Baseline red blood cell distribution width predicts the response of primary biliary choleitis to ursodeoxycholic acid

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the value of baseline erythrocyte distribution width (RDW) in evaluating the response to Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) in patients with primary biliary cholangitis (PBC). Methods A retrospective study of 67 patients with PBC who had been treated with UDCA for more than 1 year was conducted. Baseline data and follow-up data after one year treatment were collected. The UDCA response was evaluated by the Paris-Ⅰ standard. According to whether the RDW value was higher than the normal upper limit (15%), patients were divided into two groups: the RDW elevation group and normal RDW group. The clinical and laboratory characteristics were compared. All data were analyzed by t-test, χ2 test,Mann-Whitney test, Pearson and Spearman rank correlation analysis. Results Among the 67 PBC patients, 28 cases had elevated RDW and 39 cases had normal RDW. Compared to the non elevated RDW group, the RDW elevation group had significantly higher baseline levels of total serum bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase, glutamic pyruvic transaminase, glutamic pyruvic aminotransferase, Mayo risk score but lower biochemical response rate. RDW levels were positively correlated with TBIL, ALP, GGT and ALT, AST levels, r values were 0.298, 0.609, 0.371 and 0.348, 0.508 (P<0.05) respectively. Conclusion At baseline, patients with higher RDW levels have more abnormal biochemical abnormalities, the Mayo risk score is worse, and the biochemical response rate is lower when compared with patients with normal RDW. Key words: Ursodeoxycholic acid; Cholangitis; Red cell distribution width; Bioche-mical response