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Goodwin AJ, Eytan D, Dixon W, Goodfellow SD, Doherty Z, Greer RW, McEwan A, Tracy M, Laussen PC, Assadi A, Mazwi M. Timing errors and temporal uncertainty in clinical databases-A narrative review. Front Digit Health 2022; 4:932599. [PMID: 36060541 PMCID: PMC9433547 DOI: 10.3389/fdgth.2022.932599] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2022] [Accepted: 07/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
A firm concept of time is essential for establishing causality in a clinical setting. Review of critical incidents and generation of study hypotheses require a robust understanding of the sequence of events but conducting such work can be problematic when timestamps are recorded by independent and unsynchronized clocks. Most clinical models implicitly assume that timestamps have been measured accurately and precisely, but this custom will need to be re-evaluated if our algorithms and models are to make meaningful use of higher frequency physiological data sources. In this narrative review we explore factors that can result in timestamps being erroneously recorded in a clinical setting, with particular focus on systems that may be present in a critical care unit. We discuss how clocks, medical devices, data storage systems, algorithmic effects, human factors, and other external systems may affect the accuracy and precision of recorded timestamps. The concept of temporal uncertainty is introduced, and a holistic approach to timing accuracy, precision, and uncertainty is proposed. This quantitative approach to modeling temporal uncertainty provides a basis to achieve enhanced model generalizability and improved analytical outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew J. Goodwin
- Department of Critical Care Medicine, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
- School of Biomedical Engineering, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Danny Eytan
- Department of Critical Care Medicine, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Medicine, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
| | - William Dixon
- Department of Critical Care Medicine, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Sebastian D. Goodfellow
- Department of Critical Care Medicine, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Civil and Mineral Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Zakary Doherty
- Research Fellow, School of Rural Health, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Robert W. Greer
- Department of Critical Care Medicine, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Alistair McEwan
- School of Biomedical Engineering, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Mark Tracy
- Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Westmead Hospital, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Peter C. Laussen
- Department of Anesthesia, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Azadeh Assadi
- Department of Critical Care Medicine, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Mjaye Mazwi
- Department of Critical Care Medicine, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Paediatrics, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
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