Aim: The emergence and evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) has generated increasing interest in machine learning applications for health care. Specifically, researchers are grasping the potential of machine learning solutions to enhance the quality of care in emergency medicine.Methods: We undertook a narrative review of published works on machine learning applications in emergency medicine and provide a synopsis of recent developments.Results: This review describes fundamental concepts of machine learning and presents clinical applications for triage, risk stratification specific to disease, medical imaging, and emergency department operations. Additionally, we consider how machine learning models could contribute to the improvement of causal inference in medicine, and to conclude, we discuss barriers to safe implementation of AI.Conclusion: We intend that this review serves as an introduction to AI and machine learning in emergency medicine.

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is an autoimmune disorder characterized by fibrosis of the skin and internal organs. Despite several studies on SSc treatments, effective treatments for SSc are still lacking. Since evidence suggests an association between intestinal microbiota and SSc, we focused on butyrate, which has beneficial effects in autoimmune diseases as a bacterial metabolite. Here, we investigated the therapeutic potential of sodium butyrate (SB) using a bleomycin-induced fibrosis mouse model of SSc and human dermal fibroblasts (HDFs). SB attenuated bleomycin-induced dermal and lung fibrosis in mice. SB influenced fecal microbiota composition (phyla Actinobacteria and Bacteroidetes, genera Bifidobacterium and Ruminococcus_g2). SB controlled macrophage differentiation in mesenteric lymph nodes, spleen, and bronchoalveolar lavage cells of mice with bleomycin-induced skin fibrosis. Profibrotic and proinflammatory gene expression was suppressed by SB administration in skin. Furthermore, SB inhibited transforming growth factor β1-responsive proinflammatory expression with increased acetylation of histone 3 in HDFs. Subcutaneous SB application had antifibrogenic effects on the skin. Butyrate ameliorated skin and lung fibrosis by improving anti-inflammatory activity in a mouse model of SSc. Butyrate may exhibit indirect and direct anti-fibrogenic action on fibroblasts by regulating macrophage differentiation and inhibition of histone deacetylase 3. These findings suggest butyrate as an SSc treatment.