Usefulness of elevated red cell distribution width for predicting systemic inflammatory response syndrome after extracorporeal circulation

Objectives:Cardiac surgical operations performed by using extracorporeal circulation (ECC) lead to a systemic inflammatory response (SIR). Sometimes SIR may turn into a severe state, the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) that usually has a poor outcome with no specific clinical tools described for its prediction.Red cell distribution width (RDW) is a routine hematological parameter. It has been proposed as a marker of morbidity and mortality in various clinical conditions. We aimed to investigate the relationship between high RDW and SIRS which is triggered by ECC.Methods:Eleven hundred consecutive patients who underwent elective heart surgery with the use of ECC were retrospectively analyzed.A total of 19 patients fulfilled the described SIRS criteria and 20 consecutive patients were selected as the control group. RDW and other laboratory parameters, preoperative clinical status, operative data and postoperative data were compared between the SIRS and the control groups.Results:Baseline char...