[The association between red cell distribution width (RDW) and short-term mortality risk in patients with acute...

To demonstrate the association between red cell distribution width and short-term mortality risk in patients with acute coronary syndrome.

We prospectively recruited 78 patients with acute coronary syndrome. The study population was classified according to quartiles of the red cell distribution width at hospital admission. A high red cell distribution width was defined as a value in the upper fourth quartile (>15) and a low red cell distribution width was defined as any value set in the lower three quartiles (≤15). After discharge, all patients were followed for three months.

The short-term cardiovascular mortality was 47.2% in the high red cell distribution width group vs. 10.2% in the low red cell distribution width group (p<0.001). In the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, a red cell distribution width value of more than 15% yielded a sensitivity of 66.7%, a specificity of 83%, and a positive predictive value of 79.7% for cardiac mortality. After multivariate analysis, high levels of red cell distribution width were independent predictors for three-month mortality (p=0.001).

We demonstrated that red cell distribution width is an accessible parameter associated with short-term cardiovascular mortality in patients with acute coronary syndrome.