Exploration of the correlation between clinical indicators and prognosis in hospitalized children with pneumonia and construction of a risk prediction model based on machine learning algorithms

The XGBoost-based model effectively identifies high-risk children with pneumonia, with PCT, CRP, and respiratory rate as key predictors. It provides a practical tool for clinical risk stratification and personalized management. The model's cutoffs for PCT (>2 ng/mL) and CRP (>40 mg/L) align with existing pediatric pneumonia predictive scores (e.g., PRIEST score) but offer improved discriminative power by integrating multi-dimensional indicators and ML-driven interactions.