SynthesisFrontiers in pediatrics2025
Red blood cell distribution width as a predictor of mortality in critically ill pediatric patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in Frontiers in pediatrics, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
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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.
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.
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Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Objective: Red blood cell distribution width (RDW) has been found to predict outcomes in critically ill adult patients. However, its utility in pediatric patients remains unexplored. We reviewed published evidence and conducted a meta-analysis to assess whether RDW can be used to predict mortality in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). Methods: All observational studies assessing the association between RDW and PICU mortality available on the databases of PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Web of Science up to 4th November 2024 were included. A detailed review of study outcomes was conducted with a meta-analysis. Results: Seven studies were included. 6,327 pediatric patients were included in these studies. On qualitative analysis, five of the seven studies found a statistically significant association between high RDW and PICU mortality. Four studies used RDW as a continuous variable, while three studies reported specific RDW cut-offs. Meta-analysis showed that an incremental increase in RDW was associated with a statistically significant increased risk of mortality (OR: 1.24 95% CI: 1.07, 1.44 I Conclusions: RDW could be a potential predictor of mortality in the PICU. Results need to be interpreted with caution owing to the limited number of studies with variable study populations. Additional studies are needed to strengthen evidence. Systematic Review Registration: PROSPERO (CRD42024606208).
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