AUTHOR=Sun Junjie , Zhu Guangyi , Liang Qingwen , Wen Ning , Li Haibin , Sun Xuyong 

TITLE=Machine learning-based predictive model for the perioperative co-occurrence of T-cell-mediated rejection and pneumonia in liver transplantation

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Immunology

VOLUME=Volume 16 - 2025

YEAR=2025

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2025.1648993

DOI=10.3389/fimmu.2025.1648993

ISSN=1664-3224

ABSTRACT=ObjectivePerioperative T-cell-mediated rejection (TCMR) and pneumonia occurrence significantly impair graft function and patient survival following liver transplantation (LT). This article aims to develop a machine learning (ML)-based model to predict perioperative co-occurrence of TCMR and pneumonia.MethodsRecipient-related data were retrospectively collected. Predictive Variables were identified through LASSO regression analysis. Five machine learning algorithms, including support vector machine (SVM), were employed to develop predictive models. Model performance was appraised via the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, and calibration curve. SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) method was employed to visualize model characteristics and individual predictions.ResultsThis study enrolled 717 LT recipients, including 93 patients with perioperative co-occurrence of TCMR and pneumonia. LASSO regression identified postoperative direct bilirubin, postoperative international normalized ratio, high-density lipoprotein, postoperative alanine aminotransferase, natural killer cell, tacrolimus (FK506) concentration, Na+, operative time, anhepatic phase, induction regimen, and ICU stay as significant predictors. The SVM model demonstrated superior predictive performance, with area under the curve values of 0.881 (95% CI: 0.83–0.93) and 0.786 (95% CI: 0.69–0.88) in the training and test sets, respectively. The calibration curve showed high agreement between the predicted and observed risks. The SVM model demonstrated superior specificity, sensitivity, F1 score, and recall compared to other models. SHAP analysis identified variables that contributed to the model predictions.ConclusionsThis study constructed a robust predictive model for the perioperative co-occurrence of TCMR and pneumonia. The SVM model demonstrated superior predictive performance.