Objectives: The relation between red cell distribution width (RDW) and worse outcome of cardiovascular disease has been shown in the past. The goal of this study was to investigate the association of RDW levels with the complication after the coronary bypass surgery.
Materials and Methods: 80 patients (62 males, 18 females; mean age 55.8±10.4 years) were enrolled in this study. The complications after the coronary bypass surgery was defined as reoperations due to the postoperative bleeding, prolonged ventilation, death in the hospital and postoperative myocard infarctus.The patients are divided in to two groups. The first group is the patients with the complications and the second group without the complications. The analysis was performed to show the predictor value of RDW for the postoperative complications.
Results: There were 16 (20%) complications occured after coronary bypass surgery. RDW levels were significantly higher in the complication group (15.5±1.3% vs. 12.2±1.0%, p=0.019). In multivariate logistic regression models showed that RDW with the hemoglobin levels was a strong independent predictor of postoperative complications. (HR=1.91 per 1% increase; 97% CI: 1.14-3.56, p=0.029).
Conclusions: We can say that RDW is an important, simple, available and cost effective tool and can be used as useful predictting the psotoperative comlications after the coronary bypass surgery.
