| Title: | Machine learning-enabled diagnosis of viral respiratory infections from exhaled volatile organic compound analysis |
| Journal: | BMC Pulmonary Medicine |
| Published: | 25 Apr 2026 |
| Pubmed: | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42034990/ |
| DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12890-026-04269-0 |
Publication 17848
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Abstract
BackgroundThe sensitivity and specificity of current breath biomarkers are often inadequate for effective requisite sensitivity for early-stage detection, thereby ignoring early-stage treatment in the patient.MethodsIn this study, we developed a screening model for viral respiratory infections using a combination of portable GC-MS and an artificial intelligence (AI) model. This platform employs machine learning algorithms to enhance the specificity and sensitivity of the model. Subsequently, we applied this platform to analyze 200 viral respiratory infections and normal exhaled samples.ResultsThe diagnostic signatures, including 1-nonanethiol and 2-butanone, generated by the model effectively discriminated viral respiratory infection patients from normal controls with high sensitivity (90%), specificity (81%), and accuracy (AUC = 0.85). Furthermore, propionaldehyde and amylaldehyde, generated by the model, effectively discriminated COVID-19 from influenza A patients with sensitivity (87.5%), specificity (75%), and accuracy (AUC = 0.80). Data from UKBiobank indicated that in the volatile metabolite profiles exhaled by patients with viral respiratory infections, some characteristic components are related to the metabolic products of the host's fatty acid β-oxidation pathway.ConclusionThis study presents a diagnostic model that can identify novel and feasible breath biomarkers for detecting early-stage viral respiratory infections. The promising results position the platform as an efficient noninvasive screening test for clinical applications, offering potential advancements in early detection for viral respiratory infections.</p>
8 Authors
- Rong Fu
- Xiuya Zhang
- Qianqian Ni
- Yingyi Qin
- Zheyang Wu
- Shuang Nie
- Hao Xu
- Fengfeng Mo
Enabling scientific discoveries that improve human health