Red Cell Distribution Width (RDW) as a Prognostic Tool in Burn Patients.

Background: Red cell distribution width (RDW) is associated with mortality in patients with certain diseases. However, the relationship between RDW and burn patients remains unknown. The objective of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic performance of RDW. Methods: Data of 149 patients admitted to the Burn ICU of the Changhai Hospital were retrospectively included in this study. Clinical and laboratory information of all subjects was extracted from medical records. Results: This study demonstrated that: 1) burn patients with higher RDW had increased mortality, third-degree burn, total burn surface area (TBSA), length of hospital stay, infection rate, WBC, temperature, and CRP; 2) TBSA and length of hospital stay were positively correlated with RDW. 3) RDW levels were higher in burn patients with infection than non-infected burn patients. 4) There were differences in time trend of RDW between survivors and non-survivors from burns. Conclusions: RDW can provide useful information about burn severity and outcome. It may be used as a monitoring index for the illness of burn.