Red Blood Cell Distribution Width: Another Prognostic Factor for COVID-19?

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a pandemic with a high rate of hospitalization, admission to intensive care units, and mortality. Identifying patients at the highest risk for severe disease is important to facilitate early, aggressive intervention. High red blood cell distribution width (RDW) values are associated with increased mortality in the general population in patients suffering from several conditions, including cardiovascular disease, sepsis, acute kidney injury, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and hepatitis B. Our study aimed to determine whether RDW levels in all COVID-19 confirmed cases admitted to the Patras University Hospital, Greece, was an independent prognostic factor of hospitalization and disease outcome.