A Retrospective Machine Learning Analysis to Predict 3-Month Nonunion of Unstable Distal Clavicle Fracture Patients Treated with Open Reduction and Internal Fixation

Changke Ma,1,* Wei Lu,2,3,* Limei Liang,4,* Kaizong Huang,3 Jianjun Zou3,5 1Department of Orthopaedics, Nanjing Luhe People’s Hospital, Yangzhou University, Nanjing, People’s Republic of China; 2School of Basic Medicine and Clinical Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical...

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Main Authors: Ma C, Lu W, Liang L, Huang K, Zou J
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Language:English
Published: Dove Medical Press 2025-05-01
Series:Therapeutics and Clinical Risk Management
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Online Access:https://www.dovepress.com/a-retrospective-machine-learning-analysis-to-predict-3-month-nonunion--peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-TCRM
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author Ma C
Lu W
Liang L
Huang K
Zou J
author_facet Ma C
Lu W
Liang L
Huang K
Zou J
author_sort Ma C
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description Changke Ma,1,* Wei Lu,2,3,* Limei Liang,4,* Kaizong Huang,3 Jianjun Zou3,5 1Department of Orthopaedics, Nanjing Luhe People’s Hospital, Yangzhou University, Nanjing, People’s Republic of China; 2School of Basic Medicine and Clinical Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Pharmacology, Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Rehabilitation, Nanjing Luhe People’s Hospital, Yangzhou University, Nanjing, People’s Republic of China; 5Department of Pharmacy, Nanjing First Hospital, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Kaizong Huang, Email kzhuang@nju.edu.cn Jianjun Zou, Email zoujianjun100@126.comBackground: This retrospective study aims to predict the risk of 3-month nonunion in patients with unstable distal clavicle fractures (UDCFs) treated with open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) using machine learning (ML) methods. ML was chosen over traditional statistical approaches because of its superior ability to capture complex nonlinear interactions and to handle imbalanced datasets.Methods: We collected UDCFs patients at Nanjing Luhe People’s Hospital (China) between January 2015 and May 2023. The unfavorable outcome was defined as 3-month nonunion, as represented by disappeared fracture line and continuous callus. Patients meeting inclusion criteria were randomly divided into training (70%) and testing (30%) sets. Five ML models (logistic regression, random forest classifier, extreme gradient boosting, multi-layer perceptron, and category boosting) were developed. Those models were selected based on univariate analysis and refined using the Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO). Model performance was evaluated using AUROC, AUPRC, accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, F1 score, and calibration curves.Results: A total of 248 patients were finally included into this study, and 76 (30.6%) of them had unfavorable outcomes. While all five models showed similar trends, the CatBoost model achieved the highest performance (AUROC = 0.863, AUPRC = 0.801) with consistent identification of the risk factors mentioned above. The SHAP values identified the CCD as the significant predictor for assessing the risk of 3-month nonunion in patients with UDCFs within the Chinese demographic.Conclusion: The refined model incorporated four readily accessible variables, wherein the CCD, HDL levels, and blood loss were associated with an elevated risk of nonunion. Conversely, the application of nerve blocks, including postoperative block, was correlated with a reduced risk. Our results suggest that ML, particularly the CatBoost model, can be integrated into clinical workflows to aid surgeons in optimizing intraoperative techniques and postoperative management to reduce nonunion rates.Keywords: distal clavicle fracture, machine learning, prediction, nonunion
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spelling doaj-art-9bf644cd953949a4836ec722b12926932025-08-20T01:51:19ZengDove Medical PressTherapeutics and Clinical Risk Management1178-203X2025-05-01Volume 21Issue 1633645102676A Retrospective Machine Learning Analysis to Predict 3-Month Nonunion of Unstable Distal Clavicle Fracture Patients Treated with Open Reduction and Internal FixationMa C0Lu WLiang LHuang K1Zou J2OrthopedicsNanjing First HospitalDepartment of Clinical PharmacologyChangke Ma,1,* Wei Lu,2,3,* Limei Liang,4,* Kaizong Huang,3 Jianjun Zou3,5 1Department of Orthopaedics, Nanjing Luhe People’s Hospital, Yangzhou University, Nanjing, People’s Republic of China; 2School of Basic Medicine and Clinical Pharmacy, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Pharmacology, Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Rehabilitation, Nanjing Luhe People’s Hospital, Yangzhou University, Nanjing, People’s Republic of China; 5Department of Pharmacy, Nanjing First Hospital, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Kaizong Huang, Email kzhuang@nju.edu.cn Jianjun Zou, Email zoujianjun100@126.comBackground: This retrospective study aims to predict the risk of 3-month nonunion in patients with unstable distal clavicle fractures (UDCFs) treated with open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) using machine learning (ML) methods. ML was chosen over traditional statistical approaches because of its superior ability to capture complex nonlinear interactions and to handle imbalanced datasets.Methods: We collected UDCFs patients at Nanjing Luhe People’s Hospital (China) between January 2015 and May 2023. The unfavorable outcome was defined as 3-month nonunion, as represented by disappeared fracture line and continuous callus. Patients meeting inclusion criteria were randomly divided into training (70%) and testing (30%) sets. Five ML models (logistic regression, random forest classifier, extreme gradient boosting, multi-layer perceptron, and category boosting) were developed. Those models were selected based on univariate analysis and refined using the Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (LASSO). Model performance was evaluated using AUROC, AUPRC, accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, F1 score, and calibration curves.Results: A total of 248 patients were finally included into this study, and 76 (30.6%) of them had unfavorable outcomes. While all five models showed similar trends, the CatBoost model achieved the highest performance (AUROC = 0.863, AUPRC = 0.801) with consistent identification of the risk factors mentioned above. The SHAP values identified the CCD as the significant predictor for assessing the risk of 3-month nonunion in patients with UDCFs within the Chinese demographic.Conclusion: The refined model incorporated four readily accessible variables, wherein the CCD, HDL levels, and blood loss were associated with an elevated risk of nonunion. Conversely, the application of nerve blocks, including postoperative block, was correlated with a reduced risk. Our results suggest that ML, particularly the CatBoost model, can be integrated into clinical workflows to aid surgeons in optimizing intraoperative techniques and postoperative management to reduce nonunion rates.Keywords: distal clavicle fracture, machine learning, prediction, nonunionhttps://www.dovepress.com/a-retrospective-machine-learning-analysis-to-predict-3-month-nonunion--peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-TCRMDistal clavicle fractureMachine learningPredictionNonunion
spellingShingle Ma C
Lu W
Liang L
Huang K
Zou J
A Retrospective Machine Learning Analysis to Predict 3-Month Nonunion of Unstable Distal Clavicle Fracture Patients Treated with Open Reduction and Internal Fixation
Therapeutics and Clinical Risk Management
Distal clavicle fracture
Machine learning
Prediction
Nonunion
title A Retrospective Machine Learning Analysis to Predict 3-Month Nonunion of Unstable Distal Clavicle Fracture Patients Treated with Open Reduction and Internal Fixation
title_full A Retrospective Machine Learning Analysis to Predict 3-Month Nonunion of Unstable Distal Clavicle Fracture Patients Treated with Open Reduction and Internal Fixation
title_fullStr A Retrospective Machine Learning Analysis to Predict 3-Month Nonunion of Unstable Distal Clavicle Fracture Patients Treated with Open Reduction and Internal Fixation
title_full_unstemmed A Retrospective Machine Learning Analysis to Predict 3-Month Nonunion of Unstable Distal Clavicle Fracture Patients Treated with Open Reduction and Internal Fixation
title_short A Retrospective Machine Learning Analysis to Predict 3-Month Nonunion of Unstable Distal Clavicle Fracture Patients Treated with Open Reduction and Internal Fixation
title_sort retrospective machine learning analysis to predict 3 month nonunion of unstable distal clavicle fracture patients treated with open reduction and internal fixation
topic Distal clavicle fracture
Machine learning
Prediction
Nonunion
url https://www.dovepress.com/a-retrospective-machine-learning-analysis-to-predict-3-month-nonunion--peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-TCRM
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