A Clinical Decision Support System for the Treatment of COVID-19 with Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Techniques (Preprint)

Author(s):  
Ilker Ozsahin

BACKGROUND The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was first reported in December 2019. Until now, many drugs and methods have been used in the treatment of the disease. However, no effective treatment option has been found and only case-based successes have been achieved so far. OBJECTIVE This study aims to evaluate the COVID-19 treatment options using multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) techniques. METHODS In this study, we evaluated the available COVID-19 treatment options by MCDM techniques, namely fuzzy PROMETHEE and VIKOR. This technique is based on the evaluation and comparison of complex and multiple criteria to evaluate the most appropriate alternative. We evaluated current treatment options including favipiravir (FPV), lopinavir/ritonavir, hydroxychloroquine, interleukin-1 blocker, intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), and plasma exchange. The criteria used for the analysis include side effects, method of administration of the drug, cost, turnover of plasma, level of fever, age, pregnancy, and kidney function. RESULTS The results showed that plasma exchange was the most preferred alternative, followed by FPV and IVIG, while hydroxychloroquine was the least favorable one. New alternatives could be considered once they are available, and weights could be assigned based on the opinions of the decision makers (physicians/clinicians). CONCLUSIONS We showed the applicability of the MCDM techniques in informing decision makers in choosing the right treatment technique for the management of COVID-19.

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Figen Sarigul Yildirim ◽  
Murat Sayan ◽  
Tamer Sanlidag ◽  
Berna Uzun ◽  
Dilber Uzun Ozsahin ◽  
...  

Objectives. The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was first reported in December 2019. Until now, many drugs and methods have been used in the treatment of the disease. However, no effective treatment option has been found and only case-based successes have been achieved so far. This study aims to evaluate COVID-19 treatment options using multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) techniques. Methods. In this study, we evaluated the available COVID-19 treatment options by MCDM techniques, namely, fuzzy PROMETHEE and VIKOR. These techniques are based on the evaluation and comparison of complex and multiple criteria to evaluate the most appropriate alternative. We evaluated current treatment options including favipiravir (FPV), lopinavir/ritonavir, hydroxychloroquine, interleukin-1 blocker, intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), and plasma exchange. The criteria used for the analysis include side effects, method of administration of the drug, cost, turnover of plasma, level of fever, age, pregnancy, and kidney function. Results. The results showed that plasma exchange was the most preferred alternative, followed by FPV and IVIG, while hydroxychloroquine was the least favorable one. New alternatives could be considered once they are available, and weights could be assigned based on the opinions of the decision-makers (physicians/clinicians). The treatment methods that we evaluated with MCDM methods will be beneficial for both healthcare users and to rapidly end the global pandemic. The proposed method is applicable for analyzing the alternatives to the selection problem with quantitative and qualitative data. In addition, it allows the decision-maker to define the problem simply under uncertainty. Conclusions. Fuzzy PROMETHEE and VIKOR techniques are applied in aiding decision-makers in choosing the right treatment technique for the management of COVID-19.


Energies ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 2754 ◽  
Author(s):  
Indre Siksnelyte ◽  
Edmundas Zavadskas ◽  
Dalia Streimikiene ◽  
Deepak Sharma

The measurement of sustainability is actively used today as one of the main preventative instruments in order to reduce the decline of the environment. Sustainable decision-making in solving energy issues can be supported and contradictory effects can be evaluated by scientific achievements of multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) techniques. The main goal of this paper is to overview the application of decision-making methods in dealing with sustainable energy development issues. In this study, 105 published papers from the Web of Science Core Collection (WSCC) database are selected and reviewed, from 2004 to 2017, related to energy sustainability issues and MCDM methods. All the selected papers were categorized into 9 fields by the application area and into 10 fields by the used method. After the categorization of the scientific articles and detailed analysis, SWOT analysis of MCDM approaches in dealing with sustainable energy development issues is provided. The widespread application and use of MCDM methods confirm that MCDM methods can help decision-makers in solving energy sustainability problems and are highly popular and used in practice.


2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (02) ◽  
pp. 465-486 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ardalan Bafahm ◽  
Minghe Sun

The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) has been believed to be one of the most pragmatic and widely accepted methods for multi-criteria decision making. However, there have been various criticisms of this method within the last four decades. In this study, the results of AHP contradicting common expectations are examined for both the distributive and ideal modes. Specifically, conflicting priorities, conflicting decisions, and conflicting preference relations are investigated. A decision-making scenario is used throughout the paper and an illustrative example constructed from the decision-making scenario is provided to demonstrate each of the conflicting results recommended by AHP. With a parametric formulation of each unexpected result, the possibility of unexpected results of AHP is generalized irrespective of applying the distributive or ideal mode. The logic and causes of these contradictions are also analyzed. This study shows that AHP is not always reliable, and could lead the decision makers towards incorrect decisions.


Mekatronika ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-25
Author(s):  
Omar Ayasrah ◽  
Faiz Mohd Turan

The aim of this research is to develop a new multi-criteria decision-making method that integrates an intuitionistic fuzzy entropy measure and variable weight theory to be implemented in different fields to provide a solution for MCDM problems when the available information is incomplete. A limited number of studies have considered determining decision maker’s weights by performing objective techniques, and almost all of these researches detected a constant weights for the decision makers. In addition, most of the MCDM studies were not formulated to perform sensitivity analysis. The new method is based on the TOPSIS model with an intuitionistic fuzzy entropy measure in the exponential-related function form and the engagement of the variable weight theory to determine weights for the decision-makers that vary as per attibutes. Lastly, a mathematical model was developed in this research to be as an input for developing the mobile-aplication based method in future for virtual use of the new MCDM method.


Author(s):  
Samira Keivanpour ◽  
Hassan Haleh ◽  
Hamed Shakouri Ganjavi

Applying a MCDM model has many benefits for decision makers in the course of oil field master development plans preparation and evaluation. In this study, a multi-criteria decision making model is proposed in order to achieve an optimum production profile. The most important criteria and parameters for selection of best production profile are identified. These parameters are derived by several interviews with Iranian oil Industry’s experts. The candidate alternatives for production profile are ranked using a combination of group decision making approach and social choice theory. The degree of group consensus is evaluated by using a statistic model to confirm the validity of decision making model.


Mathematics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (11) ◽  
pp. 1081 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peng ◽  
Tian ◽  
Zhang ◽  
Song ◽  
Wang

Single-valued neutrosophic sets (SVNSs), which involve in truth-membership, indeterminacy-membership and falsity-membership, play a significant role in describing the decision-makers’ preference information. In this study, a single-valued neutrosophic multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approach is developed based on Shapley fuzzy measures and power aggregation operator that takes a correlative relationship among criteria into account and also simultaneously reduces the effects of abnormal preference information. Firstly, two aggregation operators, namely, generalized weighted single-valued neutrosophic power Shapley Choquet average (GWSVNPSCA) operator and generalized weighted single-valued neutrosophic power Shapley Choquet geometric (GWSVNPSCG) operator, are accordingly defined, and the corresponding properties are discussed as well. Secondly, based on the proposed aggregation operators, an integrated MCDM approach is proposed to effectively solve single-valued neutrosophic problems where the weight information is incompletely known. A programming model is constructed to obtain the optimal Shapley fuzzy measure. Next, the proposed operators are utilized to aggregate the decision-makers’ preference information. Finally, a theoretical example with tourism attraction selection is provided to examine the efficacy of the developed approach, in which the results is found reasonable and credible.


1998 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jack Dowie

Within ‘evidence-based medicine and health care’ the ‘number needed to treat’ (NNT) has been promoted as the most clinically useful measure of the effectiveness of interventions as established by research. Is the NNT, in either its simple or adjusted form, ‘easily understood’, ‘intuitively meaningful’, ‘clinically useful’ and likely to bring about the substantial improvements in patient care and public health envisaged by those who recommend its use? The key evidence against the NNT is the consistent format effect revealed in studies that present respondents with mathematically-equivalent statements regarding trial results. Problems of understanding aside, trying to overcome the limitations of the simple (major adverse event) NNT by adding an equivalent measure for harm (‘number needed to harm’ NNH) means the NNT loses its key claim to be a single yardstick. Integration of the NNT and NNH, and attempts to take into account the wider consequences of treatment options, can be attempted by either a ‘clinical judgement’ or an analytical route. The former means abandoning the explicit and rigorous transparency urged in evidence-based medicine. The attempt to produce an ‘adjusted’ NNT by an analytical approach has succeeded, but the procedure involves carrying out a prior decision analysis. The calculation of an adjusted NNT from that analysis is a redundant extra step, the only action necessary being comparison of the results for each option and determination of the optimal one. The adjusted NNT has no role in clinical decision-making, defined as requiring patient utilities, because the latter are measurable only on an interval scale and cannot be transformed into a ratio measure (which the adjusted NNT is implied to be). In any case, the NNT always represents the intrusion of population-based reasoning into clinical decision-making.


Mathematics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (19) ◽  
pp. 2420
Author(s):  
Qianyun Wen ◽  
Qiyao Yan ◽  
Junjie Qu ◽  
Yang Liu

More than 110 countries, including 500 cities worldwide, have set the goal of reaching carbon neutrality. Heating contributes to most of the residential energy consumption and carbon emissions. The green energy transition of fossil-based heating systems is needed to reach the emission goals. However, heating systems vary in energy source, heating technology, equipment location, and these complexities make it challenging for households to compare heating systems and make decisions. Hence, a decision support tool that provides a generalized ranking of individual heating alternatives is proposed for households as decision makers to identify the optimal choice. This paper presents an analysis of 13 heating alternatives and 19 quantitative criteria in technological, environmental, and financial aspects, combines ideal solution-based multi-criteria decision making with 6 weighting methods and 4 normalization methods, and introduces ensemble learning with a fuzzy membership function derived from Cauchy distribution to finalize the ultimate ranking. The robustness of the proposed method is verified by three sensitive analyses from different aspects. Air-to-water heat pump, solar heating and direct district heating are the top three rankings in the final result under Danish national average data. A framework is designed to guide decision makers to apply this ranking guideline with their practical, feasible situations.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristina Longo ◽  
Vasiliki Rahimzadeh ◽  
Gillian Bartlett

Abstract Background: Effective communication in support of clinical decision-making is central to the pediatric cancer care experience for families. A new laboratory derived pharmacogenetic test (LDT) that can diagnose difficult-to-treat brain cancers has been developed to stratify children based on their ability to respond to available treatment; however, the potential implementation of the LDT may make effective communication challenging since it can potentially remove the option for curative treatment in those children identified as non-responders, i.e. those with a catastrophic diagnosis. Objective: We solicited the perspectives of parents of children with difficult-to-treat brain cancer on communication preferences surrounding the potential implementation of the LDT in standard care using deliberative stakeholder consultations.Methods: Eight bereaved parents of children who succumbed to difficult-to-treat brain cancer, and four parents of children currently undergoing treatment for similar cancers attended separate small-group deliberative consultations – a stakeholder engagement method that enables the co-creation of recommendations following the consideration of competing arguments and diverse opinions of parents with different experiences. In the small-group consultations (Phase I), parents discussed four questions about potential communication issues that may arise with the LDT in practice. In Phase II, a total of five parents from both stakeholder groups (4 bereaved and 1 in current treatment) attended a consultation, known as the ‘mixed’ consultation, with the purpose of co-developing concrete recommendations for implementation of the LDT.Results: Explaining the risks, benefits, and accuracy of the LDT were considered essential to parents. Once an LDT-based diagnosis/prognosis can be made, parents valued honesty, empathy, and clarity in communication. Parents also requested that all results and treatment options be presented to them in measured doses, and in an unbiased manner over the course of several meetings. This communication strategy allowed sufficient time to understand and accept the diagnosis/prognosis, particularly if it was catastrophic. Continuous access to the appropriate psychological and social support or counselling at and post-diagnosis was also strongly recommended.Conclusions: Deliberants co-created family-centered recommendations surrounding communication issues of the LDT, providing guidance to pediatric oncologists that could implement the test in practice.


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