SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Pediatr.
Sec. General Pediatrics and Pediatric Emergency Care
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fped.2025.1613150
Applications of Artificial Intelligence in Early Childhood Health Management: A Systematic Review from Fetal to Pediatric Periods
Provisionally accepted- 1The First People's Hospital of Jintang County/ Jintang Hospital, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
- 2Sichuan Provincial Women's and Children's Hospital / The Affiliated Women's and Children's Hospital of Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
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Background: The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into early childhood health management has expanded rapidly, with applications spanning the fetal, neonatal, and pediatric periods. While numerous studies report promising results, a comprehensive synthesis of AI's performance, methodological quality, and translational readiness in child health is needed. Objectives: This systematic review aims to evaluate the current landscape of AI applications in fetal and pediatric care, assess their diagnostic accuracy and clinical utility, and identify key barriers to real-world implementation. Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science for studies published between January 2021 and March 2025. Eligible studies involved AI-driven models for diagnosis, prediction, or decision support in individuals aged 0–18 years. Study selection followed the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Data were extracted on application domain, AI methodology, performance metrics, validation strategy, and clinical integration level. Results: From 4,938 screened records, 133 studies were included. AI models demonstrated high performance in prenatal anomaly detection (mean AUC: 0.91–0.95), neonatal intensive care (e.g., sepsis prediction with sensitivity up to 89%), and pediatric genetic diagnosis (accuracy: 85–93% using facial analysis). Deep learning enhanced consistency in fetal echocardiography and ultrasound interpretation. However, 76% of studies used single-center retrospective data, and only 21% reported external validation. Performance dropped by 15–20% in cross-institutional settings. Fewer than 5% of models have been integrated into routine clinical workflows, with limited reporting on data privacy, algorithmic bias, and clinician trust. Conclusion: AI holds transformative potential across the pediatric continuum of care—from fetal screening to chronic disease management. However, most applications remain in the research phase, constrained by data heterogeneity, lack of prospective validation, and insufficient regulatory alignment. To advance clinical adoption, future efforts should focus on multicenter collaboration, standardized data sharing frameworks, explainable AI, and pediatric-specific regulatory pathways. This review provides a roadmap for clinicians, researchers, and policymakers to guide the responsible translation of AI in child health.
Keywords: Artificial intelligenc, machine learning, deep learning, Fetal Diseases, Neonatal Screening, Child Health, Systematic review
Received: 16 Apr 2025; Accepted: 01 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang, Yin, Zhang, Ou, Li, Zhang, Wan, Guo, Cao, Wang and LUO. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Qingsong Wang, The First People's Hospital of Jintang County/ Jintang Hospital, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.