A paper published in Nature in 2020

A local hospital participated in a big data learning project targeting a local urinary tract infection. The initial traditional treatment regimen was a combination of two antibiotics (A and B), which was later improved to a combination of three (A, B, and C) based on research findings and clinical trials. During this project, when clinicians prescribed treatment protocols, they attempted to reduce the use of one antibiotic at a time, tracking and recording patient follow-ups and treatment outcomes. Based on the results of over 3,000 cases, it was determined that antibiotic C no longer had any therapeutic effect on the bacteria causing this urinary tract infection, as the local bacteria had mutated and developed resistance. The study also estimated the timeline of when this resistance emerged.

The findings helped the local hospital refine its treatment protocols, reduce financial expenditure and economic burden for patients, and lower antibiotic usage, which contributes to overall public health. Furthermore, the results assist in developing evolutionary tracing research on antibiotic resistance in pathogens.

For a long time, hospital case resources have remained underutilized. In the era before big data, these cases eventually became obsolete paper records stored in archives. Yet, these detailed and valuable resources often contain keys to predicting the future and revealing the truths of life. Today, newly hired doctors generally possess the skills to conduct meta-analyses of cases, electronic medical record entry is now widespread, and physicians worldwide have an obligation and mission to share local cases into global databases. With the rapid growth and development of the computer industry, its influence and impact will ultimately benefit every industry below it, shining and emitting heat in these interdisciplinary fields. Future scientific development is almost certainly going to be networked and intersecting, requiring specialized skills and knowledge from all walks of life and all fields.