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Updated: May 25, 2026

Immunostaining-Based Detection of Dynamic Alterations in Red Blood Cell Proteins
Published on: March 17, 2023
Getting back to zero with nucleated red blood cells: following trends is not necessarily a bad thing
Rupen Shah1, Subhash Reddy, H Mathilda Horst
1Department of Surgery, Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, MI 48202, USA.
Background:
The presence of nucleated red blood cells (NRBCs) has been identified as a poor prognostic indicator. We investigated the relationship of NRBC trends in patients with and without trauma.
Methods:
We retrospectively reviewed surgical intensive care unit admissions over 4 years, categorizing trauma and nontrauma patients and subdividing them into 3 groups: group A, all-zero NRBC; group B, positive NRBC value returning to zero; and group C, positive NRBC value that did not return to zero. We analyzed all groups for outcomes of length of stay and mortality.
Results:
Group A was the largest and had the shortest length of stay and least mortality. Group C had the highest mortality rate. No statistical difference was observed with mortality.
Conclusions:
Any positive NRBC was associated with poor outcome, and increasing NRBC was associated with increasing mortality. Trends in NRBC values showed that returning to zero was protective.
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