Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39349769›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2024

Using random forest and biomarkers for differentiating COVID-19 and Mycoplasma pneumoniae infections.

Xun Zhou, Jie Zhang, Xiu-Mei Deng, Fang-Mei Fu, Juan-Min Wang, Zhong-Yuan Zhang, Xian-Qiang Zhang, Yue-Xing Luo, Shi-Yan Zhang

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
11citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

11 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Review
  3. Article
  4. Field-oriented assessment of bovine tuberculosis in Tunisian cattle: IDR, PCRWorld journal of microbiology & biotechnology · 2025
    Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Biomarkers associated with the diagnosis and prognosis ofFrontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2025
    Review
  11. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Xun Zhou *Department of Clinical Laboratory, The Second Hospital of Nanping, Nanping, 354200, Fujian, China.
Jie Zhang *Department of Clinical Laboratory, Fuding Hospital, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 120 South Road of Old City, Fuding, 355200, Fujian, China.
Xiu-Mei Deng *Department of Clinical Laboratory, The Second Hospital of Nanping, Nanping, 354200, Fujian, China.
Fang-Mei FuDepartment of Clinical Laboratory, The Second Hospital of Nanping, Nanping, 354200, Fujian, China.
Juan-Min WangDepartment of Clinical Laboratory, The Second Hospital of Nanping, Nanping, 354200, Fujian, China.
Zhong-Yuan ZhangDepartment of Clinical Laboratory, Nanping First Hospital Affiliated to Fujian Medical University, Nanping, 353000, Fujian, China.
Xian-Qiang ZhangJianyang District Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Nanping, 354200, Fujian, China.
Yue-Xing LuoDepartment of Clinical Laboratory, The Second Hospital of Nanping, Nanping, 354200, Fujian, China. 419355539@qq.com.
Shi-Yan ZhangDepartment of Clinical Laboratory, Fuding Hospital, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, 120 South Road of Old City, Fuding, 355200, Fujian, China. myebox@139.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4305-8213

Funding

Natural Science Foundation Joint Project of Ningde, China 2022J54
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the critical need for precise diagnostic methods to distinguish between similar respiratory infections, such as COVID-19 and Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MP). Identifying key biomarkers and utilizing machine learning techniques, such as random forest analysis, can significantly improve diagnostic accuracy. We conducted a retrospective analysis of clinical and laboratory data from 214 patients with acute respiratory infections, collected between October 2022 and October 2023 at the Second Hospital of Nanping. The study population was categorized into three groups: COVID-19 positive (n = 52), MP positive (n = 140), and co-infected (n = 22). Key biomarkers, including C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT), interleukin- 6 (IL-6), and white blood cell (WBC) counts, were evaluated. Correlation analyses were conducted to assess relationships between biomarkers within each group. The random forest analysis was applied to evaluate the discriminative power of these biomarkers. The random forest model demonstrated high classification performance, with area under the ROC curve (AUC) scores of 0.86 (95% CI: 0.70-0.97) for COVID-19, 0.79 (95% CI: 0.64-0.92) for MP, 0.69 (95% CI: 0.50-0.87) for co-infections, and 0.90 (95% CI: 0.83-0.95) for the micro-average ROC. Additionally, the precision-recall curve for the random forest classifier showed a micro-average AUC of 0.80 (95% CI: 0.69-0.91). Confusion matrices highlighted the model's accuracy (0.77) and biomarker relationships. The SHAP feature importance analysis indicated that age (0.27), CRP (0.25), IL6 (0.14), and PCT (0.14) were the most significant predictors. The integration of computational methods, particularly random forest analysis, in evaluating clinical and biomarker data presents a promising approach for enhancing diagnostic processes for infectious diseases. Our findings support the use of specific biomarkers in differentiating between COVID-19 and MP, potentially leading to more targeted and effective diagnostic strategies. This study underscores the potential of machine learning techniques in improving disease classification in the era of precision medicine.

Indexed as

BiomarkersCOVID-19C-Reactive ProteinMachine LearningPneumonia, MycoplasmaProcalcitoninAdultAgedCoinfectionDiagnosis, DifferentialFemaleHumansInterleukin-6Leukocyte CountMaleMiddle AgedBiomarkersC-Reactive ProteinInterleukin-6ProcalcitoninAcute respiratory infectionsBiomarkersClinical diagnosticsComputational methodCOVID-19Disease classificationMachine learningMycoplasma pneumoniaeRandom forest analysis

Identifiers

PMID39349769
PMCPMC11442435

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.