Extended Hematological Parameters and Short-Term Mortality in Sepsis Patients: A Retrospective Study

Area of Science:

• Hematology
• Critical Care Medicine
• Prognostic Biomarkers

Background:

• Sepsis presents a significant global health challenge with high mortality rates, particularly in cases of septic shock.
• The Sepsis-related Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score is commonly used for sepsis diagnosis and prognosis.
• Identifying specific hematological parameters can improve the prediction of mortality in intensive care unit (ICU) settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the predictive value of various hematological parameters for ICU mortality in sepsis patients.
• To determine if specific complete blood count or reticulocyte panel markers can identify patients at higher risk of death.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of demographic, clinical, and laboratory data from 190 sepsis patients admitted to the ICU.
• Inclusion of complete blood count with differential and reticulocyte panels.
• Statistical analysis using t-tests, Mann-Whitney U, chi-squared, Fisher's tests, AUROC, and logistic regression.

Main Results:

• A short-term mortality rate of 30% was observed in the studied sepsis cohort.
• Significant differences in leukocyte, platelet, and erythrocyte parameters were noted between survivors and non-survivors.
• The percentage of nucleated red blood cells (NRBCs) demonstrated the highest area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC), indicating superior predictive capability.

Conclusions:

• The percentage of NRBCs emerged as a potentially reliable hematological parameter for predicting ICU mortality in sepsis.
• The presence of NRBCs in peripheral blood smears is associated with a worse prognosis for sepsis patients.
• Further research may validate NRBCs as a key prognostic marker in critical care settings for sepsis.