Red blood cell distribution width as a potential inflammatory marker in pediatric osteomyelitis.

Eldem I, Almekdash MH, Almadani O, Levent F, Al-Rahawan MM. Red blood cell distribution width as a potential inflammatory marker in pediatric osteomyelitis. Proceedings (Baylor University. Medical Center). 2023 May 11; 36(4):443-447.

Dimensions for VA is a web-based tool available to VA staff that enables detailed searches of published research and research projects.

If you have VA-Intranet access, click here for more information vaww.hsrd.research.va.gov/dimensions/

VA staff not currently on the VA network can access Dimensions by registering for an account using their VA email address.    Search Dimensions for VA for this citation
* Don't have VA-internal network access or a VA email address? Try searching the free-to-the-public version of Dimensions

Search for Abstract from PubMed

---

Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Red cell distribution width (RDW) has been used in the differential diagnosis of anemia and revealed to be a potential marker of inflammation. METHOD: We conducted a retrospective study of acute-phase reactant changes in correlation with RDW among pediatric patients with osteomyelitis. RESULTS: We identified 82 patients whose mean RDW increased on average by 1% during antibiotic therapy (mean 13.9% on admission, 95% CI 13.4-14.3, and 14.9% at the end of antibiotic therapy, 95% CI 14.5-15.4). Overall, the RDW was weakly correlated with absolute neutrophil count (r = -0.21, = 0.001), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (r = -0.17, = 0.007), and C-reactive protein (r = -0.21, = 0.001). The generalized estimating equation model showed a weak negative correlation between RDW and C-reactive protein during the therapy duration (B = -0.03, = 0.008). CONCLUSIONS: The mild increase in RDW, and its weak negative correlation with other acute-phase reactants during the study course, limits its utility as a therapy response marker in pediatric osteomyelitis.