 0.82–0.90), and ROC-AUC 0.90 (95 % CI: 0.87–0.94). Sensitivity analyses demonstrated minimal changes in rule performance. Conclusion The PediBIRN-7's overall AHT prediction performance has been validated in a novel, equivalent, patient population. Its patient-specific estimates of AHT probability can inform physicians' AHT-related diagnostic reasoning after abuse evaluation.