title: Association of red blood cell distribution width levels with severity of coronary artery disease in patients with non-ST elevation myocardial infarction.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of the levels of red blood cell distribution width (RDW) with the severity of atherosclerosis and to determine whether or not the RDW level on admission is an independent predictor of all-cause mortality in patients with non-ST elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI).
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 335 consecutive patients with NSTEMI were enrolled in this study. The patients were divided into high (n = 105) and low (n = 230) SYNTAX groups. The high SYNTAX group was defined as patients with a value in the third tertile (SYNTAX score, SXscore ≥12), while the low SYNTAX group was defined as those with a value in the lower 2 tertiles (SXscore <12). The high RDW group (n = 152) was defined as patients with RDW >14.25% and the low RDW group (n = 183) as those with RDW ≤14.25%. All-cause mortality was followed up to 38 months.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean follow-up period was 18 ± 11 months. The RDW levels of patients were significantly higher in the high SYNTAX group than in the low SYNTAX group (15.2 ± 1.8 vs. 14.2 ± 1.2, p < 0.001). Pearson's coefficients were used to determine the degree of association between RDW levels and SXscore and also between RDW levels and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein. There was a significant correlation between RDW levels and SXscore (r = 0.460, p < 0.001). Also, there was a significant correlation between RDW levels and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (r = 0.180, p = 0.001). All-cause mortality rate was not significantly different between the high and low RDW groups (log-rank, p = 0.621).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  RDW levels were independently associated with high SXscore but were not associated with long-term mortality in NSTEMI patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Kayseri Education and Research Hospital, Kayseri, Turkey.
authors.forename: Omer
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Sahin
authors.forename: Mahmut
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Akpek
authors.forename: Bahadir
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sarli
authors.forename: Ahmet Oguz
authors.initials: AO
authors.lastname: Baktir
authors.forename: Goktug
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Savas
authors.forename: Serhat
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Karadavut
authors.forename: Deniz
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Elcik
authors.forename: Hayrettin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Saglam
authors.forename: Mehmet Gungor
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Kaya
authors.forename: Huseyin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Arinc
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000792:Angiography; D050197:Atherosclerosis; D002423:Cause of Death; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000097:blood*; D004562:Electrocardiography; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D004909:Erythrocyte Indices; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications; D012372:ROC Curve; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology