$re = '/^.*P\(([^|]+)\|([^=]+)=(\d+)(?:, +([^=]+)=(\d+))?\)$/m';
$str = 'What is P(output2|cause3=2)
';
$subst = "method_to_use(model, {\"$2\": $3}, \"$1\")";
$result = preg_replace($re, $subst, $str);
echo "The result of the substitution is ".$result;
Please keep in mind that these code samples are automatically generated and are not guaranteed to work. If you find any syntax errors, feel free to submit a bug report. For a full regex reference for PHP, please visit: http://php.net/manual/en/ref.pcre.php