Red cell distribution width as a laboratory diagnostic and prognostic marker in neonatal sepsis / Nrmeen Mahmoud Mohamed Bekhit ; Supervised Iman Khaled Eyada ,Mohamed Abdallah Abdelelmageed , Omnia Yahia Ibrahim

Thesis (M.Sc.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Medicine - Department of Pediatrics

Background: Neonatal sepsis represents one of the most common causes of morbidity and mortality in both term and preterm infants. The red cell distribution (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 destruction of red blood cells, which commonly occur in inflammatory or infectious situations. Objective: To estimate and evaluate the prognostic value of RDW in neonatal sepsis.Patients and methods: This case-control study was carried on 100 neonates divided into 2 groups; group I which included fifty (50) neonates who were diagnosed as neonatal sepsis according to clinical diagnosis and culture and group II which included fifty (50) age and sex matched control neonates. Detailed history, physical examination and laboratory investigations were done. RDW level was done in all patients. It was assessed once in control groups and three times in cases group (RDW 1 measured at time of suspicion of neonatal sepsis, RDW 2 measured at time of clinically and laboratory proved sepsis,and RDW 3 measured after 21 days of confirmed diagnosis of sepsis). Results: RDW has a significant correlation with outcome of neonatal sepsis and degree of sepsis (P value <.001).Conclusion: RDW is a promising marker for diagnosis and prognosis of neonatal sepsis, and for identification of high risk cases

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