Utility of Red Cell Distribution Width (RDW) In Diagnosis and Prognosis of Early-Onset Neonatal Sepsis in Term Neonates

Abstract

Objective: To assess the increased Red Cell Distribution Width (RDW) in diagnosis and prognosis of early-onset neonatal sepsis in term neonates. Methods: In a prospective, observational study, we enrolled term neonates ( 37 weeks of gestation) clinically suspected for Early-Onset Neonatal Sepsis (EONS) (within 7 days of birth). A cut-off of 18% and above was taken to consider RDW as abnormal or increased. The primary outcome was to assess the relation of increased RDW with in-hospital mortality. The secondary outcome was to determine the diagnostic yield of increased RDW in culture-proven sepsis. Results: In 166 neonates, 60% were males. Increased RDW was seen in 42.42% of neonates and 15.75% of neonates had positive blood culture. Compared to normal RDW, in-hospital mortality was significantly higher in neonates with increased mortality (27.14% vs. 10.52%, respectively; p=0.006). Also, abnormal RDW was seen in 46.15% of neonates with positive blood culture compared to 35.25% of neonates with negative blood culture (p<0.0001). Thus, elevated RDW had a sensitivity of 44.4% and specificity of 57.97% in the diagnosis of EONS. Conclusion: Increased RDW can be a diagnostic as well as a prognostic marker in neonates with EONS. Such observation indicates it may serve as a simple and easily available marker for EONS in resource-limited settings. However, these findings need to be confirmed in a larger sample. Doi: 10.28991/SciMedJ-2021-0303-7 Full Text: PDF