Red blood cell distribution width: A simple parameter with multiple clinical applications

The red blood cell distribution width (RDW) is a simple and inexpensive parameter, which reflects the degree of heterogeneity of erythrocyte volume (conventionally known as anisocytosis), and is traditionally used in laboratory hematology for differential diagnosis of anemias. Nonetheless, recent evidence attests that anisocytosis is commonplace in human disorders such as cardiovascular disease, venous thromboembolism, cancer, diabetes, community-acquired pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, liver and kidney failure, as well as in other acute or chronic conditions. Despite some demographic and analytical issues related to the routine assessment that may impair its clinical usefulness, an increased…