Metabolic alterations in pneumonia assessed by breath analysis: an exploratory paired longitudinal study comparing acute infection and post-recovery states
B. C. Brugger, N. A. Sievi, S. Basler, P. Baumgartner, J. Herth, F. Schmidt, K. D. Singh, P. Sinues, M. Kohler
Abstract
Tracking Pneumonia Recovery Through Real-Time Breathomics
Using Super SESI coupled to a Q Exactive Plus Orbitrap mass spectrometer, this paired longitudinal study analysed exhaled breath from 47 adults during acute pneumonia and after recovery. SESI-HRMS identified 104 mass-spectral features with significant longitudinal changes, while exploratory classification reached a median AUROC of 0.80 but was not significant in permutation testing (p = 0.112). The findings highlight SESI-HRMS sensitivity to recovery-associated metabolic changes and warrant larger, externally validated studies.
