Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34809558›Full record

ArticleBMC emergency medicine2021

Monocyte distribution width (MDW) as a new tool for the prediction of sepsis in critically ill patients: a preliminary investigation in an intensive care unit.

Ennio Polilli, Antonella Frattari, Jessica Elisabetta Esposito, Andrea Stanziale, Giuliana Giurdanella, Giancarlo Di Iorio, Fabrizio Carinci, Giustino Parruti

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC emergency medicine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
20citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
3.5field-weighted citation impact, top 7% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

20 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 37 citations in OpenAlex.

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  6. Biomarkers to guide sepsis management.Annals of intensive care · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Ennio PolilliClinical Pathology Unit, Pescara General Hospital, Pescara, Italy.
Antonella FrattariUnit of Intensive Care, Pescara General Hospital, Pescara, Italy.
Jessica Elisabetta EspositoClinical Pathology Unit, Pescara General Hospital, Pescara, Italy.
Andrea StanzialePostgraduate School of Clinical Pathology, University of Chieti, Chieti, Italy.
Giuliana GiurdanellaPostgraduate School of Clinical Pathology, University of Chieti, Chieti, Italy.
Giancarlo Di IorioClinical Pathology Unit, Pescara General Hospital, Pescara, Italy.
Fabrizio CarinciDepartment of Statistical Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
Giustino ParrutiInfectious Diseases Unit, Pescara General Hospital, Pescara, Italy. giustino.parruti@ausl.pe.it.ORCID 0000-0003-3483-8170
Azienda USL di Pescara · ITUniversity of Chieti-Pescara · ITUniversity of Bologna · IT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundMonocyte Distribution Width (MDW), a simple proxy marker of innate monocyte activation, can be used for the early recognition of sepsis along with Procalcitonin. This study explored the added value of MDW as an early predictor of ensuing sepsis in patients hospitalised in an Intensive Care Unit.

methodsWe performed an observational prospective monocentric study to estimate the analytical performance of MDW in detecting ensuing sepsis in a sample of consecutive patients assisted in an Intensive Care Unit for > 48 h for any reason. Demographic and clinical characteristics, past medical history and other laboratory measurements were included as potential predictors of confirmed sepsis in multivariate logistic regression.

resultsA total of 211 patients were observed, 129 of whom were included in the final sample due to the suspect of ensuing sepsis; of these, 74 (57%) had a confirmed diagnosis of sepsis, which was best predicted with the combination of MDW > 23.0 and PCT > 0.5 ng/mL (Positive Predictive Value, PPV: 92.6, 95% CI: 82.1-97.9). The best MDW cut-off to rule out sepsis was ≤20.0 (Negative Predictive Value, NPV: 86.4, 95% CI: 65.1-97.1). Multivariate analyses using both MDW and PCT found a significant association for MDW > 23 only (OR:17.64, 95% CI: 5.53-67.91).

conclusionWe found that values of MDW > 23 were associated with a high PPV for sepsis, whereas values of MDW ≤ 20 were associated with a high NPV. Our findings suggest that MDW may help clinicians to monitor ICU patients at risk of sepsis, with minimal additional efforts over standard of care.

Indexed as

MonocytesSepsisBiomarkersCritical IllnessHumansIntensive Care UnitsProspective StudiesBiomarkersEarly diagnosisIntensive Care UnitMDWProcalcitoninSepsis

Identifiers

PMID34809558
PMCPMC8607630
OpenAlexW3132169934

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.