Anchura de distribución eritrocitaria como factor predictor de mortalidad por sepsis neonatal en el Hospital Teodoro Maldonado Carbo entre enero del 2019 y abril del 2022.

Abstract

The erythrocyte distribution width (RDW) has been widely studied in the differential diagnosis of many conditions such as anemia, congestive heart failure, acute myocardial infarction, pulmonary embolism, and pneumonia. Current studies confirm that RDW is a useful and cost-effective biomarker of severity in critically ill patients, and an increase in RDW is a predictor of neonatal sepsis mortality. RDW has also been associated with an inflammatory state and oxidative stress, so there is a relationship between RDW and CRP, resulting in increased inflammation. Methodology: Crosssectional, retrospective, analytical study. The documentation technique was applied by reviewing medical records in the database of Teodoro Maldonado Carbo Hospital from January 2019 to April 2022 of patients admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) under ICD-10 P369, neonatal sepsis. Our population of 23640 patients obtained a sample of 238 patients randomized based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results: When relating mortality with RDW% using the chi-square method, we were able to confirm no significant relationship existed with a p-value of 0.200. Also, the Pearson correlation of these two variables shows a weak inverse association, which is not significant. According to the ROC curve, we interpret that RDW% is not a sufficient predictive test for mortality, with an intermediate accuracy of 71% of predictive value. Conclusions: This study did not observe a significant association between RDW and mortality in patients diagnosed with neonatal sepsis. However, a significant relationship exists between birth weight and mortality, with low birth weight being a risk factor. Additionally, term pregnancies have a reduced risk of mortality, as do patients with normal hemoglobin levels.