Machine learning–enabled early risk stratification of β-Iactam–induced electrolyte imbalances

To estimate the incidence of β-lactam/β-lactamase inhibitor – associated electrolyte imbalances and develop an internally validated, interpretable prediction model for early risk identification. We retrospectively analyzed 240 hospitalized adults treated with piperacillin – tazobactam or ampicillin – sulbactam. Electrolyte imbalance was defined as any post-treatment abnormality in sodium, potassium, chloride, calcium, or phosphate using CTCAE v5.0 and predefined reference ranges. Predictors were evaluated using logistic regression and machine learning – based feature selection across five algorithms, followed by repeated stratified cross-validation. Electrolyte imbalances occurred in 71 patients (29.6%). Respiratory disease was associated with higher risk (AOR 2.616; 95% CI 1.072–6.386). Six consensus predictors were selected (age ≥65 years, ARBs, cardiovascular disease, endocrine disease, expectorants, respiratory disease). Logistic regression showed the best overall performance (AUROC 0.68; AUPRC 0.52) with high NPV (~0.80). Electrolyte imbalances were common during β-lactam/β-lactamase inhibitor therapy. An interpretable model using routine clinical variables may support risk-informed monitoring; external validation is warranted.