RED CELL DISTRIBUTION WIDTH: A NOVEL BIOMARKER FOR HYPOXIA IN COPD

Abstract

Introduction: Acute hypoxia is an important prognostic indicator in Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) as a biomarker. RDW can aid in identification of persistent Hypoxia. Objective: To investigate the association of red cell Distribution Width (RDW) values in COPD exacerbation patients. Methods: This is a prospective cross-sectional study of 50 patients with COPD evaluated between September 2021 to December 2021.Hemogram,demographics,Spirometry and 2D echo data collected.Results: Mean age of the patients was 56 ± 10 years.Correlation between RDW with hypoxia, 6MWT,Pulmonary hypertension,CAT was found to be significant (p = 0.001 respectively) Patients with poor expiratory volumes (FEV1) were found to have higher CAT scores. Most patients in the study cohort were seen to be older, with significant smoking exposure and belonging to Stage 1 COPD. Conclusion: In conclusion, we demonstrated that elevated RDW levels in patients with COPD were associated with disease severity.It might be an indicator of hypoxemia. Therefore, an inexpensive and simple laboratory parameter, such as RDW, could be considered as a biomarker in the evaluation of the severity of COPD