Association between elevated preoperative red cell distribution width and mortality after brain tumor craniotomy

Area of Science:

• Neurosurgery
• Oncology
• Hematology

Background:

• Red cell distribution width (RDW) is an emerging inflammatory biomarker.
• Its prognostic value in brain tumor craniotomy patients is not well-established.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between preoperative RDW and outcomes after brain tumor craniotomy.
• To assess RDW's predictive capability for mortality and postoperative complications.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective cohort study of 10,978 patients undergoing brain tumor craniotomy.
• Analysis of serum RDW-CV and RDW-SD levels, categorized into quartiles.
• Logistic regression and multivariate analyses were used to adjust for confounders.

Main Results:

• Elevated preoperative RDW-coefficient of variation (RDW-CV) correlated with increased long-term mortality.
• Higher RDW-CV was associated with acute kidney injury, pneumonia, myocardial infarction, readmission, and prolonged hospital stay.
• No significant association was found for RDW-standard deviation (RDW-SD) with mortality or complications.

Conclusions:

• Preoperative RDW-CV is a significant predictor of long-term mortality and postoperative complications in brain tumor craniotomy patients.
• RDW-CV can serve as a valuable prognostic tool for preoperative risk stratification.
• RDW-SD did not show prognostic significance in this patient cohort.