title: Clinical significance of red blood cell distribution width in the prediction of mortality in patients on peritoneal dialysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In this study, we assessed whether red blood cell distribution width (RDW) was associated with all-cause mortality in patients on peritoneal dialysis (PD) and evaluated its prognostic value.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study included 136 patients who had RDW levels at PD initiation from January 2007 to January 2014 at the Presbyterian Medical Center and Seoul St. Mary's Hospital. We divided these patients into 2 groups (survivors vs. nonsurvivors), compared their clinical characteristics, and analyzed the predictors of survival.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The study included 79 men and 57 women, with a mean age of 54 years (range, 15-85 years). The mean follow-up duration was 32 months (range, 1-80 months). Of 136 patients, 14 died during the follow-up period. When clinical characteristics of survivors (n = 122) and nonsurvivors (n = 14) were compared, no differences were identified, with the exception of serum albumin, total iron-binding capacity (TIBC), left ventricular ejection fraction, total leukocyte count, and RDW value. Survivors had higher serum albumin (3.4 ± 0.5 vs. 3.0 ± 0.5 g/dL, P < 0.001) and left ventricular ejection fraction (56.8 ± 9.8 vs. 48.7 ± 12.8, P = 0.040) and lower TIBC (213.4 ± 40.9 vs. 252.8 ± 65.6, P = 0.010), total leukocyte counts (6.9 × 10(3)/μL vs. 8.6 × 10(3)/μL, P = 0.009), and serum RDW values (13.9 ± 1.7 vs. 16.0 ± 1.8, P < 0.001). Patients with high RDW levels (≥ 14.8) showed significantly higher all-cause mortality than patients with low RDW levels (< 14.8, P < 0.001). In multivariate-adjusted Cox analysis, RDW and TIBC at the start of PD were independent risk predictors for all-cause mortality.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  RDW could be an additive predictor for all-cause mortality in patients on PD.
authors.affiliation: Nephrology Division, Department of Internal Medicine, Presbyterian Medical Center, Jeonju, Korea.
authors.forename: In O
authors.initials: IO
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Division of Nephrology, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Byung Ha
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.affiliation: Nephrology Division, Department of Internal Medicine, Presbyterian Medical Center, Jeonju, Korea.
authors.forename: Hyun Ju
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Yoon
authors.affiliation: Division of Nephrology, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Jeong Ho
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Division of Nephrology, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Bum Soon
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Division of Nephrology, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Cheol Whee
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Division of Nephrology, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Yong Soo
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Division of Nephrology, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Chul Woo
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Nephrology Division, Department of Internal Medicine, Presbyterian Medical Center, Jeonju, Korea.
authors.forename: Kwang Young
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Lee
keywords: Erythrocyte indices; Peritoneal dialysis; Red blood cell distribution width