The primary artery that supplies blood from the heart to the rest of the body, the aorta, has an inner layer that can break. This disease is known as aortic dissection (AD), and it is extremely deadly. Blood can pass between the blood vessel's layers attributable to the tear. leading to the separation of the layers and potentially resulting in aortic rupture, a life-threatening possibility[1]. Failure to diagnose and treat AD promptly can lead to a significantly higher mortality rate compared to timely surgical intervention, making early diagnosis crucial for reducing mortality from AD[2]. A prevalent cardiovascular disease with significant risks of complications and death is acute coronary syndrome (ACS). and the incidence of Non-ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction (NSTEMI) within this group is on the rise[3]. The high incidence and mortality associated with NSTEMI emphasize the importance of accurate early diagnosis[4]. Patients with AD and NSTEMI often present with similar clinical symptoms, predominantly chest pain, unlike those with ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI), who can be distinguished by definitive features on an electrocardiogram (ECG). The similarities in ECG findings for AD and NSTEMI can make rapid differentiation between the two conditions challenging[5]. Patients with AD require effective immobilization, blood pressure and ventricular rate control, and urgent preparation for surgery to avoid the risks associated with unnecessary transport and movement that could increase the risk of aortic rupture[6]. For NSTEMI patients, effective coronary vasodilation, anticoagulation, and antiplatelet therapy are needed, along with urgent vascular reconstruction[7]. Misdiagnosing a patient with AD as having NSTEMI and treating them accordingly can lead to very serious consequences[8]. Therefore, timely, accurate, and convenient differential diagnosis is crucial to improving patient survival rates.
While the diagnosis of AD is made utilizing non-invasive imaging methods like magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) and computed tomography angiography (CTA)[9], These techniques cost time, and they're not consistently available at the patient's bedside, especially in primary care settings. Necessary patient transfers and positional changes may increase the risk of aortic dissection rupture[10]. Furthermore, a number of laboratory indicators have been established as biomarkers for AD, including D-dimer, Matrix Metalloproteinases (MMPs), and genetic markers; however, the diagnostic utility of these markers has yet to be limited[11, 12]. In constructing disease risk assessments and predictive models, we aim to minimize the number of required indicators while maintaining accuracy in risk assessment to maximize the benefits and efficiency of the process.
Machine learning (ML), a branch of artificial intelligence (AI) research, has seen widespread application in key aspects of human life in recent years. Studies have shown that ML algorithms perform well in predicting cardiovascular disease risk[13], analyzing images[14], and in diagnostics[15]. The efficiency of ML models in data processing makes them a powerful tool for assisting in the diagnosis of AD and NSTEMI. Appropriate ML algorithms are expected to increase the accuracy of diagnoses and the efficiency of clinical practice, providing strong informational support for doctors making treatment decisions[16].
In this study, we constructed four ML models based on clinical data from patients with AD and NSTEMI at the Chest Pain Center of the First Affiliated Hospital of Shantou University Medical College and comprehensively evaluated the diagnostic performance of each model. Considering that each base classifier may have different biases and variances, which can lead to overfitting[17], we used the Voting ensemble method to improve the overall predictive performance, thereby obtaining more reliable prediction outcomes[18]. To assess the model's performance on future data, we incorporated a newly collected dataset of AD and NSTEMI patients into the Voting validation[19].
Our research offers fresh perspectives on how ML diagnostic models might be used to distinguish between AD and NSTEMI. However, the interpretability of these risk prediction models and their application in actual clinical practice remain limited[20]; Consequently, in order to intuitively explain the elements influencing the patients' estimated risk, we also employed the Shapley Additive explanations (SHAP) methodology[21]. Considering the model's clinical applicability, we further conducted a clinical decision curve analysis (DCA)[22] to evaluate its decision-making impact in a real-world clinical setting.
This comprehensive approach not only highlights the potential of ML in improving diagnostic accuracy but also emphasizes the importance of interpretability and clinical relevance when deploying such models.