Role of red cell distribution width and neutrophil: Lymphocyte ratio in adults with sepsis

Introduction: Sepsis is a significant contributor to morbidity and mortality in admitted patients. A large number of markers have been studied as biomarkers for sepsis. Most of them are either expensive or lack good sensitivity and specificity. Objective: In this study, we want to evaluate the role of simple blood tests such as Red cell distribution width (RDW) and neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in the evaluation of the severity of sepsis cases. Methods: 173 sepsis patients were included in this ICU cross-sectional study. Red cell distribution width and neutrophil-lympho-cyte ration were measured at admission. Both these parameters were compared with quick sequential organ failure assessment (qSOFA) score. They were also compared with the outcome of patients. Results: The mean RDW was 14.455 and it showed a significant correlation with qSOFA score and outcome of sepsis patients. An RDW of 15.050 was found to predict the worse outcome with a sensitivity of 82.4% and specificity of 74.7%. The mean NLR was 5.1645 and it also correlated with qSOFA score in sepsis patients. An NLR of 3.22 predicted worse outcome but only with the sensitivity of 66.2% and specificity of 65.7%. Conclusion: RDW and NLR both showed good correlation with sepsis outcome. However, RDW had a better sensitivity and specificity in predicting worse outcomes in sepsis.