Development and validation of a machine learning model for predicting 6-month mortality in patients with infective endocarditis

The EST model demonstrated a high predictive accuracy for 6-month mortality in patients with IE, outperforming both conventional and other ML models. Its robust performance and interpretability suggest that, following rigorous external and multicenter validation, it may serve as a hypothesis-generating tool for risk stratification. It is not yet validated for direct clinical application and should currently be considered exploratory.