Association between Red Blood Cell Distribution Width and Hemorrhagic Transformation in Acute Ischemic Stroke...

Hemorrhagic transformation (HT) is a frequent complication of acute ischemic stroke (AIS). Red blood cell distribution width (RDW) is a cost-effective parameter associated with incidence and prognosis of cerebrovascular diseases. The purpose of this study was to assess whether RDW is associated with HT in AIS patients.

AIS patients within 24 h from stroke onset between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2018, were consecutively enrolled. Blood samples were collected. The primary outcome was HT, which was diagnosed by follow-up brain image and classified into hemorrhagic infarct (HI) and parenchymal hematoma (PH). Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the relationship between RDW and HT as well as its subtypes. Potential effect modifier was identified by stratified logistic regression analysis.

Among the included 1383 patients, 220 (15.9%) developed HT (HI in 103 and PH in 117). Elevated RDW levels were associated with an increased risk of HT when 2 extreme tertiles were compared (OR 1.60, 95% CI 1.04-2.44, p = 0.031). The risk of HT increased stepwise across RDW tertiles (p for trend = 0.042). RDW significantly correlated with HI rather than PH. The association between RDW and HT could be modified by reperfusion therapy (p for interaction = 0.010), with no significant association between RDW and HT among patients underwent reperfusion therapy.

Elevated RDW level was related to increased risk of HT among AIS patients without reperfusion therapy.