ABSTRACT
Machine learning models are increasingly used in the medical domain to study the association between risk factors and diseases to support practitioners in understanding health outcomes. In this paper, we showcase the use of machine-learned staged tree models for investigating complex asymmetric dependence structures in health data. Staged trees are a specific class of generative, probabilistic graphical models that formally model asymmetric conditional independence and non-regular sample spaces. An investigation of the risk factors in invasive fungal infections demonstrates the insights staged trees provide to support medical decision-making.
ABSTRACT
Abstract Clinically amyopathic dermatomyositis comprises a special group of patients within the spectrum of dermatomyositis characterized by the presence of typical skin lesions, minimal or absent muscle involvement, and increased risk of interstitial lung disease. The antibodies directed against the protein encoded by melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5 (MDA5) are present in a significant proportion of patients with clinically amyopathic dermatomyositis, who develop rapidly progressive interstitial lung disease, with high mortality and frequently complicated by the onset of spontaneous pneumomediastinum. A case is presented of an African patient with anti-MDA5 positive clinically amyopathic dermatomyositis and interstitial lung disease with tomography pattern of organizing pneumonia who developed spontaneous pneumomediastinum during its clinical course.
Resumen La dermatomiositis clínicamente amiopática comprende un grupo especial de pacientes dentro del espectro de la dermatomiositis, caracterizados por la presencia de lesiones cutáneas típicas, compromiso muscular mínimo o ausente y riesgo aumentado de enfermedad pulmonar intersticial. Los anticuerpos dirigidos contra la proteína codificada por el gen asociado con la diferenciación del melanoma 5 (MDA5), están presentes en una proporción importante de pacientes con dermatomiositis clínicamente amiopática, los cuales desarrollan enfermedad pulmonar intersticial rápidamente progresiva, con elevada mortalidad y que se complica frecuentemente con la aparición de neumomediastino espontáneo. Presentamos el caso de una paciente de origen africano con dermatomiositis clínicamente amiopática anti-MDA5 positiva y enfermedad pulmonar intersticial con patrón tomográfico de neumonía organizada, que desarrolló neumomediastino espontáneo durante su evolución.