Prognostic Value of Red Cell Distribution Width (RDW) in Neonatal Sepsis

Prognostic Value of Red Cell Distribution Width (RDW) in Neonatal Sepsis in Patients Admitted at Assiut University Children Hospital.

1. Evaluate the relationship of RDW and severity and mortality in patients with neonatal sepsis .
2. Using RDW as a simple, inexpensive, applicable and rapid test to detect prognosis of neonatal sepsis .

Sepsis is defined as a life-threatening condition caused by a dysregulated host response to infection. Sepsis is responsible for approximately 45% of neonatal emergencies and is a leading cause of neonatal mortality and morbidity, accounting for 14% of deaths in that age group.

The early symptoms and signs of neonatal sepsis are usually mild and nonspecific but can rapidly progress to septic shock, disseminated intravascular coagulation(DIC), and death. It is therefore of paramount importance to find a tool for prediction of infants who are more likely to experience a worse clinical outcome so that closer monitoring and more aggressive treatment would be offered to them.

Early-onset sepsis (EOS) is usually due to transplacental, ascending, or intrapartum transmission in the perinatal period shortly before or during birth, up to postnatal (PN) 7 days. Late-onset sepsis (LOS) is acquired by horizontal transmission in the home, hospital, or in the community after PN day.

Timely diagnosis and prompt institution of antimicrobial therapy are essential in order to mitigate the high case fatality and to avert morbidity associated with late-onset neonatal sepsis. In the latest years, biochemical markers are important in research areas in neonatal infections. Inflammatory cascade as response to an infection comprise many elevated markers, frequently used for diagnosis and monitoring of sepsis.

Numerous molecules have been studied as potentially useful prognostic markers in neonatal sepsis. These include C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin, IL-6, IL-8, CD64, and soluble E- selectin.

The red cell distribution width (RDW) is a marker, which has been studied in neonatal sepsis. The RDW is a measure of variability of red blood cells in size (anisocytosis) and is routinely evaluated as a part of complete blood count. The RDW may be elevated in conditions of ineffective production, or increased destruction of red blood cells, which commonly occur in inflammatory or infectious situations.

Red cell distribution width has been classically used as a screening index for iron deficiency anemia. However, a growing body of evidence indicates that this simple marker can have a role in predicting adverse outcome in sepsis as well as in diverse clinical situations, including coronary artery disease, heart failure,acute pancreatitis, malignancy, infective endocarditis, peritoneal dialysis, and in critically ill children in general.

The pathophysiology of the elevation of RDW in these patients is not well known, but it has been reported that elevated RDW is associated with inflammatory markers such as C-reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate, interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha. Proinflammatory cytokines of sepsis have been shown to suppress the maturation of red blood cells (RBC) and decrease the half-life of RBCs, resulting in the elevation of RDW values Most previous studies investigating the prognostic value of RDW were conducted on adult patients, and similar studies in neonatal sepsis are rare and small. The objective of the present research is to investigate the prognostic role of this routinely available marker in full term neonates with sepsis and to compare it with other traditional prognostic biomarkers.

The prognostic potential of RDW is of particular interest because it is routinely included in the automated complete blood count (CBC) analyses in hospitalized patients and thus available and no additional cost for clinicians.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Any infant from birth to 1 month of age with a diagnosis of definite or probable sepsis will included in the study.

Exclusion Criteria:

• gestational age less than 37 weeks.

  • perinatal asphyxia.
  • infants with more than 1 episode of sepsis, only the first one was included.
  • Infants with Dysmorphic features suggestive of chromosomal abnormalities.
  • neonates under a course of antibiotics prior to appropriate blood sampling.