Abstract

Objectives: To find the relationship between red blood cell distribution width (RDW) and disease severity. Determine the predictive value of RDW in septic shock and disease mortality. Methods: Prospective descriptive study based on 110 children with sepsis hospitalized at the Pediatric Center of Hue Central Hospital from April 2021 to July 2023. Results: Median patient age was 36 (10 - 100) months, male/female ratio was 1.24:1. The median of RDW was 15.8 (13.9-18.2)%. There is a moderate positive correlation between RDW and severity of sepsis (rS = 0.493, p < 0.01), and death from sepsis (rS = 0.625, p < 0.01). At the cutoff point of RDW > 15.75%, the optimal sensitivity is 71.7% and the optimal specificity is 65.6% and AUC = 0.724, p < 0.01 in predicting septic shock. At the cutoff point of RDW >16.05%, the optimal sensitivity is 78.3% and the optimal specificity is 81.2% and AUC = 0.866, p < 0.01 in predicting death in children with sepsis. Conclusion: RDW can be used as a potential biomarker to predict septic shock and mortality in children with sepsis.