Causal Inference for ICU Patients

Abstract

Sepsis is an infection that can lead to vital organ dysfunction, and it is estimated to occur in 30% of ICU patients. This research aims to assess whether receiving a Transthoracic Echocardiogram (TTE) has an effect on the 28-day mortality rate of ICU patients with Sepsis, as TTEs are currently widely used in medical treatment. Our data source containing ICU patients comes from the Electronic Health Records (EHR) database MIMIC-III. This is an observational data source, so we attempted to establish causality by addressing assumptions and using various causal effect estimators. Additionally, we estimated heterogeneity in treatment effects across different groups of sepsis patients. Ultimately, we established a causal effect and identified which covariates are associated with large treatment effects. This research can be used to better inform clinical decisions when providing care for ICU patients with Sepsis