Elevated red blood cell distribution width is associated with poor outcome in osteoporotic vertebral fracture

Study of the link between hemotopoietic and skeletal systems in patients attending a referral center for osteoporosis

PURPOSE

To investigate the link between hematopoietic and skeletal tissues in patients with fragility fractures.

METHODS

We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of women older than 40 years who attended the Bone Disease Unit of "Sapienza" University of Rome for their first visit for osteoporosis from January 2020 to June 2022.

RESULTS

Fragility fractures were found in 61.8% of the sample. In particular, vertebral fractures in 35.5%, femoral fractures in 6.3%, Colles fractures in 16.5% and non-vertebral non-hip in 42.5%. Fractured patients were significantly older compared to non-fractured, had lower mean values of lumbar spine (p = 0.01), and femoral neck BMD (p = 0.007). A red blood cell distribution width (RDW) value higher than 15% was observed four times more in those with fractures compared to non-fractured patients (8.9% vs 2%, p = 0.01) and was associated with vertebral fracture after adjusting for age, BMI, menopause, nutritional status, smoking, osteoporosis and anemia (OR = 4.1, 95% CI 1.6-11.4, p = 0.003). Hematocrit was negatively associated with hip fracture also adjusting for age, BMI, menopause, nutritional status, smoking, osteoporosis (p = 0.025).

CONCLUSION

Our study demonstrates that RDW values were significantly associated with vertebral fracture and hematocrit with hip fracture. Since both parameters are included in the initial evaluation of patients with suspected bone fragility, our results should push doctors to look at these values with no incremental cost for national health services.

The Association Between Red Cell Distribution Width (RDW) and All-Cause Mortality in Elderly Patients with Hip Fractures: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Background

Red cell distribution width (RDW) may be related to the prognosis of hip fractures. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between (RDW) and all-cause mortality in elderly hip fractures.

Materials and Methods

Elderly patients aged ≥65 years who had a hip fracture were screened between January 1, 2015, and September 30, 2019. The age, gender of patients and other demographics, as well as history of allergy, injury mechanism, underlying illnesses at the time of admission, fracture classification, time from admission to operation, RDW, operation time, blood loss, infusion, transfusion, treatment strategy, and length in hospital stay and follow-up and other clinical characteristics were collected. Linear and nonlinear multivariate Cox regression models were used to identify the association between RDW and mortality in these patients. Analyses were performed using EmpowerStats and the R software.

Results

A total of 2587 patients were included in this retrospective cohort study. The mean follow-up period was 38.92 months. A total of 873 (33.75%) patients died due to all-cause mortality. The RDW was linearly associated with mortality in elderly patients with hip fractures. Linear multivariate Cox regression models showed that RDW was associated with mortality (hazard ratio [HR]=1.03, 95% confidence interval [CI]:1.02-1.05, P < 0.0001) after adjusting for confounding factors. The mortality risk increased by 3% when RDW increased by 1 fL.

Conclusion

RDW is associated with mortality in elderly patients with hip fractures, and RDW could be considered a predictor of mortality risk.

Registration

ChiCTR2200057323.

Red cell distribution width and mortality in older patients with frailty in the emergency department

BACKGROUND

The red cell distribution width (RDW) reflects the degree of heterogeneity of red blood cells. Elevated RDW is associated both with frailty and with increased mortality in hospital-admitted patients. In this study we evaluate whether high RDW values are associated with mortality in older emergency department (ED) patients with frailty, and if the association is independent of the degree of frailty.

METHODS

We included ED patients with the following criteria: ≥ 75 years of age, Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) score of 4 to 8, and RDW % measured within 48 h of ED admission. Patients were allocated to six classes by their RDW value: ≤ 13%, 14%, 15%, 16%, 17%, and ≥ 18%. The outcome was death within 30 days of ED admission. Crude and adjusted odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) for a one-class increase in RDW for 30-day mortality were calculated via binary logistic regression analysis. Age, gender and CFS score were considered as potential confounders.

RESULTS

A total of 1407 patients (61.2% female), were included. The median age was 85 with an inter-quartile range (IQR) of 80-89, median CFS score 6 (IQR: 5-7), and median RDW 14 (IQR: 13-16). Of the included patients, 71.9% were admitted to hospital wards. A total of 85 patients (6.0%) died during the 30-day follow-up. Mortality rate was associated with RDW increase (p for trend < .001). Crude OR for a one-class increase in RDW for 30-day mortality was 1.32 (95% CI: 1.17-1.50, p < .001). When adjusted for age, gender and CFS-score, OR of mortality for one-class RDW increase was still 1.32 (95% CI: 1.16-1.50, p < .001).

CONCLUSION

Higher RDW values had a significant association with increased 30-day mortality risk in frail older adults in the ED, and this risk was independent of degree of frailty. RDW is a readily available biomarker for most ED patients. It might be beneficial to include it in risk stratification of older frail ED patients to identify those who could benefit from further diagnostic assessment, targeted interventions, and care planning.

Association of red cell distribution width with the risk of 3-month readmission in patients with heart failure: A retrospective cohort study

Background

In recent years, red cell distribution width (RDW) has been found to be associated with the prognosis of patients with heart failure (HF) in Western countries. However, evidence from Asia is limited. We aimed to investigate the relationship between RDW and the risk of 3-month readmission in hospitalized Chinese HF patients.

Methods

We retrospectively analyzed HF data from the Fourth Hospital of Zigong, Sichuan, China, involving 1,978 patients admitted for HF between December 2016 and June 2019. The independent variable in our study was RDW, and the endpoint was the risk of readmission within 3 months. This study mainly used a multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression analysis. Smoothed curve fitting was then used to assess the dose-response relationship between RDW and the risk of 3-month readmission.

Results

In the original cohort of 1,978 patients with HF (42% male and 73.1% aged ≥70 years), 495 patients (25.0%) were readmitted within 3 months after discharge. Smoothed curve fitting showed a linear correlation between RDW and the risk of readmission within 3 months. In the multivariable-adjusted model, every 1% increase in RDW was associated with a 9% increased risk of readmission within 3 months (hazard ratio = 1.09, 95% confidence interval: 1.00-1.15; P < 0.005).

Conclusions

A higher RDW value was significantly associated with a greater risk of 3-months readmission in hospitalized patients with HF.

Elevated Red Blood Cell Distribution Width Is Associated with Poor Prognosis in Fractured Patients Admitted to Intensive Care Units

OBJECTIVES

Red blood cell distribution width (RDW) with prognosis in various infectious diseases. For fractured patients admitted to the intensive care units (ICU), an accurate and fast appraisal is essential. To investigate the association between RDW and prognosis in fractured patients admitted to the ICU utilizing the MIMIC-III database.

METHODS

A retrospective cohort from the MIMIC III database from 2001 and 2012 was constructed. RDW and other information were collected with in-hospital mortality as the primary outcome and 90-day mortality and hospital and intensive care unit (ICU) length of stay (LOS) as secondary outcomes. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models with propensity score inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) were used to investigate the prognostic value of RDW. A nomogram was built with significant prognostic factors to predict in-hospital mortality, and the performance of the nomogram was evaluated and compared with other severity assessment scores. Subgroup analysis was also conducted.

RESULTS

A total of 2721 fracture patients admitted to the ICU were identified. After IPTW, the group with higher RDW was significantly associated with elevated in-hospital mortality (odds ratio [OR]: 1.68, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.19-2.37), 90-day mortality (OR: 1.39, 95% CI: 1.04-1.86), prolonged hospital LOS (OR: 1.25, 95% CI: 1.03-1.50), and ICU LOS significantly (OR: 1.26, 95% CI: 1.05-1.53) in the multivariate logistics model. The nomogram showed optimal discriminative ability and predictive accuracy with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.77.

CONCLUSION

RDW independently predicted in-hospital mortality, 90-day mortality, and hospital and ICU LOS in fractured patients admitted to ICU. The nomogram including RDW could also be a promising tool with potential clinical benefits.