title: Can red cell distribution width be a marker of disease activity in ulcerative colitis?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The current study aimed to investigate the association between disease activity and red cell distribution width (RDW) levels in ulcerative colitis and to determine whether RDW can be used as a marker of disease activity in non-anemic ulcerative colitis.
  
  
  METHODS
  The RDW levels of 310 ulcerative colitis patients who underwent colonoscopy were analyzed retrospectively. The patients were divided into two groups (active disease and remission) according to the endoscopic activity index. In addition, the accuracy of RDW in determining disease activity in non-anemic patients was assessed. The efficacy of RDW in determining disease activity was compared to that of white blood cell count, platelet count, C-reactive protein, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Two hundred and six (66.5%) patients had active disease, and 104 (33.5%) were in remission. The mean RDW levels in patients with active ulcerative colitis and in those in remission were 16.8±2.9 and 15.5±1.4, respectively (P<0.001). Ninety-six (46.6%) patients in the active disease group and 89 (85.6%) in the remission group were non-anemic, and their respective RDW levels were 15.4±1.2 and 15.3±1.1 (P=0.267). The sensitivity and specificity of RDW in determining inflammation were 41% and 91%, respectively (AUC 0.65, P<0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study demonstrated that RDW can be used as a marker for disease activity in ulcerative colitis, but it did not have the same efficacy in the non-anemic group.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Izmir Katip Celebi University, Atatürk Training and Research Hospital Izmir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Serkan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ipek
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Izmir Katip Celebi University, Atatürk Training and Research Hospital Izmir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Cem
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cekic
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Izmir Katip Celebi University, Atatürk Training and Research Hospital Izmir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Emrah
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Alper
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Izmir Katip Celebi University, Atatürk Training and Research Hospital Izmir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Eyup
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Coban
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology, Hacettepe University Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Eylem
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Eliacik
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Izmir Katip Celebi University, Atatürk Training and Research Hospital Izmir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mahmut
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Arabul
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Izmir Katip Celebi University, Atatürk Training and Research Hospital Izmir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Fatih
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Aslan
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Izmir Katip Celebi University, Atatürk Training and Research Hospital Izmir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Sezgin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vatansever
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Tepecik Training and Research Hospital Izmir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Hulya
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yalcin
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Izmir Katip Celebi University, Atatürk Training and Research Hospital Izmir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Belkis
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Unsal
keywords: Red cell distribution width; activity; ulcerative colitis