AUTHOR=Kaufmann Christoph C. , Ahmed Amro , Brunner Ulrich , Jäger Bernhard , Aicher Gabriele , Equiluz-Bruck Susanne , Spiel Alexander O. , Funk Georg-Christian , Gschwantler Michael , Fasching Peter , Huber Kurt 

TITLE=Red Cell Distribution Width Upon Hospital Admission Predicts Short-Term Mortality in Hospitalized Patients With COVID-19: A Single-Center Experience

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Medicine

VOLUME=Volume 8 - 2021

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/medicine/articles/10.3389/fmed.2021.652707

DOI=10.3389/fmed.2021.652707

ISSN=2296-858X

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Background:</bold> Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was first described at the end of 2019 in China and has since spread across the globe. Red cell distribution width (RDW) is a potent prognostic marker in several medical conditions and has recently been suggested to be of prognostic value in COVID-19.</p><p><bold>Methods:</bold> This retrospective, observational study of consecutive patients with COVID-19 was conducted from March 12, 2020 to December 4, 2020 in the Wilhelminenhospital, Vienna, Austria. RDWlevels on admission were collected and tested for their predictive value of 28-day mortality.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> A total of 423 eligible patients with COVID-19 were included in the final analyses and 15.4% died within 28 days (<italic>n</italic> = 65). Median levels of RDWwere significantly higher in non-survivors compared to survivors [14.6% (IQR, 13.7–16.3) vs. 13.4% (IQR, 12.7– 14.4), <italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.001]. Increased RDW was a significant predictor of 28-day mortality [crude odds ratio (OR) 1.717, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.462–2.017; <italic>P</italic> = &lt; 0.001], independent of clinical confounders, comorbidities and established prognostic markers of COVID-19 (adjusted OR of the final model 1.368, 95% CI 1.126–1.662; <italic>P</italic> = 0.002). This association remained consistent upon sub-group analysis. Our study data also demonstrate that RDW levels upon admission for COVID-19 were similar to previously recorded, non-COVID-19 associated RDW levels [14.2% (IQR, 13.3–15.7) vs. 14.0% [IQR, 13.2–15.1]; <italic>P</italic> = 0.187].</p><p><bold>Conclusions:</bold> In this population, RDWwas a significant, independent prognostic marker of short-term mortality in patients with COVID-19.</p>