SINGAPORE, Nov 20 — A new artificial intelligence (AI) system developed by Singapore General Hospital (SGH), in collaboration with IT firm DXC Technology and national health agency Synapxe, may soon help doctors determine if patients with pneumonia need antibiotics.

According to media outlet CNA, the AI model, which processes symptom data from patients, helps distinguish between viral and bacterial infections, ensuring antibiotics are only prescribed when necessary.

Pneumonia, a leading cause of death globally and a top reason for hospitalisation in Singapore, was chosen as the focus of the pilot study due to the illness’s rapid severity, SGH added.

Dr Piotr Chlebicki, a senior consultant at SGH, told CNA that the technology’s ability to sift through vast data to detect infection patterns is key in deciding whether antibiotics are required.

The AI system, named Augmented Intelligence in Infectious Diseases (AI2D), was trained on data from about 8,000 SGH patients, including clinical symptoms, X-rays, vital signs, and responses to infection, he added.

He said the study found that the system accurately identified the need for antibiotics in 90 per cent of cases.

By reducing unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions, he also said the AI aims to combat the growing issue of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which the World Health Organisation warns could lead to millions of deaths by 2050.

The team, led by Associate Professor Andrea Kwa, believes the AI system could save doctors up to 20 minutes per case and help slow down the rise of drug-resistant infections.

Further studies will assess its impact on antibiotic use in clinical settings, with future expansion plans to include other common infections.